low cost Mastering Controller Alternative to Dangerous, Avocet.

[VasiliZaitsev]

Hi,

i just want to ask if there are any low cost Mastering Monitor Controller Alternative to Dangerous or Avocet?
At the moment i have an Mackie Big Knob which is nice for that price range.
Also like the 3 Stereo Inputs. But i want to sell it and want to buy me a better Controller.
But is there a Controller similar to the Big Knob with much better performance but for a lower price than the dangerous or avocet?
Also with 2 or 3 Inputs - Maybee 500-800$ Alternative?

Thanks
Tom

[Waltz Mastering]

Mix just had a feature on controllers:
Monitor Controllers | Mix Round Up of Monitor Controllers Available in 2010

Pdf at the bottom to see what's out there.

[VasiliZaitsev]

wow - thanks.
Nice List...
ok then i have something to read and search for the next days

thanks very much Tom!

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by VasiliZaitsev

Hi,

i just want to ask if there are any low cost Mastering Monitor Controller Alternative to Dangerous or Avocet?
At the moment i have an Mackie Big Knob which is nice for that price range.
Also like the 3 Stereo Inputs. But i want to sell it and want to buy me a better Controller.
But is there a Controller similar to the Big Knob with much better performance but for a lower price than the dangerous or avocet?
Also with 2 or 3 Inputs - Maybee 500-800$ Alternative?

Thanks
Tom

Hi Tom,

I didn't check Waltz's list, but I would recommend checking out the Coleman Audio Range of Switchers/Controllers as they are very good in my experience. Namely the M3PH Mk2 which is a great unit.

[jdg]

build your own with gold point switches and attenuators:
http://www.goldpt.com

[Thor]

BUild your own - there's a great thread over on Brad's forum with plans, photographs and parts list/suggestions.

Cheers,
Thor

[VasiliZaitsev]

Thanks for the fast replys

I'm not that DIY Guy - so i think i'm looking forward to buy a common controller.

@Roc Mixwell
Thanks a lot - yes this Controller is in the List too.
But looks very nice - and exact want i need/want.
If the Quality is acceptable for doing Mastering Jobs.

Yesterday i found the PreSonus Central Station here in Germany used for round about 250-300€. Price for a new Unit is 560€.
Might be good too - not that good build Quality (Pots etc) but complete passiv and very good sounding i think.
Also a lot of inputs/outputs - even digital too.

But the Coleman Audio Unit looks definitley nice too!

Thanks very much!

[leftright]

The presonus central station with controller is a solution for your budget.

It's passive and solid construction

PreSonus

[staudio]

Check out the SPL monitor controller line, they are very clean and feature rich.

I have a SPL MTC 2381 and it works very well for my purposes.

Good luck in your search,
Alex

[Dave Rose]

I use SPL 2Control, might be worth checking out, I've no complaints so far...if you choose to use the headphone amp the crossfeed control can be useful as well

[VasiliZaitsev]

thanks to all thumbsup
For the moment - I found a used Presonus Central Station!
I thinks its a good compromise.

My Big Knob is no longer in use and now its for sale here in the Classifieds.

[dcollins]

Originally Posted by Waltz Mastering

Mix just had a feature on controllers:
Monitor Controllers | Mix Round Up of Monitor Controllers Available in 2010

Pdf at the bottom to see what's out there.

I just looked at that and it seems like there is only hi-end stuff and junk available.


DC

[Franco]

Originally Posted by Waltz Mastering

Mix just had a feature on controllers:
Monitor Controllers | Mix Round Up of Monitor Controllers Available in 2010

Pdf at the bottom to see what's out there.

The .pdf says that the Crane Song Avocet doesn't do mono, it does.

[Cellotron]

Originally Posted by dcollins

I just looked at that and it seems like there is only hi-end stuff and junk available.


DC

I'd say the Coleman stuff (which is listed in that pdf) is well built and relatively reasonably priced.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[streetbeats]

Originally Posted by VasiliZaitsev

thanks to all thumbsup
For the moment - I found a used Presonus Central Station!
I thinks its a good compromise.

My Big Knob is no longer in use and now its for sale here in the Classifieds.

