Available for pre-order now, ships in October, $599: New Old Sound McONE Active ZenPro Edition

The New Old Sound McOne Active ZENPRO Edition is designed to be a desktop studio hub for all monitoring needs, delivering all the modern detail and nuances of your music as well as cue and talkback features, with a laid back vibe in appearance. A collaboration between Warren Dent (owner of ZenPro Audio) and Evgeny Klukin (owner of New Old Sound), we were able to combine popular feature requests with an elegant and modern design that is easy to use right out of the box. Each component, including Burr Brown amps, a high quality ALPS pot and smooth switches were carefully chosen based on function and sonics.

Simple Input Switching

3 stereo 1/4" balanced inputs (accepts unbalanced as well for CD players, iPods etc)

Simple Output Switching

3 stereo 1/4" balanced outputs for three dedicated sets of monitors

Sub Output

Subwoofer dedicated output (with separate off switch to check mixes without it)

Cue Feed

Artist monitor output to feed headphone monitoring system (separate source select, and carries talkback mic signal to artists)

Talkback Mic

Feeds the Cue output, while dimming the speaker outs by -17dB

Powerful Headphone Amp

Caution: Loud and clean audio ahead, for use in the control room to check mixes on headphones

Dim, Mono and Mute

Take full control over the stereo mix, and hear every last detail

Features

• Active balanced on all inputs and outputs
• Also accepts unbalanced signals from iPods, CD players, etc
• Clean, uncolored and detailed audio with uber flat response at all volumes
• Table top, ergonomic design is easy to reach for
• Cream color with black text is easy to read in dim lighting
• Wooden sides bring an old school vintage vibe to your DAW studio
• 3 Inputs, TRS 1/4” Balanced, Selectable for monitoring or CUE feed
• 3 Speaker Outputs, TRS 1/4” Balanced for multiple stereo pairs
• 1 Stereo Subwoofer Output, TRS 1/4” Balanced with on/off switch
• 1 Stereo CUE output, feed your artist headphone system with three inputs + talkback
• 1 Headphone output for control room / engineer
• Talkback microphone with talkback gain trim access on bottom of unit
• Volume pot, high quality ALPS
• Headphone amp volume control
• MONO summing for checking mixes, affects 3 speaker outs and subwoofer
• DIM function, -17dB value (engages during talkback)
• MUTE function
• Power switch with soft amber glow LED indicator
• Universal power supply, auto sensing (standard IEC 3 prong)

Specifications

• INPUT: Maximum Input Level +26dBU
• OUTPUT: Maximum Output Level before clipping +29dBU
• SIGNAL TO NOISE RATIO: @ 0dBu unity gain 120dB
• CROSSTALK: L/R @ 1kHz -105dBu
• THD & NOISE: unity gain +24dBu input .005%
• FREQUENCY RESPONSE: 20Hz*20kHz +/* 0.3dB
• DIMENSIONS: 10.25”W x 6”D x 3.25”H
• WEIGHT: 3.55 LBS (1.6 KG)
• POWER REQUIREMENTS: 12-18V @ 1000mA

Manual / User Guide (pdf)

This looks great!

Months of back and forth with prototypes since January 1st of this year, I can tell you it sounds great too and tests out as clean as anything (cleaner really) that comes through here as a monitor controller.

I waited until the factory was in production to announce it too, they are being built already so I feel confident on our announced ship date.

Sweet!

I currently have the the original Mc One and have been using it for the past 3 years. It's been nothing short of excellent for the price.

However, the new version looks even better but unfortunately I will have to pass on this as I have just upgraded my monitor controller.

I really hope this does very well. Evgeny is a great guy and was so helpful when I dealt with him. He deserves all the success he can get.

Hats off to ZenPro Audio for the collaboration.

I hope this is as good as it seems...price appears to be very reasonable as well. Talkback, sub out, mono sum, clean headphone amp, clean monitor path...all essentials that pretty much can't be had at a reasonable price if you're expecting high quality. Also a bonus that it looks effing sweet.

The unit pictured is the final build / third prototype we received since starting down this path on January 1st this year. We also test all monitor controllers internally for detail, clarity, bandwidth etc. I can tell you that this unit hangs with all the expensive stuff in detail and bandwidth, but I am biased about the looks and feature set as I was able to personally choose those things!

Evgeny is the guy who got the design and manufacture right, and has knocked this one out of the park.

