Like most people with a DAW I was in great need of a way to switch between studio monitors, and set up a headphone monitoring and talkback system. I also needed a stereo pair of meters that could display analog and digital levels with enough segments to be accurate. Back in the analog recording days this was accomplished with the recording console. Now that recording consoles are not in fashion anymore someone needed to come up with a product that would address theses issues.
Well, the wait is finally over now that PreSonus has released the Central Station. I had seen a few other products that had the same basic idea and design but the problem was the quality of the components were not up to par and they would change the sound or add their sound to my mixes.
The PreSonus Central Station comes to the rescue with an ultra-clean purely passive signal path. This means the main audio path uses no amplifier stages including op amps or active ICs. What this means in layman’s terms is because of the clean audio path there is nothing that could change the sound of my mixes. The Central Station is the ultimate studio control center allowing you to switch between three sets of stereo analog inputs and two digital inputs. Now I can switch effortlessly between my DAW, CD, DAT, tape player, and even keyboards, samplers, etc. You can switch between three sets of studio monitors so you can A/B your mixes and there are dim, mute, and mono buttons. The main level knob has a great feel to it. You really feel like you are working with a pro console again. Now I am getting excited.
The metering section features dual fast-acting 30-segment peak/hold LEDs for accurate metering as well as peak/hold clear switch and meter alignment switch for additional metering options. These meters are precise and a pleasure to look at. Finally accurate meters!
The talkback section has an onboard microphone that is routed to the cue outputs for communication between engineer and musicians. Just like a big-time console when you press the talkback button the cue mix is automatically dimmed so you won’t get feedback and blow out a speaker or headphones. Yay!
There is also a cool remote control you can purchase separately that is hard wired to the Central Station. It has all the switching, talkback, and main volume control but no meters.
I love this box and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Presonus has done it again!
