Audient Zen - High Resolution Analogue Console

[tapehiss]

Originally Posted by 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.

congrats on the console man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sounds like a great unit..

bummer though on not making 24/32 channel versions... i think they would sell more..... and the wouldn't even need to do any research and development because the units are already made, just get a bigger frame and put some channels in it...

[GearHunter]

Congrats on going Zen...

Time to get some studios here in the states to get on-board! C'mon USA, let's get Zen-ified!

[mr100]

I got my Zen about six or seven weeks ago and I emailed some thoughts on it for Audient and SCV (UK Distributors). They had been in touch to make sure I was happy, and I got a little long winded in my email response, so forgive the length, but I am very happy with my new console...

I'm also not currently affiliated with Audient or SCV. In fact, I saw Ozzy's review back in November and called up Garry at SCV and started the ball rolling... and man, I'm glad I did. I'd been looking around for a new console so this is an honest end user review from six or so weeks of use. It's a bit of a glowing review, but it is a great console for my needs and workflow. I'm typically mixing to 14-16 stems with outboard, grouping and submixing drums, guitars etc in PT with key tracks like lead vocals, bass, snare etc getting their own track, so the Zen is very suited to my style of work.

Anyway here's my email I sent over to Audient and as always, YMMV

Here's some thoughts on my Zen...

Simply put, it's fantastic. Solid construction, great design, incredible routing options, amazing feel... and the sound? Well, I'll get to that in a minute

I really loved my previous console and had mixed and tracked with it for over three years, so I had a pretty high threshold set for the Zen. In fact, I'd been looking at new consoles for some time as I needed more automation and more clarity/headroom. My older console had a loverly colour, but it didn't work for everything and with the variety of mix work that I was doing and the timescales I was working with, I knew it was time for a change.

Now, I'm a console guy for many reasons... the biggest one being the way a mix sounds when it comes 'out of the box' and hits my hardware outboard... something a little magical happens to a mix that I don't feel in the same way with just plugins and my DAW's mix bus. Beyond that though, the routing options for tracking/mixing and latency free monitoring for artists are VERY important to me and my workflow. Summing boxes are great, but they're just not my vibe... I want auxes, inserts, cue mixes, multiple outputs for my main monitors and my nasty little speakers that I check mixes on, groups, and most importantly, faders! And I want some level of recall and automation as well. And I don't want to pay for or have to maintain a giant console. And did I mention cost? Budgets just ain't what they used to be! Oh and I want talkback too... and maybe even some stuff I haven't realised I NEED yet

Yep, I'm picky. You kinda have to be in this industry.

So I needed all of that.

And man, the Zen IS all that. Did you guys design it for me?!

The Zen is a killer for routing... all of the direct out possibilities offer so much versatility when you're throwing outboard on a track during recording. I have quite a few flavours of Mic pres available and it's a cinch to work with those with the Zen and preserve a pristine signal path straight to my A/D converters when I want to, while retaining the ability to monitor without any latency. The way that the cue bus doubles as an alternate input at mixdown is brilliant as well making parallel compression and FX so, so easy. Of course, the summing function on the subgroups makes even more audio trickery possible and it's all in a package that is small enough for my mix room while still having that 'console' visual impact when artists come into the studio.

The layout is intuitive and after the first day or so of mixing I was reaching for stuff pretty automatically, even in my uber dark control room One of the best things is that I keep finding cool functions that just make sense in a new hybrid mixing environment. It's so easy to work with my DAW, multiple monitors, inserts, alternate 2 track sources etc... In fact, the i-Jack is one of those things I've always needed, but just never had. Artists are always wanting to play me something from their iPod/iPhone/laptop etc and I had to find some cables, disconnect a 2 track return, patch it in, set levels yadda yadda, so we usually just listened through the laptop speakers... yeah, yeah, lazy I know, but it really breaks up the flow of a session when all of that happens to simply hear the snare drum sound on somebody's favourite track through the speakers in the control room. It's not a big thing, but the i-Jack is just one of those thoughtful and simple things that makes the Zen great... and if you like i-Jack, you'll love the rest of the more important routing/input/output/insert options!

The automation works great with my DAW after sorting out a small bug in the current version of my DAW. And to be fair, that had nothing to do with Audient, but Steve from Audient was very helpful with support while I narrowed it down and sorted it out. The transport control is fantastic as well, working from day one, no problems, and exactly as I expected it to, no surprises.

Okay so there are a few cons... I wish the Zen had EQs on every channel, but the great price means I can add to my outboard EQ collection in flavours I like for different things. And I'd love a few FX returns, but to be honest, the alternate inputs on the stereo cues have worked fine for all that I needed on that front so far, including some fairly track/automation heavy label mixes.

