Audient Zen - High Resolution Analogue Console

[Elevteros]

As it is on the market someone here must have already bought/tried it!

[sound_music]

i'm really interested to hear from some actual users of this board! it's been on sale for months now: so someone who's been working on one please chime in with a detailed report!!!

[Ozzy]

Hey guys,

Thought I'd chime in as I recently put a Zen through its paces at my studio.

I currently have a Toft ATB32, which while I love, doesn't really fit my work flow as I need a console primarily for tracking and monitoring, then stem mixing 10-14 channels. I'm mainly using 16 channels of the Toft at a time, and the others are sitting gathering dust.

Garry Robson from SCV London was kind enough to bring a fully loaded (MicPre+Moving fader) Zen to me for demoing last Friday, and here are my thoughts on the critical elements for me. I am no expert reviewer, so please ask me questions if I've missed anything out.

(For the record, I am not currently affiliated with Audient, or SCV so this is a true user review)

First of all, The Zen looks much nicer and bigger in the flesh. One of concerns that my studio wouldn't look as 'credible' to untrained eyes with the Zen, but it really is a nice size and looked fantastic in place. While the knobs are fairly close together, I had no trouble easily changing things without knocking anything else. The angle of the Zen makes it so much more ergonomic, as everything can be reached and viewed accurately without standing up. I like the idea of that a lot as a guy who likes his seat!

As its got an internal fan-less power supply, powering up is simply plugging in a mains lead and flicking a switch. I found the switch is in a bit of an awkward place, as once the console is seated in furniture, it'll be pretty hard to reach, but obviously this is no show stopper.

The feel of the Zen as others have mentioned is absolutely stellar. Every knob and button feels solid and precise and the overall quality of construction is as good as any large format console I've worked on. The channel faders are so smooth and have just the right amount of resistance as not to feel either flimsy or sticky. The buss faders feel slightly lighter (I guess down to the fact there not motorised), but again feel smooth. I really appreciated the fact the master fader had no gain in hand, as I like to set it 0 and be done. The mute/solo/SIP buttons feel fantastic, and are well illuminated to see exactly what is going on.

I patched in my monitors and ran a handful of channels from my converters to the Zen and started to play. The first thing I as floored with is just how quite this thing is. My Control room is measured at NR10, so any signal noise on the monitoring chain is quite easily noticed. With all channels routed the the stereo buss, all faders at 0 and the monitor knob on full (which would be painfully loud; most of the time I had it at about 11oclock!) there was nothing. I mean no noise what so ever. It is easily the quietest console I've ever heard., and I as told that was due to not only the quality of the circuitry, but the oversized earthing inside. Kudos to Audient, this really blew me away! Sound reproduction was perfect to my ears, and I found the Zen to be very neutral at passing audio through.

I played with all the routing, bussing and cues etc and every worked as advertised. I found the Zen to be pretty easy to work on as each channel is very logically laid out. The only thing that took a few moments to get my head around was the direct out switch matrix, but after 30 seconds of reading up, this feature is most definitely welcomed! I loved the SIP feature, and appreciated the fact I could change the type of solo from the main panel without standing.

I ran some drum channels through the desk and engaged the buss comp on the master buss. I liked what I heard instantly! Its in the same ballpark as an SSL buss comp, but ever so slightly more coloured to my ears. The great thing is, you can really pull the charm out of the comp by smashing the mix, then blend it back in to the dry signal with the parallel knob. A very cool feature indeed, and Garry and I enjoyed what the comp was doing to the snare and tom decays when parallel compressing, without really affecting the initial transients of the drums. All of the buttons are silent switching too, so I didn't hear any “clicking” through my monitors when engaging something or soloing etc.

Overall, I was completely floored by the Zen. It had so many little touches that I've always wanted, yet none of the things I personally never use like tons of aux sends. I will no doubt miss a console EQ, but this gives me an excuse to build up a small selection of quality 500 series EQs, and make everyone of them work to its maximum potential.

