At the upcoming AES convention in Los Angeles, Crane Song (booth 1013) is introducing the new Avocet II discrete class A monitor controller as well as the new INSIGNA tube equalizer.
The Avocet II, functionally and operationally identical to its predecessor, is a stereo monitor controller capable of operating in surround configurations up to 7.1, supporting three digital inputs, three analog inputs and a headphone system. It utilizes the latest generation 32-bit component from microprocessor manufacturer AKM in the digital-to-analog converter section.
“The new AKM part for the DAC chip offers unsurpassed imaging,” says Crane Song founder Dave Hill. “I’m doing something a little bit different, using a unique combination of analog and digital reconstruction filters, so the transient response is also exceptional.”
The design of the reference oscillator, which incorporates custom crystal parts, borrows from microwave communication equipment and test instruments. “The jitter in the oscillator is lower than any of the logic parts in the converter chips,” Hill explains. “I still do recording and engineering. From a mixing point of view, when you’re trying to make your snare drum snappy, doing everything you can, you never quite get there with most digital audio electronics. Avocet changes that. Finally, a snare drum sounds like a snare drum.”
Meanwhile, the new INSIGNA 3-band tube equalizer, joins two other 500 series modules in the Crane Song product line, the FALCON tube compressor and the SYREN tube preamplifier. INSIGNA incorporates a dual triode circuit that utilizes buffered RC circuits in the negative feedback path around the 12AX7-based tube amplifiers.
The high- and low-frequency bands are shelving; each offer a selection of eight frequencies. The mid band is a peak EQ, also with eight selectable frequencies.
The high- and low-pass filters both feature 24-dB-per-octave slopes. Either may be selected to seven separate frequencies, from 6 kHz–20 kHz and 25 Hz–150 Hz, respectively.
“The middle band is resonant on the top and bottom. It works by modifying negative feedback around a tube circuit. With a boost or cut the harmonic distortion changes appropriately,” Hill notes. “The circuit design generates mostly second harmonic distortion, so the module is very rich sounding, very warm and very fat. The noise floor is around 84 dBu, which is pretty good for a 500 Series.”
The new Avocet II is already shipping and has an MSRP of $2,999. The new INSIGNA tube equalizer is scheduled to begin shipping at the end of this year.