So all in all, pretty minor cons

Oh and the sound? Clarity, width, depth. Those are the three things that hit me immediately. Loads of headroom and plenty of punch, with all of that separation and stereo space that I wanted. Not only do the mixes I've done on the Zen feel wider in a stereo sense, they feel deeper in a back to front sense. It's great! The Zen isn't a super 'colour' console, but I can add colour pretty easily with my outboard and after a few years with a console that had plenty of colour, I found it limiting at times as I worked on different projects. The Zen is more of a clear, but punchy platform to build great mixes on with plenty of width and depth that you can shape to your own auditory design... and that's a very, very good thing.

I have to mention the onboard bus comp as well... it's incredible. I've got some great compressors in my racks including the usual suspects from API, Empirical Labs, Tube Tech, Urei etc and this one sits right up there with them. Great transient handling and response and loads of punch and thickness, plus it's easy to patch elsewhere on your mix if you don't want it on your master bus as it has external outs and ins, which are of course easily selectable from a button on the console-genius! The built in parallel blend is another great feature and a something I wish I had on every compressor I owned.

I haven't yet done a full tracking session with the Zen as I've been busy mixing, so I can't comment at length on the Mic pres... and to be honest I really bought the Zen for everything but the mic pres as I have plenty of great preamps already. But I did use one for a songwriting session last week with an artist where we simply threw a handheld condenser mic up to capture the ideas for his upcoming album (an Audix VX10 for the mic freaks amongst us). I didn't want to patch in one of my outboard pres, so we went straight into the Zen pre and recorded the ideas without much fanfare. However, when we listened back to the tracks of him singing and playing the song ideas on an acoustic with the mic just stuck up in front of him, we both were pretty stunned at how good it sounded. So much so, that I now have no reservations at all about using the Zen pres on anything and they'll definitely feature in my next tracking setup... The Zen pre sounded clear, punchy and sweet. Yep, there's that description again, but I can't seem to find better words to articulate what is a very subjective thing. Not super coloured, but just great. Really great. And I have plenty of colour already... too much sometimes if you know what I mean.

Not bad for a bonus feature to me originally! Bottom line, if you can't track a great record just using the Zen mic pres, the problem ain't the Zen

So I've written way too much, but the Zen really is that great... but I'll close with two very satisfying moments that the Zen brought me:

1. Finishing up a big mix by automating the vocal with no displays on... just riding the vocal fader and listening like I used to do when I first started making records. Nice, eh? But it gets better... when I played the mix back and realised that the keys needed a touch of high end, I just tweaked the RND eqs I had patched in, and watched my automation play back on the reprint of the mix, vocal fader whipping up and down, and all of it after my hardware compressor insert, instead of into my hardware compressor from my DAW as I've been doing for the past three years. And ALL of that without looking at a screen or touching a mouse or a keyboard. Bliss.

2. Sending an approval copy of version 1 of a mix off to a record label super late or super early depending on how you see the world and waking up again early or late (again depending on how you see the world) to an email from the label that said "you've nailed it!" on version 1. That almost never happens on a label mix nowadays, but that's another topic altogether. They also mentioned 'really loving the depth' but we've been over that already

I'm really happy with my whole Zen experience. Everything's been great... wonderful pre purchase support from my dealer Alex at Mediaspec, the distributor Garry at SCV, and the team at Audient. Plenty of support and availability during installation/commissioning from the same people, and an absolutely amazing and affordable console with great routing, features and most importantly, a sonic signature that really suits me at home in my studio zero:hour on the north coast of Northern Ireland.

You can't really ask for more, eh?

Tre

[Glenn Bucci]

The Zen looks really nice. If I went this direction, I would also get a rack of Audient EQ's. Black EQ - Audient They received high praise at Sound on Sound with their review. "I soon found that I could do everything I needed to polish individual sources or complete tracks with surprising ease". Audient Black Series

[mr100]

Originally Posted by Glenn Bucci

If I went this direction, I would also get a rack of Audient EQ's.

Yeah, that's my plan! You can really mix and match your flavours with the Zen with comps and eqs... or you could go all of one eq and create that sonic 'flavour' as well. Pretty cool.

Tre

[rolo95]

Ozzy
you got a pair of ASP8's....

Love those!!!!

