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Archive for the ‘New Products’ Category

Alesis debuted their newest budget-friendly interface at Musikmesse this year, the IO2 Express is a USB powered interface that will be sold for $99 at your local music retailer.

Some features:

• 24-bit recording
• 48V phantom power
• On both input channels: XLR, 1/4″ TRS, and 1/4″ TS
• Balanced 1/4″ outputs for speakers
• 1/4″ headphone output
• MIDI I/O

The IO2 will be shipped with Cubase LE and is expected to drop during the second quarter of 2010.

RME isn’t as popular in the US as it is in Europe , but the 22-channel Babyface might just change that.

The Babyface offers analog stereo I/O, SPIDF, ADAT, and MIDI I/O. The preamps are digitally controlled and the Babyface ships with TotalMix FX which provides some very common DSP effects – EQ, dynamics, delay, and reverb.

• TotalMix with DSP effects
• 192 kHz AD / DA converters
• Active jitter suppression
• 2 x Analog I/O
• 2 x Mic / Line preamps, digitally controlled
• 1 x Instrument input (alternate)
• 1 x Stereo headphone output
• 1 x ADAT I/O
• 1 x SPDIF I/O (optical instead of ADAT I/O)
• 1 x MIDI I/O
• 1 x USB 2.0

Perhaps the Apogee Duo and One will see some competition? I think so. Check out rme-audio.de for more info.

SPL announced a few things the other day at Musikmesse. Among them:

• RackPack 4: A smaller, more affordable version of their previous RackPack. Four spaces of awesomeness.
• Dual Band De-esser: A RackPack-friendly de-essing unit. It’s main feature is the fact that it reduces sibilance via phase and not compression like most other de-essers. Pricing and availability for both the RackPack 4 and Dual Band De-esser is TBA.
• SPL is also showing off M/S Master, a one-unit rackspace mid/side processor that’s designed to make mid/side routing much easier when it comes to mastering. Just like the above items, the M/S Master has no price or availability info yet.
• And last, but not least, SPL has announced Transpressor. Level independent compression and transient processing is the name of the game. Again, a single rackspace unit that contains all the familiar parameters and features (read: sidechain) that you would expect but on the SPL level. Pricing and availability TBA.

Check out spl.info for more info.

I wrote a little bit about the Numark X5 when Winter NAMM was going on, but since its being shown off at Musikmesse in Germany, it seems appropriate to talk about it once again.

The X5 is a heavy-duty looking two channel mixer modeled after their popular NS7 setup. If you read my post about the new Numark gear being shown at Winter NAMM, you’d also see the V7 which has been released. The X7 was made to be paired up with a set of V7 decks and would compliment them nicely. That being said, you’re free to use your turntables and other CD players with the X7, too.

Just like the NS7, the X7 has its own built-in 24-bit soundcard (the V7 has built-in soundcards, too). The outputs include balanced analog and SPIDF and coaxial digital outputs.

You can expect to see the X7 in the third quarter of this year at an American price to be determined.

Numark is showing off their new four channel club mixer, the M6USB. Some noticeable features:

• XLR or 1/4″ mic input
• Metering on every channel (including master)
• Balanced XLR outputs
• USB option for Channel 3: stream audio from your PC/Mac right through channel three. Or, if you don’t want to play music through your mixer you can just record to your computer
• Replaceable, assignable crossfader

Check out numark.com for pricing and availability.