ProAudio Review - August 2008 - (Page 34)

STUDIO | REVIEW by Steve Murphy vided for Windows, and VST, AU and RTAS versions are provided in a universal binary format for both Intel and PowerPC Macs. A selection of optional plug-ins, including the famous SSL Bus Compressor, the Drumstrip drum processor, X-Comp and X-EQ are also available from SSL for $399- $599 each. IN USE Installation of the Mini on my laptop (a 2GHz dual-proc Dell with 2GB of RAM, XP Pro and Steinberg Nuendo 4) was quick and painless. The latest software version offered online is a full install package so there's no need to bother with the boxed CD, and the installer auto-upgrades the firmware if required – nicely done. I was a bit surprised when I found that, unlike competing DSP systems, the Duende Mini includes just one plug-in. That plug-in, Solid State Logic Duende Mini FireWire DSP This lightweight plug-in powerhouse makes an ideal mate for your laptop. In the 1965 article entitled, Cramming More Components Onto Integrated Circuits, Intel cofounder Gordon E. Moore observed that the number of transistors that can be inexpensively placed on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years, and predicted that this exponential trend is likely to continue. This prescient analysis became known, quite famously, as Moore's Law. I am not invoking Moore in reference to the small size or processing power of the Solid State Logic Duende Mini, but instead to the Mini's ever-expanding primary market: laptop-based, native digital audio workstation users. Moore's Law, loosely applied, suggests that as laptop contemporary performance continues to increase, more DAW users will be attracted to the potential benefits inherent to going mobile. Lightweight, DSP add-ons such as the Duende Mini significantly increase the allure and, of course, power of portable production setups. FEATURES The Duende Mini ($995) is a 1RU FireWire-based plug-in processor. Its sleek and lightweight, brushed-aluminum chassis sports a spartan set of features comprised of a front-panel power button; parallel 6-pin FireWire 400 connectors and a 12V DC power input jack. Included with the Mini APPLICATIONS: Studio FEATURES: DSP-powered plug-in processor; FireWire 400 interface; bus-powered with 6-pin 1394A equipped computers; universal power supply with worldwide AC socket adapters; 16 mono channels of plug-ins at 44.1/48 kHz, 8 at 88.2/96 kHz; includes the EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip plug-in. PRICE: $995 CONTACT: Solid State Logic | · www.solidstatelogic.com package is a FireWire cable, adhesive rubber feet, and a universal power supply with a variety of AC outlet adapters. The Mini can also be powered by the FireWire bus over 1394A (6-pin) connections. Minimum system requirements for Windows PCs include: Intel Pentium IV 1GHz or equivalent; XP SP2 (32-bit Vista is also supported); and 80MB of free hard disk space. For Macs: PowerPC G4/G5 or Intel 1GHz; OS X (Version 10.4.8 or higher); and 60MB hard-disk space. Both platforms need 512MB RAM though 1GB is recommended. VST and RTAS versions of the EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip plug-in are pro- however, is the quite substantial EQ and Dynamics Channel Strip – outfitted with trademark SSL filtering, EQ, compressor/limiter, and expander/gate sections. The Mini can power up to 16 mono instances of this plug-in at 44.1/48 kHz or eight at 88.2/96 kHz. In a bit of brilliant strategic planning, the Mini can be fieldupgraded to 32 channels ($399) via a software authorization process that simply unlocks the power of additional, preinstalled SHARC chips. It wasn't long after loading up 16 channels of the strip into the Nuendo mixer that SSL's intentions with its singular approach became 34 | ProAudio Review | August 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.solidstatelogic.com http://www.proaudioreview.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProAudio Review - August 2008

ProAudio Review - August 2008 Contents Publisher's Page Broadcast News and New Products Yamaha Pocketrak 2G Olympus LS-10 Linear PCM Recorder Bench Test Marantz PMD620 Flash Recorder TASCAM DR-1 Portable Digital Recorder Tips From The Pros: Location/Production Audio Prosumer Portables in a Pro World Studio News and New Products Apogee Ensemble Solid State Logic Duende Mini FireWire DSP Live News and New Products Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing World Tour Behringer Eurolive B412DSP and B415DSP Active Loudspeakers Gear for FOH Engineers — A PAR Contributors’ Wish List Contracting News and New Products Buyer's Guide Single Slice

ProAudio Review - August 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.