I hope the Zen will be a permanent fixture at my place in the next month, I certainly didn't like seeing it leaving!



Oz

[GearHunter]

Very nice! Thanks for the review!

[aluman]

Thanks for your review, Oz.

Did you have the time to play with the automation?
I'm wondering how fast and reactive it is in comparaison with flying faders.
Is it possible to group or link faders?

[bukakabo]

Thanks for the review!

[George Necola]

he is now selling hsi toft.. that means?

ZEN?

[Ozzy]

No problem guys, glad it was of use.

Unfortunately I didn't get to try the automation as I don't have a midi interface installed at the studio. However, I hopefully will be installing a Zen perminantly so I will post back with how the auto works.

Originally Posted by George Necola

he is now selling hsi toft.. that means?

ZEN?

that's the plan

Oz

[Amstel]

Originally Posted by Ozzy

Hey guys,

Thought I'd chime in as I recently put a Zen through its paces at my studio.

I currently have a Toft ATB32, which while I love, doesn't really fit my work flow as I need a console primarily for tracking and monitoring, then stem mixing 10-14 channels. I'm mainly using 16 channels of the Toft at a time, and the others are sitting gathering dust.

Garry Robson from SCV London was kind enough to bring a fully loaded (MicPre+Moving fader) Zen to me for demoing last Friday, and here are my thoughts on the critical elements for me. I am no expert reviewer, so please ask me questions if I've missed anything out.

(For the record, I am not currently affiliated with Audient, or SCV so this is a true user review)

First of all, The Zen looks much nicer and bigger in the flesh. One of concerns that my studio wouldn't look as 'credible' to untrained eyes with the Zen, but it really is a nice size and looked fantastic in place. While the knobs are fairly close together, I had no trouble easily changing things without knocking anything else. The angle of the Zen makes it so much more ergonomic, as everything can be reached and viewed accurately without standing up. I like the idea of that a lot as a guy who likes his seat!

As its got an internal fan-less power supply, powering up is simply plugging in a mains lead and flicking a switch. I found the switch is in a bit of an awkward place, as once the console is seated in furniture, it'll be pretty hard to reach, but obviously this is no show stopper.

The feel of the Zen as others have mentioned is absolutely stellar. Every knob and button feels solid and precise and the overall quality of construction is as good as any large format console I've worked on. The channel faders are so smooth and have just the right amount of resistance as not to feel either flimsy or sticky. The buss faders feel slightly lighter (I guess down to the fact there not motorised), but again feel smooth. I really appreciated the fact the master fader had no gain in hand, as I like to set it 0 and be done. The mute/solo/SIP buttons feel fantastic, and are well illuminated to see exactly what is going on.

I patched in my monitors and ran a handful of channels from my converters to the Zen and started to play. The first thing I as floored with is just how quite this thing is. My Control room is measured at NR10, so any signal noise on the monitoring chain is quite easily noticed. With all channels routed the the stereo buss, all faders at 0 and the monitor knob on full (which would be painfully loud; most of the time I had it at about 11oclock!) there was nothing. I mean no noise what so ever. It is easily the quietest console I've ever heard., and I as told that was due to not only the quality of the circuitry, but the oversized earthing inside. Kudos to Audient, this really blew me away! Sound reproduction was perfect to my ears, and I found the Zen to be very neutral at passing audio through.

I played with all the routing, bussing and cues etc and every worked as advertised. I found the Zen to be pretty easy to work on as each channel is very logically laid out. The only thing that took a few moments to get my head around was the direct out switch matrix, but after 30 seconds of reading up, this feature is most definitely welcomed! I loved the SIP feature, and appreciated the fact I could change the type of solo from the main panel without standing.

I ran some drum channels through the desk and engaged the buss comp on the master buss. I liked what I heard instantly! Its in the same ballpark as an SSL buss comp, but ever so slightly more coloured to my ears. The great thing is, you can really pull the charm out of the comp by smashing the mix, then blend it back in to the dry signal with the parallel knob. A very cool feature indeed, and Garry and I enjoyed what the comp was doing to the snare and tom decays when parallel compressing, without really affecting the initial transients of the drums. All of the buttons are silent switching too, so I didn't hear any “clicking” through my monitors when engaging something or soloing etc.

