Hi,

well, probably 2 yrs ago, when i got my mix plus, i started threads
here about the issue of DAW/PTools to powered speakers direct and the
need for volume control. Every 6 months, i'd do this thread and slowly
things started coming out. Now maybe i can buy one of these new units,
but my guess is most of them color the sound and are overpriced.
I'd love to get some current opinions about the current generation of
these control room monitor section racks.
My big question remains unansered, all i want is a volume pot that
dont color the sound. Which one is the cleanest? Has anyone tried them
all?

1- Mackie big knob- Does it color the sound and sound like a bad 1604?

2- Presonus- Does it color the sound? It looks expensive

3- Coleman audio- Would a niles audio line level volume pot do the
same thing if its only one set of speakers i wanna control?

4- C Control- I cant find any one user review on this thing, is it
clean and passive?

5- Bryston BP20- High end consumer preamp, but some Ptools users are
using them, any opinions?

I do not have the best ears, but having said that, I love my Presonus
Central Station (with remote). It's my absolute favorite piece of gear in
my studio, and I have a ton of gear... it makes everything so much easier.
I can A/B my stereo signal with or without the Finalizer, and I can
instantly sent the signal to any of the various speakers. I keep the remote
right next to my mouse pad. I think it cost about $600 including the
remote.

As for the sound, I couldn't hear a difference in the sound when I hooked it
up (I was listening for one), but I did A/B whether to connect it to my
02R96s via analog or digital, and I decided that analog sounded better to me
(using the converters in the 02r96 instead of the Central Station), but I'm
sure someone with better ears could help you with this.

One important thing to consider between the Mackie and the Presonus-- the
Central Station has a remote that can sit just about anywhere. It comes
with about a 10' or 15' cable, I don't remember, but I extended it to about
25' no problem. The Mackie has all of it's inputs and outputs on the back
of the "Big Knob" itself, so you may end up running a mess of cables to it.

My 2 cents,

Matt Koskenmaki
www.koskenmaki.com



"Mike" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

well, probably 2 yrs ago, when i got my mix plus, i started threads
here about the issue of DAW/PTools to powered speakers direct and the
need for volume control. Every 6 months, i'd do this thread and slowly
things started coming out. Now maybe i can buy one of these new units,
but my guess is most of them color the sound and are overpriced.
I'd love to get some current opinions about the current generation of
these control room monitor section racks.
My big question remains unansered, all i want is a volume pot that
dont color the sound. Which one is the cleanest? Has anyone tried them
all?

1- Mackie big knob- Does it color the sound and sound like a bad 1604?

2- Presonus- Does it color the sound? It looks expensive

3- Coleman audio- Would a niles audio line level volume pot do the
same thing if its only one set of speakers i wanna control?

4- C Control- I cant find any one user review on this thing, is it
clean and passive?

5- Bryston BP20- High end consumer preamp, but some Ptools users are
using them, any opinions?

I do not have the best ears, but having said that, I love my Presonus
Central Station (with remote). It's my absolute favorite piece of gear in
my studio, and I have a ton of gear... it makes everything so much easier.
I can A/B my stereo signal with or without the Finalizer, and I can
instantly sent the signal to any of the various speakers. I keep the remote
right next to my mouse pad. I think it cost about $600 including the
remote.

As for the sound, I couldn't hear a difference in the sound when I hooked it
up (I was listening for one), but I did A/B whether to connect it to my
02R96s via analog or digital, and I decided that analog sounded better to me
(using the converters in the 02r96 instead of the Central Station), but I'm
sure someone with better ears could help you with this.

One important thing to consider between the Mackie and the Presonus-- the
Central Station has a remote that can sit just about anywhere. It comes
with about a 10' or 15' cable, I don't remember, but I extended it to about
25' no problem. The Mackie has all of it's inputs and outputs on the back
of the "Big Knob" itself, so you may end up running a mess of cables to it.

My 2 cents,

Matt Koskenmaki
www.koskenmaki.com



"Mike" wrote in message
om...
Hi,

well, probably 2 yrs ago, when i got my mix plus, i started threads
here about the issue of DAW/PTools to powered speakers direct and the
need for volume control. Every 6 months, i'd do this thread and slowly
things started coming out. Now maybe i can buy one of these new units,
but my guess is most of them color the sound and are overpriced.
I'd love to get some current opinions about the current generation of
these control room monitor section racks.
My big question remains unansered, all i want is a volume pot that
dont color the sound. Which one is the cleanest? Has anyone tried them
all?

1- Mackie big knob- Does it color the sound and sound like a bad 1604?

2- Presonus- Does it color the sound? It looks expensive

3- Coleman audio- Would a niles audio line level volume pot do the
same thing if its only one set of speakers i wanna control?

4- C Control- I cant find any one user review on this thing, is it
clean and passive?

5- Bryston BP20- High end consumer preamp, but some Ptools users are
using them, any opinions?

Mike wrote:

1- Mackie big knob- Does it color the sound and sound like a bad 1604?

It's got electronics in it. This is bad. On the other hand, it has
a mono button.

2- Presonus- Does it color the sound? It looks expensive

It has better electronics in it.

3- Coleman audio- Would a niles audio line level volume pot do the
same thing if its only one set of speakers i wanna control?

The Coleman passive box does not have electronics in it. This would make
it more neutral-sounding, but it won't be able to drive long lines since
it will tend to have a fairly high-Z output.

4- C Control- I cant find any one user review on this thing, is it
clean and passive?

Dunno.

5- Bryston BP20- High end consumer preamp, but some Ptools users are
using them, any opinions?

It's good, but again it's unbalanced and there is a lot of stuff in there.

How about just using an amp with a built-in gain control?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Mike wrote:

1- Mackie big knob- Does it color the sound and sound like a bad 1604?

It's got electronics in it. This is bad. On the other hand, it has
a mono button.

2- Presonus- Does it color the sound? It looks expensive

It has better electronics in it.

3- Coleman audio- Would a niles audio line level volume pot do the
same thing if its only one set of speakers i wanna control?

The Coleman passive box does not have electronics in it. This would make
it more neutral-sounding, but it won't be able to drive long lines since
it will tend to have a fairly high-Z output.

4- C Control- I cant find any one user review on this thing, is it
clean and passive?

Dunno.

5- Bryston BP20- High end consumer preamp, but some Ptools users are
using them, any opinions?

It's good, but again it's unbalanced and there is a lot of stuff in there.

How about just using an amp with a built-in gain control?
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."