Recording - October 2014 - 21

Studio's conversion is open and honest
yet subtly smooth.
In use: preamps
There have been a lot of claims made
about the Zen Studio's mic pres online-
some saying that they sound "API-ish", others
saying "Neve-ish", and overall besting microphone preamps that on their own cost as
much per channel as the entire Zen Studio. I
so wanted to be the person to debunk their
quality and cry foul, but I'll be darned if these
preamps didn't impress the heck out of me!

I did side by side comparisons with the
212 API mic pres found in API's THE BOX
(reviewed September 2014), a Chandler
Limited TG2-500 (reviewed elsewhere in
this issue), and a Neve-inspired Great River
MP500NV (reviewed October 2011), as
well as my longtime stalwart Millennia
Media HV-3D (most recently reviewed in its
HV-37 dual rackmount form, July 2013).
The Zen Studio's preamps are not Neve,
API, Chandler, or Millennia. However,
they're not a million miles away either.
They hang with the pack nicely, exhibiting

a strong sonic quality that, as I mentioned
before, offers a nice evenly-weighted modern day console sound. For remote work I
had zero qualms using only the Zen
Studio's preamps and leaving all of my
expensive (not to mention bulky and heavy)
preamps racked up in the studio.
I was also impressed by how much clean
gain I could get out of these pres. They handle ribbons and dynamic mics with ease,
with the noise floor only becoming apparent
on the very quietest of sources. As a final
note, I noticed no sonic difference between

but I got the hang of the Zen Studio's software and hardware interface in a matter of
hours and soon felt like on expert, working
quickly and intuitively.
As a whole I am amazed at how much
functionality has been packed into such a
small footprint. In under five pounds, it
delivers 12 great-sounding mic preamps for
tracking, eight line ins and outs for looping
hardware effects in and out of your DAW
or for analog summing or monitor mixes,

the mic inputs in line-level mode and the linelevel inputs on the DB-25 connectors.

Antelope's world-class conversion over USB
2.0, one of the most full-featured internal
mixers I have used, and onboard DSP, all in
a robust portable package.
All things considered, I think the Zen Studio
is even more cutting-edge and impressive,
and an even greater value for the price, than
the Orion32-and that's quite a feat!

Conclusions
I only have two concerns with the Zen
Studio. One: I would like a less-scratchable
cover for the LCD on the front panel, considering this unit is meant to be safely portable.
Two: be aware that as is often the case with
multichannel converters, the Zen Studio gets
fry-an-egg hot when in use for long sessions,
so be careful where you place it. Maybe it's
because I was already used to the Orion32,

Price: $2495
More from: Antelope Audio,
www.antelopeaudio.com

http://www.antelopeaudio.com http://www.isoacoustics.com http://www.isoacoustics.com

Recording - October 2014

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