( the ZEN Indeed )

[aluman]

I own a Zen since 2 weeks. I've been very busy on a project and I'm really happy with the desk. It sounds clean if not pushed too hard and has a lot of routing options. The compressor is also quite nice and can be quite nasty with a low treshold. The parallel knob is really great. I though I would use one of my outboards units for stereo buss but in fact this compressor has his own character and gives this console a "sound", like the ssl comp is part of the sound of a ssl desk.
However the automation is not working properly for the moment.
I just lost my time trying to make it work but it's very erratic and doesn't respond well. Some faders get suddenly blocked, one pass is ok, then the next one fader 3 moves 2 db down, then another fader losts control... I don't know.. I'm quite disappointed.
When I first tested the Zen, I was a little bit concerned about the fact that the labels on the console's faders were not following the faders scale in PT or LogicPro. But it wasn't really a problem because you can just hide the Zen automated tracks on the DAW and work as with a proper automation system: mostly in touch mode with sometimes some trim, without even looking at the screen.
Well, that's what I was expecting but it doesn't work as expected for the moment.
Maybe that's a midi problem.. the amt8 is connected directly to the mac, it should work ok. I don't know...

[steve_flower]

Hi aluman,

Sorry to hear you're having some problems with the automation system. Could you please email me and we'll do our best to get you up and running A.S.A.P.

All the best,

[Ozzy]

Originally Posted by rolo95

Ozzy
you got a pair of ASP8's....

Love those!!!!

( the ZEN Indeed )

Cheers man!

Yeah I like the ASP8s. Sound good in the room.

Oz

[Reggmail]

Congratulations on your Zen board, it's a very impressive looking board.
OK, I hope I'm not asking to much for someone to please post a video, showing a audio mix with the Zen in operation, with the most fascinating part about the Zen in your opinion.
Please, use any DAW software but ProTools....Lol
& blessings.

[aluman]

Originally Posted by steve_flower

Hi aluman,

Sorry to hear you're having some problems with the automation system. Could you please email me and we'll do our best to get you up and running A.S.A.P.

All the best,

I will email you today.

Thank you!

[davode]

Originally Posted by steve_flower

First off the console will be available in 16 or 32 channel frame sizes. Mic pres and moving fader automation are optional.

I read some people saying there won't be a 32 ch. version but in the begining Steve Flowers said they are going to make a 32 ch. Version. Can someone chime in and let me know if there is going go be a 32 ch. zen or not?

[tapehiss]

it is a bummer, but they aren't going to be doing the 32...

i contacted their r&d and got a reply saying that the asp8024 is what's available for those wanting 24 or more channels....

for those wanting 16 can get the zen.... and they have the new 8 fader dual layer daw desk....


i really think they missed a big market with the zen by not making it expandable..........

well, i guess a big market as far as console sales go....

which is like 20 a year?????

[davode]

Well that just sucks!! I use a Radar24 and would like a console 24-32ch. with automation thats under $25,000. : ( this would have been perfect for me, oh-well, still waiting.........

[svenkenobi]

i have the zen since 1 week ,
but i have a problem with the automation in cakewalk sonar 8.5 there is no HUI protocol,
but i can use the makie control in sonar .
the cakewalk suports tell me thats the HUI and the makie control
is the same..
but it dont work

and in the zen manual i can read this :" by the ZENUDU UPDATE Application
further details see on the Audient - Analogue Signal Processing

but there is nothing on the audent webside
???

where can i find the zenudu software?

does someone knows a way to use the transport and faderautomation with cakewalk sonar?

thx
sven

[AudioWarehouse]

Hey Sven ,

Contact Audient Direct .

Call Steve Flowers who is a gentleman. I'm sure he'll help you work through your problem with minimum fuss.

Contact - Audient

We're Audient's Irish distributor and have had nothing but positive experiences with them.

Best of Luck.

Paul Brewer.

[AudioWarehouse]

Ah ! I see Steve has already posted in this thread !

[TornadoTed]

I would give this serious consideration as it seems like a great product but 16 channels just isn't enough for me. When I'm tracking I nearly always have over 16 sources and like to have a fader at hand for all of them. Plus if you are going to do panning and volume in the analogue domain on the desk 16 channels is too small and once you start sub mixing then IMHO you may as well mix ITB!

Another vote for a 24 or 32 channel Zen.

[Caminitia15]

10 pages of ranting on this board and not a single mention of the quality of the preamps - aside from someone saying they are clean! OK. Got it. That could not be more vague. Are they grace clean or actually useable clean? Could SOMEONE give me a better description of the preamps and post some raw wav files?

[Ozzy]

Well they're the same pres that are in all the outboard; mico, ASP008 etc. Should be plenty of reviews on here for them of you do a search.