Overall, I was completely floored by the Zen. It had so many little touches that I've always wanted, yet none of the things I personally never use like tons of aux sends. I will no doubt miss a console EQ, but this gives me an excuse to build up a small selection of quality 500 series EQs, and make everyone of them work to its maximum potential.

I hope the Zen will be a permanent fixture at my place in the next month, I certainly didn't like seeing it leaving!



Oz

''The first thing I as floored with is just how quite this thing is''.

[sound_music]

first off: thanks for the review ozzy, looking forward to more from current users; i'm considering one for myself in the near future.

the lack of eq is the only stumbling block for me at this point--but i'm considering outboard options... which brings me to this current thought i'd like to propose to the audient guys that posted earlier in the thread:

would you consider a version of the zen that could be purchased with your black series eqs and compressors built in? it would basically be an extended channel strip option. you would offer this version of the zen with X # of open slots, and the user could then mix and match your black series boxes to suit their needs.

you'd have to modify the console chassis, as i don't se any space for it presently, but i think this may be a future option worth considering. you'd sell alot more of those little black modules! (correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe your black series is proprietary. they aren't compatible with the 500 series rack kits or lunchboxes... hence you'd have a convenient new way of marketing and selling them.)

the zen is a great, modern design--exactly the direction i think consoles should be heading in the future: but you have to be able to accomodate those of us who need certain minimum requirements (eq on a channel strip for example) in the analog realm. it is, after all, an analog console right? think of it as something like your own proprietary version of the tree audio console... but one that was actually affordable! (and maybe better, because you have the built in DAW automation and so many other handy modern features.)

please consider, i'd be the first in line to purchase a zen with onboard eq and the option of a dynamics package. (and would gladly volunteer to be the guinea pig when you have a prototype to test )

ps - another thought: you could even offer 500 series spaces as an option. in that case i'm sure you sell even more of the consoles!

[Elevteros]

Thank you OZ for that very nice review!

[steve_flower]

Hi Sound_music.

We certainly think pairing a Zen with Black series modules is a very good combination! We have looked into the idea of a modular console, it is a very nice idea.

Some of the reasons why we decided against this for Zen:
- It would significantly increase the footprint of the console, which is designed for project studios, often tight on space.
- It significantly increases power supply requirements, for example to do some of the interesting things the black series does we would need ±48V rails.
- The cost of a console like this would be higher, even with no modules fitted.

If you're looking for on-board EQ, we have the ASP8024, though we don't currently have an automation package available for the console. Alternatively, getting some furniture made up to take a Zen and a rack of EQ right next to it is a nice ergonomic solution.

Let me know if you want any information. Emailing me is the best plan as I don't get too much time to be on here.

Thanks,

[steve_flower]

Enjoy your Zen Ozzy!

[Aisle 6]

I tried it out at my studio. The local reseller brought it around for me to try. I thought it sounded fantastic as I expected from using Audient products in the past.
I was however really disappointed with the automation integration. I could get the first 16 channels faders working, but could not bank to the next 16 and neither could the product expert. Hmmm!
The other thing that was really lame was that the automation did not differentiate between a channel fader and a VCA/Aux/group fader. You would need to lay out your DAW's mixer in a particular way so as to make it a productive workflow. This was on Pro Tools HD2 Accel running ver 8.
.....I wanted to love it.....I really did. : P

[steve_flower]

Hi Aisle 6,

Sorry to hear that Zen isn't right for you.

The banking around is not provided on the console as it is not a control surface. This prevents you from inadvertently shifting the automation data from one channel to another.

The manual provides details of ways that this can be set up within projects, to not get in the way of your work flow. It doesn't have to be setup as your first 16 faders, but a quick means of banking does not really make sense on Zen.

http://www.audient.com/audient/files...nual_v1.01.pdf

All the best,

[Ozzy]

Originally Posted by steve_flower

Enjoy your Zen Ozzy!