Wouldn't personally use one for critical application such as mastering.

[VasiliZaitsev]

Yes but it is a transitional solution for the next time and always better than a big knob. In addition, he is completely passive.
If I have mo money in a few months, I will certainly buy a Dangerous or Avocet.

[Waltz Mastering]

Originally Posted by dcollins

I just looked at that and it seems like there is only hi-end stuff and junk available.

I had just glanced over the article... lavatory reading. The Dangerous D-box , Coleman, and SPL wouldn't be to bad for mid price stuff ($1k -$1500).

Anything under that, probably wouldn't be worth looking into for the op.

Originally Posted by streetbeats

Wouldn't personally use one for critical application such as mastering.

+1 - The Central Station won't do you any favors.

[Andy Krehm]

Originally Posted by leftright

The presonus central station with controller is a solution for your budget.

It's passive and solid construction

PreSonus

Sorry but I cannot recommend the Presonus Central Station!

Now I will admit I bought one of the first ones made (2004/5) so they might be better now but I would never try another to find out.

My first 2 units broke (over a period of 6 months), luckily under warranty, but unluckily forcing me to find a work around while the units got replaced. I have a great dealer (Long & McQuades in Toronto) so they got replaced within a day.

When the 3rd one broke, I bought a Dangerous ST (current price is just under $2,000).

To our surprise, the sound of the audio in the room improved noticeably when we ditched the Presonus! I wasn't expecting that as I bought the "passive" line in the manual. What those early units did was to degrade the signal.

I had no idea what it was doing to the sound as our studio was rebuilt, the speakers were new and the Central Station was the first controller used in that room. Who could tell since everything sounded so much better in the new room but the Dangerous ST definitely took it to another level.

Funnily enough, the 3rd replacement Presonus unit I got became a secondary switcher for a couple of small speakers that I use and still works after all this time so maybe they did iron out the QC that first year! With this setup, I don't care about the purity of sound as the idea of these small speakers is to give me an idea of what the average person is listening to.

So what I learned is that you can't skimp on a controller if you really want to hear the sound of your room, gear and speakers!

[potscrubber]

Crookwood

Monitor Controller Overview

[leftright]

Originally Posted by Andy Krehm

Sorry but I cannot recommend the Presonus Central Station!

Now I will admit I bought one of the first ones made (2004/5) so they might be better now but I would never try another to find out.

My first 2 units broke (over a period of 6 months), luckily under warranty, but unluckily forcing me to find a work around while the units got replaced. I have a great dealer (Long & McQuades in Toronto) so they got replaced within a day.

When the 3rd one broke, I bought a Dangerous ST (current price is just under $2,000).

To our surprise, the sound of the audio in the room improved noticeably when we ditched the Presonus! I wasn't expecting that as I bought the "passive" line in the manual. What those early units did was to degrade the signal.

I had no idea what it was doing to the sound as our studio was rebuilt, the speakers were new and the Central Station was the first controller used in that room. Who could tell since everything sounded so much better in the new room but the Dangerous ST definitely took it to another level.

Funnily enough, the 3rd replacement Presonus unit I got became a secondary switcher for a couple of small speakers that I use and still works after all this time so maybe they did iron out the QC that first year! With this setup, I don't care about the purity of sound as the idea of these small speakers is to give me an idea of what the average person is listening to.

So what I learned is that you can't skimp on a controller if you really want to hear the sound of your room, gear and speakers!

You're probably right.. i don't know.. i never had this unit.. i'm very happy with my Avocet

But regarding the OP's budget, that's the only stuff in this range.. or?

regards

[Kris Bang Boom]

DBOX works well here as a DA and now and then for stems
no its no back bone or Dangerous master
but the switches are smooth and seamless
I run 2 AES ins and can bounce between with ease
for monitoring 2 digital outs from my DAW
and the monitors are easy to switch when I do between the
PMC to AVATONES
The downside is the monitor is not stepped and there are no numbers so I made my own,
but the summing and the summing trim out sound quite good and pleasing to the sound,
NO ms, no parallel,no routing so not really a mastering mixer
but not bad as a monitor/DA controller with summing.
Useful and well built.
2 cents
Kris