A fellow slut and I recently did a shoot out of my pres on a reamp session, then reamped some drums through a monitor, miced it up and compared the pres.

The Audient pre's were shockingly good and sounded similar to a 312A, but without some of the "push" that I expect comes from the transfos.

They absolutely stand up to 312s, and all the other pres I have/ have had in terms of "hi-end quality of sound".They are most definitely clean, but dont sound boring, have a very wide response. They sound huge and I would be quite happy to track on just them (as long as I had some charatcter eqs/ comps to track through also).

Hope thats some help!

Oz

[Ozzy]

Hi all,

Ive just knocked up some basic recall sheets that fit on an A4 page. One for 8 channels, the other for the master section (not inc monitor controls or cue sends).

PM me if you want a copy.

Oz

[jimmy3189]

I may be wanting those recall sheets soon.....


How are you getting on with the ZEN ozzy? Any news? I find it odd that there are no aux returns..... weird.

The rest seems pretty cool, which version did you get? The automation version with mic pre's?

[AntfoodW]

Hi All,

I have been reading this thread for a while (as well as any other material I can find about the Zen) and just ordered one earlier in the week from Vintage King.

Anyway, I wanted to ask how Ozzy and everyone else is using their Zen's.

I plan to use both logic and now PT9 with a 24 i/o ssl alphalink . i'll probably keep 1/2 in for printing back the mix (until i can afford a crane song hedd...) and 1/2 out available for DAW Mix. then the remainder of I/O I'm not sure how best to utilize. Does anyone have any tips or experience in terms of routing and automation decisions in the box that make working out of the box as efficient and flexible as possible? (I'm new to this!)

Currently I'm thinking about setting up tracking and mixing templates with dummy automation tracks, and i/o corresponding to 3-16 on the channel strips. and then 17-24 the first 8 of the "DAW I/P" for additional summing of ITB Buses and figuring out how to still have some patch points for the groups and bus compressor i/o. Anyway, hopefully it arrives early next week.

[Ozzy]

Originally Posted by jimmy3189

I may be wanting those recall sheets soon.....

No worries mate, pm me your email address and ill send you them. Same goes for anyone else wanting them.

Originally Posted by jimmy3189

How are you getting on with the ZEN ozzy? Any news? I find it odd that there are no aux returns..... weird.

No news I'm afraid, still love working on it, still regard it as one of the best pieces of equipment I've ever bought. I definitely have been doing more OTB and hybrid mixing since owning it, especially now I have a few nice pieces of outboard. No problems at all, no scratchy pots or graphics wearing of etc. Remember this is used for 10 hours probably on average 6 days a week, so reliability is excellent.

The one thing I hope Audient do (Are you reading this Steve?? :-) is write a new firmware update for the Zen so that if I'm mixing ITB, I can use the faders and mute as a controller, and use the 2 auxiliary buttons to bank through the DAW channels.

I thought the same on the FX return situation. I actually remember sending an email to Steve Flower at Audient an email asking him why they weren't on the console. However, in reality it hasn't bothered me (especially as I only have 1 outboard verb that I rarely use). The BEST thing about the Zen is how flexible the routing is on the channels and how you can use the inline features to great effect.

Originally Posted by jimmy3189

The rest seems pretty cool, which version did you get? The automation version with mic pre's?

Yup, fully loaded

Oz

[Ozzy]

Originally Posted by AntfoodW

Anyway, I wanted to ask how Ozzy and everyone else is using their Zen's.

I plan to use both logic and now PT9 with a 24 i/o ssl alphalink . i'll probably keep 1/2 in for printing back the mix (until i can afford a crane song hedd...) and 1/2 out available for DAW Mix. then the remainder of I/O I'm not sure how best to utilize. Does anyone have any tips or experience in terms of routing and automation decisions in the box that make working out of the box as efficient and flexible as possible? (I'm new to this!)

Currently I'm thinking about setting up tracking and mixing templates with dummy automation tracks, and i/o corresponding to 3-16 on the channel strips. and then 17-24 the first 8 of the "DAW I/P" for additional summing of ITB Buses and figuring out how to still have some patch points for the groups and bus compressor i/o. Anyway, hopefully it arrives early next week.

Im not sure why you'd not have channels 1&2 patched in? Your idea of using 1-16 lines, the another 8 Daw ins coming from the Alphalink would work fine. To be honest, I just always sum to 16 channels so I don't have to recall the cue section! I'm more than happy stemming to just 16 channels, but I know lots that what to sum in analogue on a channel for channel basis.

