ProSound News - December 2008 - (Page 44)

[44] T by Rob Tavaglione for Pro Audio Review he Chandler Germanium Compressor has taken my own world of compressor assignments and methods and turned them inside out, with features and versatility that made me rethink what I expect out of dynamics controllers. The Germanium is eye-catching with its yellow “chicken head” knobs and kidney-shaped VU against a dark-blue chassis. It is an FET-based, single-channel compressor with an outboard power supply (the PSU-1) that can power two Germanium series units. It is priced at $1,680, with the PSU-1 power supply costing $225. Chandler Limited Germanium Compressor inthefield The compressor features numerous controls. Most notable is the Germanium’s choice of compression curves—six modes achieved through a network of resistors, germanium diodes and silicon diodes: R soft, Germanium soft and medium, Silicon medium and hard, and Zener hard. R soft is very neutral gain reduction, whereas the other modes offer the pleasantly warm, round and distorted sounds that such transistor/diode materials are known for. The side-chain control is notable for its ability to HPF the control signal (without an external EQ) to prevent bass-induced pumping. The clean/dirty switch allows the unit to be neutral and accurate in the clean position and somewhat distorted in the dirty mode, with only second- and third-order harmonics. The wet/dry control allows phase-coherent blending of the original input signal with the processed signal. The feedback control affects not only level, but also tonality and density. Drive affects how hard the germanium drive amp is hit, varying output level in conjunction with the feedback control. Transparent dynamic control was unexpectedly quite achievable, even in the Germanium soft mode. The three Silicon and Zener modes aren’t nearly as polite as the others, with more “grabbiness,” a harder sound and more sensitivity to both attack times and side-chain filtering. Whereas both Germanium soft and hard modes were typically flattering and tastefully “congealed,” both Silicon modes were temperamental and sensitive, with hard being really hard. Zener was even harder sounding yet, with a distinctively aggressive bark and transient grab. The Germanium ultimately made my life easier, from tracking through mixing. I highly recommend the Germanium Compressor for those who, unlike myself, mix in the box, who like some analog texture and who don’t want to have only a single, character-laden sound available. Chandler Limited www.chandlerlimited.com PSN’s field reports are condensed from longer versions available from sister publications Pro Audio Review (www.proaudioreview.com) and Audio Media International (www.audiomedia.com). tech@psn Adam S2A Studio Monitors T by Alistair McGhee for Audio Media International o look at, the Adam S2As are quite the business in black with some neat cabinet work around the (ribbon tweeter) driver. At the bottom of the front panel are EQ settings for the onboard amp, and a gain trim. Personally, I’d like a full-range volume control, but you can’t have everything. I’ve had the Adams in my system for a month or so now, and they are very, very good. I like to think that good monitors, like good lenses, offer increases in detail, contrast and tonal accuracy. I found myself constantly hearing things in old familiar recordings that had slipped past me with other speakers. An area of monitor design that is often a problem is performance at higher levels. As you whack the gain up, all sorts of nonlinearities start to pop up. Resonances bloom, curves run off the knee, and saturation and compression effects begin to mani- fest themselves. To be honest, I don’t listen as loudly as I used to, but for many of us, the ability to generate high SPLs without racking up distortion is a significant plus. I found the S2As coming through with flying colors, staying clean at all the levels I would want to listen to. Listening loud, I did begin to ponder the question of bass extension. Adam’s literature quotes 35 Hz +/-3 dB, and that does seem like a long way down for what is not, after all, a huge box. One of my few reservations about the S2As would be that if a lot of your mixing is down in the basement, you might need to look for something bigger. The S2As have a great mid/top and a decent bottom end, nice enough cabinets, and they “do” loud. It’s hard to have anything but enthusiasm for the Adam Audio S2As; I would very happily mix on these five days a week and twice at the weekend. This quality doesn’t come cheap (around $1,925 each), but for me, the S2As are worth paying for. Adam Audio www.adam-audio.com Sencore SoundPro SP495 Audio Consultant Test Set S by Frank Wells encore’s SoundPro SP495 Audio Consultant is a portable, self-contained test set providing a full swath of core and optional acoustic and audio analysis test functionalities. The modestsized device weighs a bit over 2 1/4 lbs., with an internal Li-Ion battery pack for hours of AC-free operation. It comes with a test microphone, cabling and padded case. Having dabbled with the SP495’s predecessors, it was easy to figure out how get basic functions running. The front panel of the metal case is uncluttered, with just a rotary dial/pushbutton encoder and a backlit color LCD screen. You’ll spin the dial a lot, based the number of control elements on the test screens and the flexibility of the unit (for some functions, the interface would benefit from an increased parameter step size based on dialing speed). All DP595 tests have a professional range of parameter control. SPL measurement is a core function, including Leq time-based averaging, Dosimeter correlation to sound pressure exposure standards and a “chart recorder” function. RTA and FFT analysis are standard (plots can be frozen/stored for deeper/ later analysis, including a “difference” mode for before/after comparison). Also included is RT60 measurement, a graphical display of energy decay vs. time, speaker polarity (useable up to 100 feet from the speaker—nice), speaker impedance measurement, a cable-tester function and an SD memory card interface. The internal generator can output Pink/White noise, sine and square waves. Settings like output level and mic gain are maintained from test to test while the unit is powered on. Add-on firmware options include “tech bench” audio functions, intelligibility tests, standard noise curve overlays and computer interface software (the latter of which I used successfully with Mac and Windows laptops via a USB to RS232 interface). The SP495 is priced at $3,995, with firmware/software options running from $195-$795. A Type 1 mic upgrade is $1,295. The standards compliant test capabilities of the SP495 are optimally suited for audio consultants working in installed sound—and for that class of user, simply reading through the feature set is likely to inspire gear lust. Sencore www.sencore.com prosoundnews.com December 2008 http://www.chandlerlimited.com http://www.proaudioreview.com http://www.adam-audio.com http://www.audiomedia.com http://www.sencore.com http://www.prosoundnews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ProSound News - December 2008

ProSound News - December 2008 Sound Business Contents Hank’s Best Yet Sound Recording Studio Showcase: Great City Productions Software Tech Tracks Sessions Anticipating Post’s Future Post Showcase: Eargasm HD Audio Post The Business of Being Creative Sound Innovations: VRsonics VibeStudio Spatial Design Suites Field Reports: Product Profiles Yes We Can Hear Obama Live Sound Showcase: Stone Temple Pilots Centerstage Soundcheck Sound People View From the Top Product Spotlight Classifieds Advertiser Index Company Index Music, etc

ProSound News - December 2008

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