For DA and monitoring whats better than central station?

[daillman]

i got my ad issues in order now i need quality da and flexible monitoring the central station looks very tempting but im wondering about the sound,what other choices do i have in that price range that compare feature wise?

[deuc647]

nothing, the central station is a passive unit so it doesnt color the sound, for the price i think its great, i was gonna get one and bought a remote for it but am ending up getting a console. They have all types of monitoring units like cranesong, colemon, hearback or is that the talkback..........

[sonnyblack2000]

the central station does color the sound and collapses some of the strereo imaging. The Cranesong Avocet is great but costly.

[phillysoulman]

Mackie Big Knob

[DSD_Mastering]

The Avocet is the best <$3k Unfortunately the Dangerous ST doesn't have a D/A, but other than that, it's a great controller.

Regards,
Bruce

[DivineMusic]

Originally Posted by sonnyblack2000

the central station does color the sound and collapses some of the strereo imaging. The Cranesong Avocet is great but costly.

to be honest the avocet colors the sound in a way too but for the price the central station is great.
personally i've never heard an issue with the stereo imaging collapsing at all...

[PT User]

Benchmark DAC-1, you cant beat it for under 800 bucks used. I'm surprised no one mentioned it.

[PT User]

Originally Posted by sonnyblack2000

the central station does color the sound and collapses some of the strereo imaging. The Cranesong Avocet is great but costly.

Im curious how does it color the sound if its passive??

[sonnyblack2000]

i m just talkin form my experience - u ll hear your sound shrinking thru the central station and the stereo becoming smaller. I dont know about the big knob altho I v e been told it was pretty much the same experience
Depends on your budget as well

[stilts27]

Originally Posted by sonnyblack2000

the central station does color the sound and collapses some of the strereo imaging. The Cranesong Avocet is great but costly.

I agree..not sure how they call it passive...been using one at work for a ever since it was released...

[stilts27]

and for a suggestion if money is tight - then the SM Pro Mpatch 2 is a good piece

[PettyCash]

Its either the Avocet, or the Central Station if you cant afford the Avocet yet.

[computa]

Dangerous D-Box $1399 Dangerous Music D-Box | Sweetwater.com

an awesome little piece. sounds great.

[kwilliams]

+1 on the Avocet...

Here's an alternative:
Welcome to colemanaudio.com

Grace designs is another that comes to mind.

Or the Dangerous Music D-Box:
Dangerous Music Introduces...
Cool unit with great quality monitoring section, analog summing and good onboard convertors.

All pretty pricey....your budget will be a big factor.

The Central Station (I had one) tends to have one channel fade earlier than the other when you turn down the levels very low. Do some research and you'll find a lot of information about this. The onboard converters are very brittle as well. From what I remember you couldn't select multiple inputs at the same time. You could only monitor one input source at a time.

Having said that, if you're limited by your budget...I would recommend the Central Station over the Mackie Big Knob which isn't passive and will definitely give you a "Mackie" sound.

[daillman]

Originally Posted by stilts27

and for a suggestion if money is tight - then the SM Pro Mpatch 2 is a good piece

yea but no da conversion onboard...stike

[Nahuel]

Spl have some high end "mastering" monitoring stations.

Sound Performance Lab – MMC 1

But also middle priced

Sound Performance Lab – Monitor & Talkback Controller MTC 2381

and "cheap" ones-

Sound Performance Lab &ndash; Volume2/Description

Never tried these products but it might have a better quality than a big knob or a central station, well you have to find mo info but I think it could be a nice alternative.

[jbuzz]

very happy with a monitor st here.

whats very improtant with a monitor controler is not onl the passive part but also the relais in the gain staging.

Cheaper units as the big knob and central station tend to loose imaging and to colour the sound at low levels because of the cheap vca´s in the signal path.

Monitor ST a HUGE upgrade from central station. And theres a da comming out soon.
Plus the remote loks very flashy for clients.

My mate has a avocet - and its dope to. the da is top notch and the remote has cool feature.

[daillman]

Originally Posted by jbuzz

very happy with a monitor st here.

whats very improtant with a monitor controler is not onl the passive part but also the relais in the gain staging.

Cheaper units as the big knob and central station tend to loose imaging and to colour the sound at low levels because of the cheap vca´s in the signal path.

Monitor ST a HUGE upgrade from central station. And theres a da comming out soon.
Plus the remote loks very flashy for clients.

My mate has a avocet - and its dope to. the da is top notch and the remote has cool feature.

but the thing about the box is that i need to have da capabilities as well..

[jbuzz]

Originally Posted by daillman

but the thing about the box is that i need to have da capabilities as well..

da with the cool feature of switching between 4 sources aes or spdif
Dangerous Products: D-BOX