Mike Rivers wrote:


I was going to recommend the Samson C-Console (can't vouch for high
quality, but if it's passive, as it should be, it should be fine)
except that I took a look at the literature again and it doesn't have
a "mono" switch.


I think you're talking about the "C-Control" and it DOES have a mono
button. I've got one here on evaluation. It seems to be solidly built
from strictly garden-variety components. I do like the way they
illuminated the pushbuttons. It's very inexpensive.

ulysses

In article writes:

Wow, I could have sworn my C-control has a mono switch.

I know, I saw the photo too. But I checked mine last night, and sure
enough, it has four switches where there are now only three. Mine
definitely has the mono switch right there next to the "sub" switch.
It works as expected too. I can't imagine why they would remove such a
valuable feature!

Maybe they didn't remove it, they added it, and just never updated the
picture on the web site. It looks like the same picture in the catalog
that I have, too.

Maybe they need to get on the stick. Write them a note.


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In article writes:

I was going to recommend the Samson C-Console

I think you're talking about the "C-Control" and it DOES have a mono
button.

Did I really type C-Console? I was trying to think of the right name
for the product I was talking about and I knew that C-Console wasn't
it, that's a program to control a Yamaha digital console from a
computer. I even looked it up and had the catalog open when I typed
it.

How much of it is passive? Is there any more than a switch between the
input and the output (other than the headphones and talkback of
course)?

Here's the link to a picture of one without a Mono button. It's on the
Internet (and even the manufacturer's web page) so it might be right.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/r.../C-control.jpg



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ScotFraser wrote:

Cubase has a mono button right under the master faders.

Something that would be REALLY welcome in Digital Performer.


Would a VST plugin help?

Scott Fraser


--
Les Cargill

Cubase has a mono button right under the master faders.

Something that would be REALLY welcome in Digital Performer.


Would a VST plugin help?


Digital Performer needs a translator to use VST plugs, but there is a native
MAS plug with DP that can do this, called Trim. It does level & panning
offsets. Still, a hardware switch within arm's reach is a whole more sensible
to my way of working. I like having all the control room monitor functions
reside outside of the computer.


Scott Fraser

An Audio Unit would.

Les Cargill wrote:
ScotFraser wrote:

Cubase has a mono button right under the master faders.

Something that would be REALLY welcome in Digital Performer.



Would a VST plugin help?


Scott Fraser



--
Les Cargill

Mike Rivers wrote:

Did I really type C-Console?

Yes you did.

How much of it is passive?

All the resistors are passive, and I'm pretty sure the capacitors are
too. In fact, all of the parts in between the many JRC op amps are
passive. There are some PC-mount relays in there, so at least the
switching isn't solid-state.

Here's the link to a picture of one without a Mono button. It's on the
Internet (and even the manufacturer's web page) so it might be right.

http://www.samsontech.com/products/r.../C-control.jpg

Yeah. The one I have has a mono button next to the Speaker C/Sub
button, which is moved over a little. I can't imagine even Samson
would be dumb enough to remove the Mono button from an existing
product, so I assume the photo is older than the unit I have here.

I haven't had the thing apart for a while, but I think I remember all
the op-amps being JRC. The majority of the board is SMT, which is what
stopped me from messing with it yet. It's a double-sided board and not
too easy to follow the traces around. The guy who owns it is trying to
find me a schematic so I can make up my mind whether it's worthwhile to
do cap and amp upgrades. I haven't measured frequency response, I have
no ability to measure distortion, but the thing sounds pretty clean to
me and as far as I can tell it doesn't add even the slightest bit of
noise to the signal. That is, the rest of my gear is noisier.

One thing that bothers me is that since all the "Left" TRS jacks are
above the "Right" jacks, they're mounted on a separate board. That
board has thru-hole resistors and capacitors on it, while the main
board has SMT parts. Then there's a ribbon cable connecting the two.
So the Left and Right signals go through slightly different signal
paths. Probably not significantly different, but still different.

I still wish it was passive, because it would eliminate the need to
eventually build my own. This thing is under $100!

ulysses

In article writes:

How much of it is passive?

All the resistors are passive, and I'm pretty sure the capacitors are
too. In fact, all of the parts in between the many JRC op amps are
passive. There are some PC-mount relays in there, so at least the
switching isn't solid-state.

All right, wise guy. Let me rephrase that so you can unnerstan. How
much of the signal path between an input and the monitor output is
passive? Does it go through any ICs? I can see that they might want to
buffer the input and/or output, and I'm wondering how transparent that
buffering actually is.

