Recording - May 2011 - 12

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on XLR, word clock I/O on BNC jacks, an SD card slot for saving preset data or running system-restore software, and an expansion card with USB 2.0 and dual FireWire ports. This card was originally a purchased option; it’s now included with every S16 board. These 16 ins and 12 outs are routed through a bus structure that includes 8 Aux buses, 8 Group buses, and stereo Main and Solo buses. The AES/EBU input signal can be solo’d or routed to the Mains, but not to the other buses; the AES/EBU output is fed by the Mains. Separate pots for Control Room and Phones are provided, and the monitor signal path can accept signals from the 2-Track input if desired; the 2-Track input can also be routed to Inputs 15–16 for recording in place of the channels’ standard input jacks. Front panel layout The S16’s front panel is dominated by its LCD display, a large color touchscreen with bright and clear graphics. While the user can select items to edit and click buttons with a fingertip or fingernail, actual parameter changes are done with a nearby oversized parameter wheel. Cursor buttons, an Enter button also used for tempo tap, and buttons to quickly assign fader modes surround the display, as well as a set of six ‘soft’ buttons underneath, used to select pages and tabs. It may seem strange to offer all these controls normally associated with a non-touch-sensitive display next to a touch-sensitive LCD, but they actually make a lot of sense after you’ve worked with the S16 for a while. The LCD is large enough to be clearly

Phonic S16 Digital Console
Readers of Recording know that I’m a big fan of the modern computer-savvy mixing console, both as a central routing and processing system for the analog microphones and signal processors most of us still need to work with, and as a useful and flexible interface to a DAW. While one can do many of the things a big console can do with a small interface box and a control surface these days, the digital console’s natural consolidation of inputs, outputs, inserts for external signal processors, effects, and (usually automatable) controls is a powerful incentive for the small studio. Everything’s in one place, everything talks to everything else smoothly... less hassle, more music. We’ve reviewed Phonic’s entries in this realm before, most recently the Helix Board 24 Universal in our January 2010 issue. Up until now, these mixers have been all-analog affairs with a set of A/D and D/A converters and a USB 2.0/FireWire interface at strategic points in the architecture. Phonic’s new S16 (formerly named the Summit) is a different beast—an all-digital board with internal DSP effects and moving-fader automation, all for less than $2000. Inputs and outputs and buses (oh my) The top panel of the mixer has 16 input channels, each with XLR and balanced 1/4" TRS inputs, unbalanced 1/4" TRS insert, a 20 dB pad switch, and a gain pot with peak LED. The rear panel has XLR jacks for the stereo Main Outs and Control Room Outs, plus a bank of eight 1/4" TRS balanced Multi Outs. These Multi Outs are assignable to a variety of routings and take the place of dedicated Aux sends or Group outputs, allowing for a more efficient use of I/O hardware for studios that aren’t swimming in outboard gear. Also on the rear panel: RCA unbalanced 2-Track I/O, AES/EBU digital I/O
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An automated and self-contained nerve center for the small studio
readable, but it’s crammed with data, and trying to touch-select and then also drag-to-set most controls would be a mess. Selecting by pointing at what you want, then turning a physical dial, works very well as a compromise, and prevents the S16 needing a much larger display as found on far more expensive digital consoles. All 16 input channels have Select, Solo, and On (the opposite of Mute) buttons, and the long-throw moving faders can be set to reflect current values in three Layers: (1) the 16 inputs, (2) the 8 Auxes and 8 Groups, and (3) the 8 Multis plus the AES/EBU input, Control Room out, and the two Effect outputs (see below). The Main has its own dedicated moving fader with Select and On buttons. These faders are “grab and grind” rather than touchsensitive, and are not as silky-smooth as the faders on megabuck consoles, but they’re here and they work reliably, and at this price point they’re a welcome and delightful feature. Oh, one thing definitely worth noting: almost every display page that has a fader on it also has a level meter for that fader, and there are several different level meter displays that combine multiple channels’ metering depending on which buses you’re working with (Aux, Group, Multis, inputs, etc.). You’ll never want for visual feedback on levels. Effects While it’s possible to route audio to external effects boxes with the Multi outputs, the user can only bring audio back in again via one or more of the 16 channel inputs; this limits the S16’s ability to incorporate a lot of external rack gear in a send/return architecture. For many users, however, this isn’t a huge problem; dynamics processors and equalizers can be strapped across inputs in the

Recording - May 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - May 2011