Out of the Dangerous Monitor ST, Grace m905 and Avocet - I think the gear'slutiest' is the Dangerous since it offers so much / is flexible in so many situations.

What do you guys think?

Havent heard the other two. Very happy with my Avocet.

Mammoth cave audio has some nice ones. There are pics in the new products forum. They can also custom build for you.

bump for more feed back.

I can't imagine anything being much more transparent than the dangerous monitor st.

I haven't heard any of the others and I am not saying it's the best. I just cannot fathom anyone using a dangerous st and saying 'damn controller screwed my mix up'
It is so so so much better than any of the passive knobs I had before.

Happy owner of a Monitor ST here!
Completely transparent and very user friendly.

I like the Avocet but it's too expensive for me.

I'd prefer any of these, but without a DAC integrated. I'd personally rather just have a seperate no frills but high quality DAC.

I own the avocet ii and it really is worth every penny ! The clarity and depth of the audio coming back was mind blowing .

How about the Antelope Satori? I haven't heard one yet, but it seems to be designed to a high quality with relay-controlled volume attenuator. It has no DAC, and is thus priced much lower than the high-end competition, and there is a nice remote available. Grace also has an m905 analog-only model with a nice remote at a slightly higher cost.

Looks really nice, but I'd be ok without a remote. There's always a rack space within arms reach. Would also like to see a straight wire/trace stereo 'through' (when using for the output of a simple summing box going straight to A/D without repatching).

check out the SoundSkulptor MC624. Incredible Piece of gear imho!

Another vote for Dangerous ST

I was just in a mastering session last week with a Grammy award winning mastering engineer who unhooked his Avocet and is now using a Grace m905.

In short, he's didn't discuss the sound differences but seemed to enjoy all of the additional features, such as the routing options, sub options, and DB metering.

Wow, I haven't seen that, thank you! The MC624 has all the features I'm looking for, as does the Satori. In Canada, the price for the SoundSkulptor MC624 (assembled) is in the same ball park as the Antelope Satori. These two seem to be the least expensive monitor controllers with relay-controlled analog volume and 4 monitor outs. Has anybody had the chance to compare their sound quality?

I had an Avocet, then downsized to a coleman, then downsized another time to the MC624 (moneaywise, because i built mine myself). Downsizing because of selling the Studio and going back at homestudio. Soundwise the Soundskulptor is NO downsize to an avocet. (No side by side test, just my humble opinion).

Hi
The SoundsKulptor is a very sensible approach to monitoring as is a very good use of 'minimalism' in the number of amplifiers used while addressing a major disadvantage of 'passive' monitor control.
The output, coming from a 600 Ohm relay attenuator is MUCH better than a passive 'pot' design and at 600 Ohms is low enough impedance to feed sensibly short cables to monitors (keep below 30ft if possible)
The input impedance is reasonably high but beware that in some instances the maximum input can be a problem if it is monitoring gear with very high output capability. The likes of some Manley and TubeTech come to mind where a signal of +34dBu or more is possible. These are very minor comments about a piece of gear that is well priced and thought out.
Matt S

I've had the Grace m905 Analog for a week and I can confidently say it is FANTASTIC!! I did my research and compared it to the other top contenders: Crane Song Avocet II, Dangerous ST.

It sounds completely transparent and noise free.

I'm using all 3 analog inputs.. one is direct from my DAC (Antelope Orion) for mixing in the box without having to have my console turned on, the other is from the monitor out of my console(tracking and mixing through the console), the other is the stereo CUE out from my console which then goes out of the m905 into a Hearback for the musicians ears. I can listen in to the CUE mix or send my monitor mix to the musicians instead.

It has 3 speaker outs plus 2 subwoofer outs! None of the other controllers have that. I'm using one sub out as mono going to a Focal CMS and the other is going to my Avantone. This allows me to set speaker out 3 to send a mono signal to my single Avantone via the second sub out. Checking mono is as easy as just selecting speaker 3, no need to ALSO hit mono.

