There's been some wonderings about the sound of the Audient Black Series modules. Today I recieved a demo rack filled with pre's, eq's, dynamics and AD.

I ran some sounds thru the boxes. See attachments.

Gotto say they're pretty excellent. They have some cool features like "tube/dist" emulation on the mic-pre, "glo/overtone" on the eq, "overcomp and smooth" on the compressor.

They're definitely a bargain for 299 euro per module!!

Hey lindell.....

great, that you received such pieces for demoing......

I have been thinking of getting Audient's new Mic pre - Mico.....

How do you think overall quality of Audient ? Did you try HMX function in Black pre ?

Should I trust the brand ?

regards....

Excellent for the money.......


Yes, it ads some really cool distortion and "bigness" to the sound.

Sure....

Hey Lindell,

When you say excellent for the money what do you mean? They are cheap but are they something you would like to have in your rack?
How do they stack up against other things? I am most interested in the comps. Is there something you would say they are a good alternative to?
Cheers,
P.

I mean; for 299 euro, you won't get any better..... The compressor totally rocks.... Heavy and aggressive in "overcomp" mode. Think 1176 in 4button mode.... heh

Cool... I'll have to get a demo.

Cheers!

Thanks for your feedback lindell !

HMX rocks, tilt is very useful on the EQ. Glo is nice, but not as cool as HMX in my opinion.

The added overcomp mode is very cool, I agree with Lindell - very 'all-buttons' esque...

I have some files to post somewhere...I'll dig them out.
-T

Hey TRW.......how is your take on the quality of Audient ?

I hope its not in the same league of "Mid - priced" ones......because I am planning to buy Audients's new 2 channel pre Mico.....

If you share your experience with brand, it would help me......This would be my first pre......In Mico - HMX function is added / Varipahse too....

So pls share your true opinions about overall Audient.....

Thanks.....

I'm not blown away by the consoles but they are fine. This is why I hadn't even thought to demo the new stuff til now.

I think the Black stuff is really good.

I like the preamp, it has some size to it, and is smooth. Great on certain things...

The HMX function is worth it though anyway. As a line in device the black pre is good. I found it more entertaining than Duality/SSL VHD. However its more of a one trick pony, but very fattening. Great on synths. I think it would suit hip-hop guys looking to add some girth.

EQ is cool and quite tunable to be musical and somewhat surgical.
GLO is interesting but less 'apparent' to HMX from what I remember. It's a unique feature though, that should be listened to.

Comp was OK, great at aggressive squishy stuff, less amazing at subtle stuff, but I really liked it and didn't spend ages listening to it.

The MICO as I understand it, is the same preamp as the ASP008 or 8024 console, which is a non-transformer, non-completely discrete (the Black is TX/Transistor) hybrid design which uses low noise transistor input stage and integrated circuits - so cleaner and leaner than the Black preamp.

If you like that vibe - then the MICO should be a nice tool. HMX circuit is there to add COLOUR to the cleaner/leaner preamp - and believe me it WILL thicken it up and make more difference than going through the BLACK preamp transformers. It's pretty un-subtle. So you'll have a few distinct flavours in the one box.

The Vari-phase is useful too, plus it has pads, which a lot of other Audient products do not feature - a must for me personally.

Overall, MICO looks good and well thought out, plus I think they will expand the half rack range to add some other cool tools in a small package. I haven't used one yet...
-T

THANKS A LOT TRW for that detailed opinion......!!!Thank you....

Would you consider Audient mico as high end ?

If you can't make a nice sounding recording with the Mico - it won't be its fault.

Sure it won't sound like a 1073 or a GML but it should be nice. Open sounding, with good punch in the upper mids (that is the ASP008 pres - which I have used, should be similar/the same circuitry).

-T

Thanks T.....!

Nice Tobias! thumbsup That is indeed a good deal at funkyjunk, good time to check them out.

I heard some rumours that Audient is working on an adapter so you can fit 500 series modules into their black frames. Now that would be cool!

Good quality gear, definitely pro. Like TRW said it won't hold you back in making good recordings. Color is neutral, not adding as much mojo as Neve or Api but IMO this makes it more versatile too. I've used the asp008s on metal, dance and acoustic stuff and found them to be good allround preamps. For vocals i usualy prefer something more colored depending on the singer and mic.

Thanks a lot Tommy !

Yupp, they're coming out with a 500 adapter so you can fit any 500 module to the BlackRack.

Plus they're releasing a 4 module lunch box too....! thumbsup

Man, You almost know more than me!

Well, my head is like a big antenna! heh

LOL - the cat is outta the bag!...almost ;-)
-T

Found these for what its worth. Had more but they weren't so great! My bad, not the gear.

This will give you an indication of the obscene thickening available with HMX or the really interesting low end compression with the EQ...

Two different sounds.

1. Synth Bass with no processing

2. Then with HMX - I think 50 %, so is possible to set it be A LOT more subtle or A LOT more intense. Over the top in fact.

3. Then the EQ...couldn't be bothered to cut that day! Don't hate me if its mid heavy...LOL

+7.0dB @ 8kHz SHELF
+4.5dB @ 100Hz GLO & Overtone IN
+4.5dB @ 3kHz Broad Peak
+0.4dB @ 750Hz

-T

HMX...

EQ...

Anyone else taken one of these EQ's home for a test drive?

Are they sharp and aggressive, soft and round, clean and neutral? How are they at boosting?

I'd be curious how these would compare to the EQ's in our Neotek Console.

Is that for sure??? with the soon to come 500 adapter??
That would make me buy one. heh

any info welcome

We have a new flash demo page up so you can listen to the unique Black Series features.

Go to this page and click on the demo link.

Enjoy

im thinking about geting those black eqs.

would you also use them on a 2bus ?

I have used them on a drum submix and got some very good results. Tilt comes in very useful here, you can very quickly see if a tonal shift will work and then tweak it further with the four main bands.

The only control you may want to be careful using on a stereo bus is GLO as it is a dynamics stage. Otherwise it should work great!

(Of course I'm biased though!)

Steve,

any news on a 500 format adapter of some kind?