Thanks Steve, and thanks for calling me about the automation with Nuendo.

Originally Posted by Aisle 6

I tried it out at my studio. The local reseller brought it around for me to try. I thought it sounded fantastic as I expected from using Audient products in the past.
I was however really disappointed with the automation integration. I could get the first 16 channels faders working, but could not bank to the next 16 and neither could the product expert. Hmmm!
The other thing that was really lame was that the automation did not differentiate between a channel fader and a VCA/Aux/group fader. You would need to lay out your DAW's mixer in a particular way so as to make it a productive workflow. This was on Pro Tools HD2 Accel running ver 8.
.....I wanted to love it.....I really did. : P

The automation is for the analog faders. Its not a control surface where you can bank etc.

Think of it as a seperate automation system for the console, that uses 16 tracks of your DAW to store it, as apposed to a seperate PC built into the desk.

Having said that, some kind of fader control layer wouldve been a nice touch, but when I used to have my Mackie MC, I only ever used the transport sections, so it suits me perfectly.

Cheers,

Oz

[Aisle 6]

That makes more sense. The local rep had no idea then as he pitched it in the vein of a poor mans AWS900.

[sound_music]

Originally Posted by steve_flower

Hi Sound_music.

We certainly think pairing a Zen with Black series modules is a very good combination! We have looked into the idea of a modular console, it is a very nice idea.

Some of the reasons why we decided against this for Zen:
- It would significantly increase the footprint of the console, which is designed for project studios, often tight on space.
- It significantly increases power supply requirements, for example to do some of the interesting things the black series does we would need ±48V rails.
- The cost of a console like this would be higher, even with no modules fitted.

If you're looking for on-board EQ, we have the ASP8024, though we don't currently have an automation package available for the console. Alternatively, getting some furniture made up to take a Zen and a rack of EQ right next to it is a nice ergonomic solution.

Let me know if you want any information. Emailing me is the best plan as I don't get too much time to be on here.

Thanks,

hi steve, thanks for the explanation, makes sense. i realize this console is targeted at the project/home studio and you want to keep costs down, but it has certain attractive features a ASP/ACS boards don't have! i've already shot a few emails back and forth with luke about your other consoles, i love them... but i'm still waiting for something that's reasonably priced with automation/flying faders and possibly a dynamics package. so you see my dilemma with the audient boards--zen has the modern features i want, the ASP boards have the nice eq section i want, and neither offers an onboard dynamics package... (lol..this is the problem for manufacturers in 2009--the pro audio consumer wants EVERYTHING in one product, because everything is now possible! i know it's tough to please everybody... not trying to criticize audient. they make great products! but i think they are also well positioned to bring their "affordable" philosophy to the full featured "everything" console of the future...)

regarding the power requirements of this hypothetical modular zen console, (or some other future yet to be created name you will come up with if you ever decide to do it), you'd only need +48v rails if you offered the black pres as an option... correct? if so, don't offer black pres as an option. you already have nice preamps in your exsisting design--limit the additional options to EQ and dynamics--that's all anyone would ever be looking for in terms of extended packages anyway. make sense?

better, what about considering some sort of external power supply that would only be required for optional black module packages. you'd have some sort of seperate plug on the back of the console that related only to the empty slots; it would only carry power when connected to the external supply sold seperately with the black series module packages. i for one wouldn't mind an extra PSU in my rack or cached behind the console for the convenience of having optional analog eqs and compressors at my fingertips in channel strip format, integrated directly into the hub of my studio! would any others here second this notion?

[Ozzy]

Got my Zen today guys!

Exciting times, will post some pics when its all intalled and ready to go.

Oz

[GearHunter]

Did you hear Audient's doing a "Cash-for-Clunkers" scrappage trade-in deal!
UK Scrappage Deal

Here's the US version of the deal

[sound_music]

Originally Posted by Ozzy

Got my Zen today guys!