This is not a limited edition thing either, but a new product we can continue to order and stock. It is our first official "ZenPro Edition" although I have had other companies make special models of other gear in the past.

FYI the included power supply is universal, so international customers are not ignored here.

Does volume knob have detects?~sorry, didn't notice that in the specs

No, it is not detented but a very smooth, high quality ALPS pot.

The detented passive McOne we sell is about 10% as popular as the standard version so we went without detents.

I'm always interested in the quality of headphone amp as I do a fair bit of work on them. Can you say anything about that?

I'm sure the last thing you want is a feature request on a brand new product,,,, but is there any plans or would you guys consider doing a version with a breakout cable. A breakout cable would keep the desk more or less cable free (as there would be just that one) and allow different connection configurations like XLRs.

I mean to take anything away from the design as it is. I can tell you did a great job at keeping prices down and quality up.

The headphone amp blew me away on volume first of all, I mean I was really taken back how stout it was. I do need to get exact specs on the output etc for that, but I would think any pair of cans on the planet will easily be driven by this unit.

No changes will be made to the design like that, hope that's not a deal breaker for you. Most desktop units you do see the cables.

This thing looks great! Unfortunately, there is something missing for my workflow - ability to calibrate outputs to listen all monitors at the same volume. Also I'd like to have bigger buttons like on Presonus unit. Anyway, this one is awesome! Congratulations!

All sounds great, definitely on my list, thanks Warren!

Hi, all active speakers have volume controls on board so it's always possible to achieve balance when needed!

We have sold tons of the passive versions of this unit for example, and it's just a straight through device with no active trims etc. I suspect people just tweak on the rear of their speakers when needed to accomplish this goal.

Hi Warren,

so "ZenPro Edition" means that this one will be exclusively available at your shop ?
No way to get the same good price here in europe ?

Looks great btw

Hi Helge, yes we designed and invested in the entire manufacturing process on this product as an exclusive ZenPro Edition. However, our USPS ship options are quite good so it won't cost much to ship to you. Between that and the universal power supply, it doesn't matter where on earth you are!

War

Hey War!
I know the answer to this already, but would you say this thing is better in terms of true sound to something like the Central Station? I've used mine for years, and while I do like it, and it has a ton of useful features, it constantly seems to act up here and there. I generally don't hear a big audio difference (although many claim to), so I'm just curious. I'd be giving up some features, but the reliability seems nice.

Maybe in the future you could do a Zen Pro Central Station! I'd pay a few hundred extra to have all the features in that thing and have it be more reliable as well

Hey Sam, I am sorry to report that the Central Station actually comes in dead last for clarity and balance in our internal tests. I'm not saying it's not useful and a great box! But speaking to the actual delivery of audio, the only fair thing I can say is that it stands in the way of your sound more than other devices.

The McONE Active tests out as clean or cleaner than all of the top controllers regardless of price, we took a lot of time to make that the top focus.

This is good news. Seems like that guy might now be at the top of my list when the old CS finally craps the bed. That or the McTwo

Is this a limited run?
I have to grab one immediately!

I use the original Mcone.

I always thought there was one missing feature for me - on the Avocet
you can select the Left speaker output or right speaker output independently.

I wish they had included this on the new model. Looks really cool though..

I really like what you did. Even though I prefer having XLR I could definitely see getting this if / when I change things up.

TRS is a great connection and space saver so, made sense in this design.

Great feature! But prefer it in black.

Im curious how it holds up against the Drawmer MC2.1. Looks like its going for that marked segment:
The Drawmer is $599, The McOne Active is $499 introductory Price in October, $599 after.

The sonics of this unit were the first priority, and we tested against all popular monitor controllers. The McOne Active is every bit as clean as any of the expensive stuff (we keep internal tests of each unit that passes through here). I can assure you every detail is passed along, and the unit is extremely flat in response.

Its feature set and price point is unique, we're not trying to be exactly like anything else on the market and want to meet the most needs as possible with this single unit.

The response so far has been true love.

I also think the black finish would be even more attractive, especially with the switches of the passive version instead of buttons. A connection on the front for the headphone would also be great.

But it seems to be an incredible product!

Black is pretty safe for sure, I personally came up with the cream idea and provided the hex code to New Old Sound to make it look exactly like I wanted. I also wanted to differentiate its appearance from the passive units that have been on the market for a while now.

It is even sweeter looking in person.