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Focusrite
Saffire FireWire interfa c e
My wants and needs in an aud i o int e r f ace today are very
s p e c i f i c. I work solo 90% of the time, so I ra r ely ever ne e d
mo r e than two analog inputs; these have to be XLR with
p h a n tom power. I want as small a de v i ce fo o t p r i nt as
possible since space in my re c o rd i n g den is pitifully small. I
l i k e quick connectivity and dislike wre s t l i ng with PCI card
i ns t a l l a t io n s (which will become even mo r e para mo u nt sinc e
I’m building a new small fo r m - f actor PC); a Fire W i r e 400
i nt e r f ace is just the tic k et in such situa t io ns. I want a simple
c o nt ro l - p a n el applet that doesn’t take up too much room on
my mo n i t o r. At least one MIDI port is re q u i re d. And I want
h a rdw a r e-based volume cont rol over both main mo n i t o r s
a nd he a d p ho ne s .
I’m pleased to say Focusrite’s S a f f i r ehas de l i v e r ed on all
of my basic re q u i re me nts and even added a few nic e t i es that
will no doubt ma k e it quite a compelling buy for othe r s . This
i nc l u des highly flexible output ro u t i n g and exc e l l e n t qua l i t y
DSP plug-ins for compre s s ion, EQ, guitar amp simu l a t io n ,
a nd re v e r b. Of particular note is the fold-back ro u t i n g for the
reverb which is a nice feature for cutting vocal tra c k s. The
S a f f i r e s t a n ds vertically and its fro n t panel is very logic a l l y
l a id-out and easy to re a d. Cons t r uc t i on quality looks and
feels solid. Ins t a l l a t ion was a 5-minute affa i r, and a re v ie w
of the quick start guide had me laying down a vocal tra c k
within 15 minu t e s.
O n e particularly nice feature of S a f f i r e ’ ss of t w a r e cont ro l
p a n el is its ability to “float” or “dock” so it’s always in the
fo re g ro u nd. Even though it is alre a d y compact in fully-open
mo de, you can also display it in a minimized state. I me nt io n
t h ese two attributes because after using cont r ol panels fo r
ma n y other de v ic e s , I’m happy that S a f f i r e ’s sof t w a r e has
a d dressed two pet peeves of mine: the cons t a n t back-and -
forth focus behavior between the cont r ol panel and the
re c o rd i n g applic a t i on, and panels that c a nfloat but are fixe d
in size and simply take up too much monitor real estate.
I have no plans at the mo me n t for mixing fo r
a ny t h i ng other than stereo output, but the S a f f i r e
p ro v ides eig h t outputs for mixing up to 7.1 fo r m at. As
me nt io n ed earlie r, one of its other useful attributes is an
ex t re m ely flexible output-mixing sche m e. You can pro v i de
up to three ind i v idua l l y - c o n f ig u r able output mixe s . This
b e c a me particularly useful when I had a frie n d come over
to play uprig ht bass as a live accompanime nt. We used
both of the two he a d p ho ne outs and we both had a
monitor mix tailored to our liking .
Now that I’ve ma de a case for why the S a f f i r e fits me
p e r f e c t l y, who else mig ht I envision as suited to its
c a p a b i l i t ies? One clear example would be the podc a s t e r
l o o k i n g for an elegant, all-in-one solution. The Fire W i r e
i nt e r face pro v ides ease of connectivity as well as
p o r t a b i l i t y. The two analog plus S/PDIF inputs will
h a ndle a couple of “talking heads” plus backg ro u nd
mu s i c. The fact that DSP effects can be applied to the
a nalog inputs me a n s no need for outboard compre s s io n .
T he output ro u t i ng flexibility gives each person a
monitor mix tailored to suit.
My only note of caution would be directed to tho s e
w a nt i n g total portability in a re m ote location using a
laptop computer. As with other Fire W i r e buss-powere d
de v ic e s , unless your laptop has a 6-pin Fire W i re port, you
can’t operate the S a f f i r e while on battery power. Focusrite
k i n dly inc l u des an ex t e r n al PSU for those whose laptops only
i nc l u de 4-pin (no n - p o w e red) conne c t o r s . All in all, the
S a f f i r e is an outstand i ng packa g e—very competitively
p r iced and as easy to work with as it ge t s . ($499 MSRP;
w w w. fo c u s r i t e. c o m )
–Rich Hardesty
Elemental Audio
I n s p e c t o r X L
D u r i n g one of my Record i ng Wo r k s h ops a few years ago ,
while I was talking about using an RTA (Real Time Ana l y z e r )
to check mixe s , a stude n t piped in that the r e was a fre e
plug-in online. So we do w n l o a d ed and activated Eleme nt a l
Aud io’s Inspector plug-in, and damn if it wasn’t a great little
he l p e r. Strapped across the mix buss or on a track being
re c o r de d , it gave us peak and avera g e levels, spectrum
a n alysis via the RTA, clipping count, and channel balanc e
i nd ic a t i on. All this was available in a small window and
t h ough he l p ful wasn’t the most “scie nt i f i c” way to exa m i n e
a ud i o. Now Eleme n tal has int ro duced I n s p e c t o r X L , a hu g e
step up from the free version. Basic a l l y, the plug-in has been
s e p a r ated into three main windo w s , plus a combo versio n
(M u l t i m e t e r) similar to the style of the free one. The
Spectrum Analyzeris an FFT ana l y z e r, spectra g ram, and third -
octave RTA, with an ama z i ng amo u n t of cont r ol for setting
peak and avera g e holds—super versatile for ge t t i n g a
p ic t u re on the fre q u e n cy balance of a mix. The Level Meter
display can be vertical or ho r i z o n tal; it’s big and inc l u de s
peak and avera g e levels, adjustable ho l d s , and mo r e. I use it
while mixing off tape into Pro Tools or to check levels within
P r o To o l s. (Why doesn’t PT have dB inc re me nts on the
meters?) The Stereo Analyzer p ro v i des some func t io n s I
d i dn’t quite get into using yet, such as a phase scope and
an M/S me t e r. You can save ma n y settings to use for future
a na l y s i s , and the re are variable alarm settings for overs and
s u ch. In use, I fo u n d this to be a great tool for exa m i n i n g
my mixe s . If you’ve never used an RTA befo r e, start out by
r u n n i n g comme rc ial CD’s that you know real well through the
Spectrum Ana l y z e r. Watch how the lows, mid s , and hig h s sit
on differe n t songs and albums. Then check out your own
m i xe s . You can do the same with the peak/avera ge me t e r i n g
—you’ll see how much closer the levels are to each other on
a ma s t e r ed CD than on an unma s t e r ed mix (usually!), and if
o n e is do i n g ma s t e r i n g, this kind of me t e r i ng is invalua b l e .