Exciting times, will post some pics when its all intalled and ready to go.

Oz

awesome, looking forward to your pics and comments!

[aluman]

I saw that SSl will release the X patch SSL X-Patch Insert Hardware Like Plug-ins
How would that interface with the Zen? Maybe a way to get some recall for the inserts.
Does Audient plan to release a similar product?
I'm still dreaming about a 32 faders version.
Imagine...32 analog moving faders for mixdown...and one or two things like the X patch...

[Chris Williams]

I was up at Ozzy's on Thursday helping to wire it in I must say It's a beautiful bit of kit and very easy to use. It looks great in place and is a real center piece.

The faders are rock solid, feel "real" and they seem to have good resolution.

Wasn't too much of a pain to wire in (if you discount female to female cable user error ;) ).

The routing is very well laid out, the buss comp bites really nicely and the added feature of being able to use it as outboard really opens the possibilities.

I've gotta work out how to make a poor man's version with my asp008 and bcfs lol

I know Ollie's been busy getting everything back in place as he has a session today so hopefully he'll drop by soon with some real world experience and hopefully some pictures :)

[GearHunter]

" A beautiful bit of kit..."That's an awesome quote and very English. Can I use it on my (very American) web-site? I'm a Zen dealer over here.

Now I need someone to say "Fab Gear!" :)

[andydeckstrous]

I have had the pleasure of using a zen for the last few weeks and have to say that I am very impressed with the sonics and routing flexibility of the console. For me the lack of eq and extremely clean audio path is ideal- have a range of eq's and dynamics that zen lets me easily integrate. The ability to parallel inserts on groups has been particularly useful, as has the wet dry balance on the bus comp. Have not spent much time with the comp over the mix bus yet, but have used repeatedly on a group- great to be able to use the external inputs to the comp.

The four aux sends and 2 stereo cues have also been perfect for me- currently running a pcm 60 and a pcm 70 plus a tc reverb 4000, so have currently got the pcm's off aux sends and the tc off a cue- purely being used as a mixing board with me and am limited on io, so perfectly happy bringing in the returns on the alternate input.

Biggest highlight for me is the audio quality- console sounds great! Automation also works well- no problems at all here! Also love the footprint- packs a lot of flexibility into a very small space. Only thing I would change is to have the ability to route the DAW inputs into the mix bus- only a small thing but would give me a bit more flexibility in the way I use my current set up. All in al a very flexible console that feels like the real thing when you are sat in front of it- particularly like the feel of the armrest and the fader plate- really solid!

Andy

[Ozzy]

Hi guys!

Ive been flat out with work, and simply havent had the time to upload all of the pics to photobucket etc etc. I promise Ill get on to it in the next few days, and post more about how its working out.

Have to say a HUGE shout out to Chris Williams, who put in a solid 13 hour day with me last thurday with no breaks, soldering the last few multicores and running all the cables. He was a great help, and it definately wouldnt all look so neat and tidy without him.

Will be back shortly with pics etc.

Oz

[Ozzy]

Hey guys,

The Zen is working out great for me so far.

The only problem I've had was the DM2000 patch on nuendo used for controlling the Zen doesn't seem to like my midi interface. Even with the Zen unplugged, every time I load even one instance of it nuendo goes really "laggy".

Currently I'm using the HUI patch which gives me control of just the 1st 8, but Audient are currently sorting this out, more to come on this very soon.



I've uploaded a few pics to show the install in case its of interest to anyone, apologies for the iphone pics...

[Faderjockey]

Looks nice.. I like the size of it.

[tapehiss]

when are they gonna make a 24 channel version??????????????

[aluman]

I bought mine last week.
For that money I don't think there's any competition.
It sounds clean (don't try to push it too hard), is well build and the faders are smooth (they don't match the labeling on faders in PT though).
The implementation of the busses is very nice and they each have they own inserts.
Very nice for bus compression.
I was told Audient doesn't plant to build 24 ch or 32 ch versions.
I would have prefer more faders but I had no choice, I needed a mixer now.