All speakers and subs can be balanced perfectly when switching between outs. For example I run the sub a little hotter with my NS10's by default than is needed with my Event Opals. And of course you can mute the sub manually or store it as on or off with each speaker preset.

The built in decibel meter is very handy. You can align the volume # to match the average decible level which I love because I'm now adjusting the volume based on the desired decibel level. All inputs and speaker outputs can be level matched so that switching between them is seamless as far as volume level.

I like the setting that automatically mutes Phones or Monitors depending on which you are listening to.

Overall I can't think of anything wrong with the m905.

Thank you for this small review.
Makes me want one... This one really has all the features I'd need also.

I'm sure the Grace is amazing. In my case, I'm running my Unity Audio Rock monitors out of my sub, which does the high-pass to the Rocks. So I only need one sub out, which I would use for my Avantone. So the Grace would be fine, as would the others you mentioned. In terms of cost, the Antelope Satori is the least expensive yet still having all the features I would like. Did you have a chance to compare the sound of the Grace vs. the Satori?

Unless I'm missing something I didn't think the Satori has a controller. That's why I didn't consider it.

The size, layout, display and functionality of the Grace controller is unmatched by the others IMO.

Also, I was a little skeptical but the Grace's headphone X-feed function works. My HD-600's definitely sound more like monitor imaging with X-feed turned on, instead of the normal hyper width headphone experience.

Actually, the Satori has a very nice controller. It came out a couple of weeks ago, and it's the reason I'm seriously considering the Satori. It has all the functionality I need, the price is great, I just haven't seen any reviews of the actual sound quality.

The controller is quite small, which I need with my limited deskspace:

Ok awesome, it's great that they came out with a controller, it really needed one! It looks pretty basic and I do like the display on the Grace but you know what your needs are. What I did that helped was to download the owners manuals to the ones I was considering and walk through the functions I knew I would need. Even the type of connections on the back was something I factored in. Good luck!

Thank you, and yes I've done all that. Maybe it's just too new, but I haven't seen any reviews of the actual sound of the Satori, or any comparisons to the current high-end standards. You've compared all the other ones I'm interested in, if you ever get a chance to listen to the Satori I would appreciate any comments.

By the way, the Satori comes with a Windows/Mac control program that seems quite useful as well, but I would prefer the controller.

I have had a Satori for a few months now and am very happy with it. I can't hear any difference between the direct outputs of my Neve 8816, and those outputs going through the Satori (Which I can't say for the previous monitor controller I was using). I'm very happy with it, and psyched that they introduced the new remote.

I have the Dangerous Monitor ST with DAC-ST expansion but I am strongly considering the Grace 905. I'm not a fan of D-Sub and I like the idea of the digital readout on the remote. I hear the DA is more pristine, which I assume would be more in line with my Prism DA in my ADA-8XR that I currently use to monitor in Pro Tools.

Are there ANY downsides to the Grace? Has anyone compared the DAC directly to anything else?

Very happy avocet user here...I'd like to try V2 but haven't had a chance, mostly interested in the differences of the DAC quality...Anyway, I have tried the Dangerous thingie and it's nice...Didn't find it any better or worse than the Aocet (at least for things I do). At the time purchasing mine, I also looked at the Grace thing but at that time I needed 3 pairs of monitors and the Grace only offered 2.

--

Thank you, I'm glad to hear that. Are you on Mac or PC, and did you have any of the USB problems mentioned in this thread?

That Grace remote does look really nice. I've read a lot of reviews about the Grace DAC, mostly on hifi forums, and it seems to be favorably compared to just about every high-end DAC out in the wild. In case you haven't seen it, here's an SOS review from July 2014:

Grace Design M905

Another happy Avocet (V2) user here. I monitor my DAW master output via AES and feel that the representation from the Avocet DAC is just perfect.