I haven't had the thing apart for a while, but I think I remember all
the op-amps being JRC. The majority of the board is SMT, which is what
stopped me from messing with it yet. It's a double-sided board and not
too easy to follow the traces around.

I was playing with a Furman SRM-80 when that was a new product. It's a
similar gadget with more bells and whistles, and I found that I could
hear it in the monitor path, which is not a good thing. They dropped
it for a while, and now there's a SRM-80A out, but I don't know what's
different. I tried to ask at the AES show, but they only person who
was likely to know was never available the several times I passed by
their booth.



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Mike Rivers wrote:

All right, wise guy. Let me rephrase that so you can unnerstan. How
much of the signal path between an input and the monitor output is
passive? Does it go through any ICs? I can see that they might want to
buffer the input and/or output, and I'm wondering how transparent that
buffering actually is.

Sorry. I was trying to say that yes, there are a bunch of op-amps in
there. I must have seen about a dozen 8-pin SMT packages in there.
They were a JRC part I didn't recognize, and didn't look too close, but
I'd assume they were duals. There was also some junk on the separate
vertically-mounted faceplate control board, including an 8-pin SIP that
I couldn't get at to read. But since I don't have a schematic, I don't
know exactly how many stages are in-circuit at any one time.

If you look at the block diagram printed on the top of the unit (I can
e-mail it to you if you like), it looks like there's a buffer amp on
every input and every output. It doesn't show any amplifiers in
between, but it shows a big block called "logic switching" on the
inputs as well as actual switches depicted on the speaker outputs and
talkback. So the input switching might actually be solid state after
all. I don't know yet.

I was playing with a Furman SRM-80 when that was a new product. It's a
similar gadget with more bells and whistles, and I found that I could
hear it in the monitor path, which is not a good thing. They dropped
it for a while, and now there's a SRM-80A out, but I don't know what's
different. I tried to ask at the AES show, but they only person who
was likely to know was never available the several times I passed by
their booth.

See, I have a long history of NOT hearing stuff in the signal path. I
doubt that's because I keep getting great stuff, I probably just have
tin ears. I think it would be swell if you got your hands on one of
these boxes and said "Damn, that thing sounds bad" or something else.
I pretty much look at the construction quality and the parts selection
and the schematic and go, "Damn, that ought to sound terrible." Then I
upgrade the components or build/buy a different circuit and go, "That
prolly sounds better." I have a much easier time with gear that's
trying NOT to be transparent. I can usually tell when they (or I)
succeed. I've been building some transparent gear lately, but I've
relied on the folks using it to tell me I got it right. Luckily, I
did. But I didn't know for sure until they told me.


ulysses

In article writes:

I must have seen about a dozen 8-pin SMT packages in there.
They were a JRC part I didn't recognize, and didn't look too close, but
I'd assume they were duals. There was also some junk on the separate
vertically-mounted faceplate control board, including an 8-pin SIP that
I couldn't get at to read.

If you look at the block diagram printed on the top of the unit (I can
e-mail it to you if you like), it looks like there's a buffer amp on
every input and every output. It doesn't show any amplifiers in
between, but it shows a big block called "logic switching" on the
inputs as well as actual switches depicted on the speaker outputs and
talkback. So the input switching might actually be solid state after
all. I don't know yet.

You don't need to send me the block diagram. I trust you. I suspect
that you're correct about the buffers, and that the switching is
probably done through solid state components rather than mechanicial
contacts. Either could be quite transparent or not. Depends.

See, I have a long history of NOT hearing stuff in the signal path. I
doubt that's because I keep getting great stuff, I probably just have
tin ears. I think it would be swell if you got your hands on one of
these boxes and said "Damn, that thing sounds bad" or something else.

I asked the editor of Recording if I could review the C-Control but he
didn't reply. Probably still fussing with shortening my 6700 word
review of the TASCAM US-122.



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However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
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you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
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Mike Rivers wrote:

You don't need to send me the block diagram. I trust you. I suspect
that you're correct about the buffers, and that the switching is
probably done through solid state components rather than mechanicial
contacts. Either could be quite transparent or not. Depends.

Like I said, there ARE some PC-mount relays in there, but not as many
as there should be. But I know my JH24 does FET switching on the
record and reproduce electronics and it sounds good. Idunno if it's
*transparent* per se, but the machine as a whole sounds good.

I asked the editor of Recording if I could review the C-Control but he
didn't reply. Probably still fussing with shortening my 6700 word
review of the TASCAM US-122.

I hope you get the opportunity to review it for somebody.

ulysses