Hello all,
The Zimbel Audio insert balancing kit has now been installed in
consoles in Toronto (2), New Jersey, Austin TX, Minneapolis, Montreal
and one has been sold to a buyer in Australia, who last I heard was
still too busy to install it. Consoles using it include Series 1, Elite,
Elite II and Elan II and response has been favorable from all buyers.
Interestingly, while many people were initially lukewarm about the idea
of a bypass switch, those who got them are now true believers. All cited
the ability to do in/out comparison on the 2-mix insert path without
leaving the sweet spot as a big plus.
In another application, in this case using the balanced output
version, we recently added 8 balanced tape sends to a rare, vintage SSI
(that's "Suburban Sound International", not those English blokes...)
SS-3 mixer. We are also in the process of balancing both the inputs and
the outputs of another vintage piece, the classic ITI MEP-230 parametric
equalizer. Yes, folks, per a previous discussion here, those units are
actually un-balanced on both the in and out. This work is actually
completed, and works perfectly, does not affect the original sound of
the unit in any way, but sadly, the Eq itself is being a bit cranky on
one channel so I'm not saying "it's done" just yet.
And finally, the big news is that I used a couple of the Balanced
o/p circuits to build a pair of interface boxes that take a 1/8" stereo
(eg: iPod) input and spit out XLR balanced +4dbu level. These boxes will
be used at the AES as the front end of the signal chain for list member
Steve Jackson's Pulse Techniques EQP-1A3 demos at booth #517. So, if you
are at the show, do drop by Steve's booth, bring an iPod (or Zoom, or
HHB, or whatever you have with some of your own tracks on it) plug it in
and have a listen to these fine Eq's. I imagine I may be hanging around
that booth a bit myself!
One more thing: While the balanced output card is a truly
phenomenal performer (flat from 9.5hz to 80Khz, +/- o/p levels matched
to within 0.01db, very quiet, sounds lovely), the one thing it will not
do is drive an unbalanced input gracefully (like PT HD, you have to lift
the (-) o/p, which I don't like) which is why I haven't been pushing it
very much. Well, this week I will be taking delivery of a batch of new
cards, fully compatible with the existing ZAP system, that use a THAT
Corp 1646 balanced line driver chip as its engine. These will happily
drive both balanced and unbalanced loads. I haven't priced these yet,
but they should be faster and less expensive to populate than the
existing balanced board so I am hoping for a target price of around $20
per board. I may have a sample or two in my pocket at AES.
All the best,
Ike
--
Ike Zimbel,
Zimbel Audio Productions Ltd.
Toronto
416-720-0887
"Studio House Calls". Authorized Warranty service for Allen& Heath, Clear-Com,
Drawmer, Soundcraft, SPL and Yamaha. Repairs and upgrades to analog audio equipment
including: AMEK, dbx, Neve, Neotek, MCI, Soundcraft and more.
www.zimbelaudio.com
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