O v e r all, I n s p e c t o r X L is one of the most valuable plug-ins I’ve
c o m e across (I feel like I’ve barely touc hed the surface of
what it can do with this re v iew), and it’s worth every penny.
C h eck the website because I n s p e c t o r X L was on special fo r
$89 as I wrote this! It’s compatible with VST and RTAS on
both Mac and Windo w s , and AU on Ma c . ($219 MSRP;
w w w.elementalaudio.com) –LC
E-MU
PM5 Precision Monitor
My first tho u g ht upon powering up these compact
ne a r f ields was, “Wo w , these sound much big ger than
t hey look!” After spend i ng some time tra c k i ng and
m i x i ng through them, I’d have to say they give muc h
p r ic ier monitors a run for their mo ne y.
T hey are powerful enough to compleme nt mo s t
c o nt rol ro o ms, with a bi-amped 40W/40W power
s e c t ion, active cro s s o v e r, discrete Class-A input stage,
a nd MOSFET output stage s. As the na me implie s, the
bass driver is a 5’’ cone and the high fre q u e ncy dr i v e r
is a 1’’ soft do me. The cabinets are surprisingly he a v y
for the small size, ma g ne t i cally shie l de d, and inc l ude a
1’’ thick fro n t baffle. The y ’ re rated for high SPL’ s
( 1 0 3 dB), and the amplifiers have a very high sig na l -
t o - noise ra t io. Conne c t io n s are flexible with balanc e d
Neutrik and unbalanced RCA inputs.
I installed the pair in my cont rol room at Brig ht o n
S o u nd, which is admittedly a fa i r l y, uh, unique ro o m
to monitor in. Wo r k i ng within the room’s limitatio ns,
my ears have grown accustomed to the ra t her mu s hy
low end, and I’ve learned how to tra n slate that
e f f e c t i v e l y. But after ins t a l l i ng the P M 5’ s, I
i m me d iately realized that my low end issues in the
room were not ent i rely due to the room dime ns io n s; in
fact the P M 5’s of f e red me a much mo re fo c u s e d, less
muddy low end. In short, they seemed to compleme nt
my mo dest cont r ol room quite nic e l y. Kick dr u ms and
bass ins t r u me nts through the P M 5’s had a new clarity
in the low mids that really stood out, especially whe n
c o m p a red to my earlier ne a r f ields (powered Event
20/20’s). The sub bass fre q u e nc ies were somewhat lost
on the P M 5’ s, but I could easily see how the s e
monitors would work well with a good subwoof e r
system. E-MU’s companion PS12 subwoof e r,
a n no u nced in Ja nua r y, should be shipping soon.
W i t hout a subwoof e r, I was hard pressed to get a sens e
of what was really go i n g on below 60 Hz or so.
R e g a rd l e s s, the bass re s p o nse is surprisingly full and
deep despite the P M 5’s smallish cabine t .
T he high fre q u e ncy detail is really exc e p t io nal fo r
t he price point as well. Tra ns ie nts are clear and sharp,
w i t hout killing your ears after long sessio ns. Altho u g h
I didn’t no t i ce any substant ial ear fa t ig u e, my frie nd
R ich Good of the band Kings & Queens did say his ears
ra ng a bit the evening after we both spent a long da y
in fro nt of the P M 5’ s — maybe not ent i rely the P M 5’ s
fault as we were mo n i t o r i ng on the louder end of the
scale (sorry Rich!). The P M 5’s offer separate bass,
t re b l e, and input sensitivity cont rols on the rear of
each mo n i t o r, which can help you calibrate the
monitors for your specific ne e d s. I didn’t find my s e l f
re a c h i ng for tho s e, as the P M 5’s frankly seemed well-
b a l a nced rig ht out of the box .
All in all, I think I’ll be pic k i ng up a pair of the s e
monitors; they are well de s ig ne d, solid, and re s p o ns i v e
( not to me nt i on totally affo rdable at $500 street per
pair). Simply put, they ma k e my ears happy. To me,
this can only mean better sound s, better mixes and
h a p p ier clie nt s. ($699 pair MSRP; www. e m u . c o m )
–Dana Gumbiner, deathraymusic. c o m
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/Tape Op#52/Gear Reviews
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