STUDIO
Mar 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Doug Eisengrein
MACKIE ONYX SERIES
FIREWIRE ANALOG CONSOLES
Mackie lit the candles on its 15th birthday cake at the 2004 NAMM convention in January with the release of the Onyx family of mixers. The Onyx 1220 ($639.99), Onyx 1620 ($919), Onyx 1640 ($1539.99) and Onyx FW ($499.99) represent the next generation in Mackie's legacy of small-format consoles, and they do it with a twist: They're analog consoles with a FireWire option. The Onyx line comprises three small-format mixers, and the optional FireWire card. The 1220 is a 12-channel mixer with four mic/line inputs, eight line inputs, two buses and a 3-band Cal Perkins — designed EQ with sweepable midrange. The 1620 is a 16-channel design with eight mic/line inputs, four stereo line inputs and a 4-band EQ. The flagship 1640 sports 16 channels with 16 mono mic/line inputs and four buses, and for this model, Mackie brought back its popular hinged I/O chassis, making it convenient for both rack and desktop use. The entire Onyx line inherits its name from the inclusion of Mackie's next-generation, low-noise Onyx mic preamp with circuitry based on Mackie's classic XDR mic preamps, but with the FireWire option: a user-installable 24-bit, 96kHz I/O card that allows streaming of 12 or 16 independent channels of audio and a stereo mix directly to a Mac or PC. This FireWire capability makes the Onyx series a great analog front end for any computer-based DAW.
Mackie; e-mail sales@mackie.com; Web www.mackie.com
NATIVE INSTRUMENTS PRO-53 FOR MAC OS X AND RTAS
SOFT-SYNTH UPGRADES
One of the venerable favorites from the Native Instruments line has just graduated to Mac OS X, along with support for Audio Units and RTAS. The amazingly realistic and warm-sounding Pro-53 ($199; $49, CD-ROM upgrade; $29, download upgrade), a software reproduction of the famed Sequential Circuits Prophet-5 synth, can run as a stand-alone instrument via Core Audio and Core MIDI or as a plug-in via Audio Units (for Emagic Logic Audio and MOTU Digital Performer 4.1 on Mac OS X), RTAS (for Digidesign Pro Tools on Windows XP and Mac OS X) and VST2 (for Steinberg Cubase SX and Nuendo on Mac OS X). The Pro-53 also retains its previous plug-in architectures of VST2 (for Windows and Mac OS 9), DXi, MAS and FreeMIDI (for OS 9 only).
Native Instruments; e-mail info@native-instruments.com; Web www.native-instruments.com
M-AUDIO FIREWIRE AUDIOPHILE
AUDIO/MIDI INTERFACE
M-Audio has built a solid reputation by offering award-winning audio interfaces (among other things) at fair prices. The FireWire Audiophile ($349.95), the company's second foray into FireWire-based audio/MIDI interfaces, is a plug-and-play 4×6 audio I/O and 1×1 16-channel MIDI I/O. The FireWire Audiophile's front panel sports a ¼-inch headphone output with a dedicated volume control; a headphone monitor switch; S/PDIF I/O signal indicator LEDs; and a user-assignable level control for output, input, software return or aux send. The rear panel consists of twin FireWire ports, coaxial S/PDIF I/O jacks, one MIDI I/O, stereo line inputs and four line outputs on RCA connectors. The unit is compatible with Windows 2000/XP and Mac OS 9.2/OS X. ASIO 2.0, MME, Sound Manager, DirectX and Core Audio/Core MIDI drivers are included.
M-Audio; e-mail info@m-audio.com; Web www.m-audio.com
ALESIS MICRON
VIRTUAL ANALOG SYNTH
Alesis sparked the NAMM convention with the release of the Micron ($499), a compact three-octave keyboard with the same sound engine as the company's popular Ion synth. This minigiant offers analog realism, high-resolution control and compatibility with Ion programs; what's more, it can house more than 1,000 programs and multitimbral setups in a portable 37-key design. The Micron's sound engine features continuously variable wave shapes, as well as sync and FM synthesis. Onboard are 16 filter types, two LFOs with multiple wave shapes and sample and hold, and an arpeggiator. Micron is eight-note polyphonic with three oscillators per voice. Included in the Micron's suite of tools are a programmable step sequencer, a rhythm sequencer and a real-time phrase sequencer — all three sequencers also sync to MIDI Clock. The mighty Micron also includes a 40-band vocoder that is independent of polyphony. For all of you knob tweakers, the Micron boasts three 360-degree potentiometers with 12-bit resolution, two mod sliders and a pitch wheel. The knobs feature 32 times the resolution of typical MIDI controllers, resulting in excellent precision and smooth, analoglike tone.
Alesis; e-mail info@alesis.com; Web www.alesis.com
E-MU 1820M
DIGITAL AUDIO INTERFACE
E-mu has long been known for some of the most popular digital samplers and sound modules on the market; now, the company steps up to the desktop-recording plate with the 1820M ($499.99). The 1820M is a PCI-based 24-bit, 192kHz audio interface for PC with mastering-grade A/D converters (the same used in Digidesign's flagship Pro Tools HD 192 I/O interface). The 1820 system also features hardware-accelerated effects and mixing that use E-mu's E-DSP chip — a built-in effects processor that can drive 16 simultaneous DSP effects, freeing your CPU from performance-draining plug-ins. More than 500 effects presets are included, and the architecture is fully expandable. The PCI card includes both word-clock and SMPTE sync I/O, as well as an MTC (MIDI Time Code) out. Digital audio interfaces include ADAT and S/PDIF I/O. The half-rackspace breakout box offers two TFPro mic preamps with 48V phantom power and ¼-inch balanced line/Hi-Z level inputs on combination Neutrik connectors. A unique turntable input, complete with ground lug and hardware RIAA preamp, is also included. Dedicated speaker outputs and two sets of MIDI I/O round out this mighty little box. The system ships with WDM, DirectSound and ASIO 2.0 drivers for Windows 2000/XP.
E-mu; Web www.emu.com
NOVATION SPEEDIO
AUDIO/MIDI INTERFACE
Novation, typically known for its heavy-hitting synths, introduces the Speedio ($369), a new USB audio and MIDI interface. Powered by the USB bus, the Speedio is truly plug-and-play. The unit sports two low-noise combination mic/line preamps on ¼-inch/XLR combination jacks with a signature analog warmth and 70 dB of total headroom. Each channel has separate 20dB boost switches with signal-level and overload LEDs. The unit supports 44.1 and 48kHz recordings at 16 or 24 bits. The I/O section includes MIDI In and Out, a headphone out on a ¼-inch connector and master outputs on ¼-inch stereo jacks; the headphones and master outputs have independent volume controls. Low-latency audio and MIDI drivers are bundled for Windows XP and Core Audio for Mac OS X, along with ASIO drivers. Zero-latency monitoring is also possible with the continuously variable monitor control.
Novation; e-mail sales@novationmusic.com; Web www.novationmusic.com
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