Central Station Studio Control Center Previewed
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(Click for a close-up) |
December 5, 2003
PreSonus Audio Electronics will formally introduce the Central Station, a purely passive studio control center, at winter NAMM 2004 in January, offering five stereo inputs and outputs (two digital and three analog) and a street price under $500.
The Central Station features a purely passive signal path, offering the most transparent sonic quality. The main audio path uses no amplifier stages including op amps, active IC's or chips, eliminating coloration, noise and distortion they add. The Central Station delivers what is needed for professional monitoring control (wide-frequency, high headroom and low noise), enabling the listener to hear the true sound of the mix. To minimize noise and maximize signal integrity, the unit is equipped with 28 sealed silver relays, which utilize a minimal path signal so that the audio does not pass through extraneous electronics.
Accompanying three sets of monitor outputs, each with their own set of trim pots, are three sets of analog stereo analog inputs to accommodate DAW/Mixer, Tape/CD or Keyboard/Sampler. Two of these inputs feature balanced TRS jacks and the third has RCA inputs with trim control for matching signals at different levels. It also accommodates two digital inputs via S/PDIF or TOSLINK, providing D/A conversion up to 24Bit/192kHz thus enabling the user to send a digital signal directly to the Central Station to bypass lesser D/A converters say from the DAW, a CD or DAT player.
Fast-acting 20 segment digital LED meters provide for high resolution metering of input level. The Central Station also offers a talkback omni directional condenser microphone that is routed through the CUE outputs for communication between artist and engineer. When the talkback feature is used, the cue mix is automatically dimmed for optimal communication.
Other features on the Central Station include two headphone outputs, MUTE, DIM, INPUT select, CUE select and OUTPUT select. An optional remote control is available for talkback, mute, dim, input and output selection, as well as level adjustment.
For more information, visit their web site at www.presonus.com. |