I had someone emailing me asking a similar question, so here is (part of) the reply i sent;

Ill try my best to explain how I use mine;

Sound Card Inputs;

Ch 1. Mic - outboard pre - line in - direct out - MOTU 1 - Nuendo
Ch 2. Mic - outboard pre - line in - direct out - MOTU 2 - Nuendo
Ch 3. Mic - outboard pre - line in - direct out - MOTU 3 - Nuendo
Ch 4. Mic - outboard pre - line in - direct out - MOTU 4 - Nuendo
Ch 5. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 5 - Nuendo
Ch 6. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 6 - Nuendo
Ch 7. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 7 - Nuendo
Ch 8. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 8 - Nuendo
Ch 9. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 9 - Nuendo
Ch 10. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 10 - Nuendo
Ch 11. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 11 - Nuendo
Ch 12. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU 12 - Nuendo
Ch 13. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU (2) 1 - Nuendo
Ch 14. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU (2) 2 - Nuendo
Ch 15. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU (2) 3 - Nuendo
Ch 16. Mic - mic in - direct out - MOTU (2) 4 - Nuendo
Group 1 out - MOTU (2) 5 - Nuendo
Group 2 out - MOTU (2) 6 - Nuendo
Group 3 L out - MOTU (2) 7 - Nuendo
Group 3 R out - MOTU (2) 8 - Nuendo
Group 4 L out - MOTU (2) 9 - Nuendo
Group 4 R out - MOTU (2) 10 - Nuendo
Master L out - MOTU (2) 11 - Nuendo
Master R out - MOTU (2) 12 - Nuendo

Sound Card Outputs;

Channels 1 -16 into DAW inputs
Channel 17/18 into DAW MIX inputs


With this setup, I record a microphone through the desk into Nuendo, and whilst tracking just monitor by a stereo mix coming in on channels 13/14 (for me). If I wanted to add more mics, Id connect the preamp to the line input, put the channel into "channel" mode via the direct out, then route the line i/P to a group. Alternatively you could route your preamp straight into your converter.

When I come to mix I have up to 16 channels of analog summing which (for me) is plenty. For and extreme example;

Ch1 - kick
Ch 2 - snare
Ch 3 - toms L
Ch 4- toms R
Ch 5 - OH L
Ch 6 - OH R
Ch 7 - Room mic L
Ch 8 -Room mic R
Ch 9 - Bass
Ch 10 - clean gtrs (or) keys L
Ch 11 - clean gtrs (or) keys R
Ch 12 - dist gtrs L
Ch 13 - dist gtrs R
Ch 14 - Lead vox
Ch 15 - BVs and FX
Ch16 - BVs and FX

However, you can submix however you want in Logic, then bring out the stems onto as many or as few channels as possible. If you wanted more than 16, you can route extra signals from your sound card into the channel like inputs and use the Cue Mix controls as a second input (pseudo in line).

I print the mix back into Nuendo (as my master L and R is connected to my soundcard).

I hope this helps, I recomend downloading the manual and reading up on how the Zen would integrate into your setup. Although it only has 16 channels, its extremely flexible, and I dont find it limiting at all.

Good luck!

Kind regards,

Oz

[AntfoodW]

Ozzy,

Thanks for the detailed response. It is very helpful and I'm also downloading the manual now to have a better understanding of how I should(or can) hook everything up.

I didn't mean i wouldnt connect 1/2 to the patchbay - but rather I think I'd have the out 1/2 normal to the daw mix input on the Zen and in 1/2 normal to the mix out of the zen, rather that channel 1/2 or 17/18 (daw input 1/2).

I like your idea of using the 16 daw inputs for summing and doing all panning and level automation in the box. I imagine this is probably the best for my set up to not have to recall everything on a channel that is not automated. I also do all my reverb and delay sends ITB so for now that should be fine.

I checked out your site and the studio looks great! Nice work, also the boat studio looks like a lot of fun!

[Ozzy]

Thanks mate, its getting there!

The ship is pretty sweet, Im doing an album there next month which should be fun. The live room is pretty incredible, the pics don't do it justice.

In regards to the DAW IPs, remember you can press the DAW button on the channel which routes the DAW IP to the main fader so you can do levels and pans on that if you wish.

Oz

[Chuck B]

I just ordered a zen. Great thread. Thanks for all the info guys.

It always helps to hear real peoples opinion since 98% of all published gear reviews are resoundingly positive.

To those of you in usa, Do you remember how long after you ordered that your zen arrived?

[Ozzy]

Well done mate,

It really is a great piece of equipment. Post back your thoughts when you get it!

Oz

[jimmy3189]

Going down to Audient to pick ours up on monday! (Weather permitting)