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Playback:digital files & CDs are played on Pro Tools LE, DATs on a Panasonic 3700 DAT machine. Digital sources feed a Benchmark DAC 1 for digital to analogue conversion. Gorgeous warm wide sounding convertor with amazing jitter rejection!Analogue tape is played back on a ATR 100 (1/2" & 1/4"), the de facto standard for mastering. |
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Processing:E.A.R. 825 valve EQ, 5 band passive mega Pultec type.E.A.R. 660 valve compressors, Fairchild but clean!. I've listened to all sorts of EQs & compressors and the E.A.R. stuff is just the best; wonderfully transparent and huge sounding. No competition. Maselec MEA-2 parametric EQ. Great transparent EQ for those times when you need to get medieval on its ass. Maselec 2012 peak limiter. I’m convinced that final limiting sounds so much better done with an excellent analogue unit rather that any digital system, either hardware or software. To me, the digital devices are crunchy, which is good for biscuits but not music. |
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Assembly:is in a Sadie 24.96 workstation, the real McCoy! The Sadie has a Digital Audio Denmark ADDA 2402 for analogue to digital & digital to analogue conversions. Not a particularly common convertor. I chose it by listening to all the serious contenders; it won by miles, especially for analogue to digital, which is the bit that gets on your CD!! |
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Monitoring:is on ATC scm50 monitors on Mana Acoustic stands I'm a huge ATC fan. For me they are the only system that I'll work on, the stands make a huge difference too. |
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& on the way.....all switching is passive. If no processing is applied to the signal it goes through no active components.Analogue signals are all run through Kimber PBJ cable. I avoid connectors wherever possible, but those that are used have been listened to, not all connectors sound OK!! Digital signals are all run through Kimber AGDL cable, which is ultra pure silver. Mains power utilises a high current Van den Hul cable into a Equitec balancing transformer. This splits the power across the live & neutral, so both run at 120 volts as opposed to the normal 240 volts on live & zero on neutral. The result is an ultra clean ground. Oddly enough other applications for balanced power are on hospital heart monitors & detectors in nuclear power stations (they both need a very low noise environment, it matters if they get it wrong!!). From there all mains cabling is again Kimber, utilising Russ Andrews noise filtered mains distribution blocks. Equipment stands are Russ Andrews Torlyte. An ultra light ultra rigid honeycomb construction, like an aircraft wing. Put your CD player on one, it'll sound much better (and I'm not joking!) Very few people in the pro-audio industry ever listen to the effect that these 'audiophile' tweaks have, but for those of us that have there is no turning back, the difference is simply stunning. This difference is something that will get onto your final CD, even just playing back your mix before any processing is done it's going to sound better at Tube Mastering than just about anywhere else. |
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