PreSonus Monitor Station Studio Control Center

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List Price: Price Unavailable
Sale Price: $299.95
Today's Bonus:

• Master volume control
• 3 stereo inputs w/ phono input
• 3 balanced 1/4" speaker outputs
• 4 headphone amplifiers w/ 1/4" jacks
• Talkback, mono, mute, variable dim

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Purchased this for a small home DJ setup that needed separate monitor level control from the main mix. It is well suited for the task, and setup was easy and not complicated. The controls provided are exactly what I needed.

The downside is that it has a lot of crosstalk. Even with all speakers turned off it still passes a bit of audio through to them. For a while I was searching for a pair of hidden headphones before realizing it was the monitors themselves. The audio is very clear and dim, but easily noticeable. The source of the audio doesn't even have to be active on the mix for the crosstalk to occur having ST1 active, ST2 off, and no speakers selected I can easily hear the ST2 source out of the speaker outputs.

For my application this is OK as a DJ stand very rarely will there be anything coming out of both sources (one is the main mix, the other is an output from a PC), but it annoys me quite a bit. One person also has commented that the system now sounds hollow, something that was not noticeable before; a sub was moved to the main mix out instead of in the monitor chain, so there was a small difference in the monitor setup, but the sub was active at the time the comment was made (from the main out mix).

I have yet to really do a good comparison, but so far I am just average on the product it does exactly what I wanted, but seems to color the audio a bit and the crosstalk really concerns me. I can't be sure that the main out doesn't have the same issue yet (haven't tested), but I just really didn't expect that.

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You did not provide an A/C power supply or warranty card. Very unhappy with this purchase and will be sending this item back if I don't get a response and power supply. This is my third attempt to reach you

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By far one of my favorite pieces of gear in my studio. This works perfectly to communicate with vocalists in the vocal booth. The multiple speaker options, the meter read out, the aux input. It's all come in handy for me and I couldn't picture working in a studio without it. I absolutely love this device.

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Although of sturdy metal construction, mine had a soft foot, which was fixed with a little physical persuasion and a some extra rubber on the one slightly elevated corner. The rubber alone would probably have done it. Low on extra rubber feet and patience, both worked out just fine. So it also passed a stress test with flying colors. Hopefully there won't be a drop test.

Anyway, I'm really surprised how useful this item became after purchasing it. Recording directly to a computer was leading to a problem with interfacing multiple inputs and outputs. I was considering an internal PCI solution with an external harness, but even then, the tether was looking really short and I didn't want to have to crawl behind the computer for every time I switched ins or outs.

Monitors are great for mixing, but usually pretty sparse on bass. Not having a trained ear, or used to monitors, it's extremely convenient to be able to get a bass reference at the push of a button. "This is how it sounds stark clear and honest ". At the push of a button "this is how it sounds with sub-woofer and how I'm used to hearing music". I still need that crutch for leveling bass guitar and kick drums. Granted I'm a novice, but if there is any influence of the purity of the source sound, I certainly can't hear it.

There are two (left/right), 1/4" "ST1"/"ST2" and one RCA (left/right) inputs (The aux input has it's own "input" level adjustment. I'm using one for my sound interface mains MOTU UltraLite-MK3 Hybrid FireWire/USB2 Audio Interface , one for the return and the aux RCAs, on an old mixing deck.

Both the the "Main and "Cue"outputs, have individual options of using any combination of the three "ST1", "ST2", or "AUX (RCA) " inputs. The "Cue" mix has it's own main level knob and the large center knob, controls the level for the whole unit. In addition there are three dedicated "A", "B", "C", outputs. Each has it's own level adjustment, so there's no problem keeping consistent volumes with different speaker sets, monitors etc 8" Monitor Speaker . There are four, 1/4" stereo headphone jacks, each with a button selecting either "Main or "Cue" as the source, with individual level knobs for each. The internal microphone works great across the cue mix, which also has it's own individual level adjustment and an XLR adapter is provided on the back, for an external "Talk" microphone.

I'm extremely satisfied with this unit and regardless of any upgrades I may have in the future, as long as I'm dealing with any analog source whatsoever, I can see it being invaluable for years to come.

PreSonus is known for making quality equipment at a reasonable price and the Monitor Station is no exception. I use mine as the center of my DAW monitoring system to A/B mixes between pro near field monitors, consumer grade home stereo speakers, and small computer speakers. But, the unit can be used in several different ways. Totally worth the price.