Recording - August 2018 - 48

Roland
Rubix24

A beautiful take on
audio and MIDI interfacing
for the modern studio
REVIEW BY MIKE METLAY

oland has built a fair number of audio and MIDI
interfaces over the past three-plus decades. As one
of the developers of the MIDI standard, Roland was
fast out of the gate with interfaces for the earliest personal computers, and pioneered computer-integrated sound
generation hardware with the Sound Canvas modules.
Roland even created the first USB 2.0 multitrack audio
interface as an alternative to FireWire, a decision that
seemed strange at the time but proved truly prescient.
A lot has changed since then; computers now have plenty
of power to create their own audio natively, and to record
and play back high-resolution audio along with MIDI. The
modern interface for desktop music production offers high-res
recording and playback in a simple and studio-friendly
format, with an eye toward helping the entry-level user get
good results with minimum hassle. Ideally, such an interface
should be portable, sturdy, transparent to set up, and
reasonably flexible for a variety of applications.
Roland's new Rubix series of audio/MIDI interfaces covers
these bases nicely, along with some very nice extras to
sweeten the deal. There are three models in the series,
and the Rubix24 under review represents the middle of the
range with a great selection of features that go beyond the
usual stereo in/out fare.

The Rubix (not quite a) cube

In a similar form factor to the other Rubix interfaces,
the Rubix24 is a portable and sturdy desktop box with two
front-panel inputs on XLR/TRS combination jacks and four
rear-panel outputs on balanced 1/ 4" TRS. There's a front-panel
1
/ 4" headphone jack and rear-panel MIDI I/O as well. Audio
I/O conversion is supported at resolutions up to 24-bit/192 kHz.
The Rubix24 can be bus-powered by most computers, or a
USB power supply can be connected to the separate Micro-B
connector for use with portable devices like smartphones and
iPads. While there's a downloadable Windows driver and
control panel for setting buffer size, no drivers are required
for Mac or iOS devices, so setup is pretty much plug and play.
There are four rear-panel switches for ground lift, phones source
(Outputs 1/ 2 or 3/ 4), loopback, and compression type. The latter
refers to the built-in analog compression on the inputs (see below).
Front-panel controls are straightforward. Each input has a
Sensitivity (Gain) pot, plus Hi-Z switching for Input 1 and global
48V phantom power. The next section features an on/off
switch and Threshold control for the Compressor. Next there's
a Direct Monitor mix knob and Mono switch-when it's off,
Input 1 appears in the left monitor channel and Input 2 in the
right-followed by output and phones level pots.
For reference, the Rubix22 has two ins and outs, no
compression, and no loopback; the Rubix44 has two pairs of
inputs, each pair with its own phantom power, selectable Hi-Z
input on one input, Direct Monitor controls, and compressor. Also
note that unlike its two smaller siblings, which can be bus-powered,
the Rubix44 uses an included power supply at all times.

In use

It should be noted that the Rubix interfaces are designed to
be seen and to communicate useful information from a long
way away. All button controls have bright orange LED rings
to indicate their status, and LED indicators for input level,
compressor gain reduction, and power status are on clear
slivers of plexiglass that are clearly visible not only on the front
of the unit but also on the top.
The sensitivity range on the inputs is given as -60 to -12
dBu for mic-level signals, and -44 to +4 dBu for line-level. In
48

RECORDING August 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - August 2018