Since its introduction, the SPL Crimson audio interface has garnered legions of fans and earned a reputation for delivering professional-grade recording, monitoring, and bang for the buck. Now SPL ups the ante with the Crimson 3, which includes all the great features of its predecessor, and adds exciting new features that will improve the quality of your recordings and streamline your workflow. Phonitor Matrix is a cross-feed function that makes working on headphones more accurate and speaker-like. Crimson 3's Talkback function now lets you communicate more flexibly with talent and collaborators, overcoming one of the drawbacks of today's DAW-based studios. Our advice: with a total of 16 inputs, two discrete mic preamps, six recording and playback channels, and a monitor controller, proven analog circuitry, and high-quality AD/DA conversion, Crimson 3 is a powerful hub for your studio.
Speaker-like headphone monitoring with Phonitor Matrix
Due to the fact that your left ear hears only the left channel, and your right ear, only the right channel of the program material, headphones give you an exaggerated stereo perspective. This is one of the reasons that mixes done on headphones never seem to "translate." SPL has a fix for that. It's called the Phonitor Matrix, and it's basically a left-right cross-feed function that fills in the middle of your stereo headphone monitor output. The result sounds impressively natural, with a full stereo spread that sounds like you’re listening to your mix on speakers.
Artist Mode, with dedicated cue mix and Talkback Mic
The SPL Crimson 3's Artist Mode provides you with a dedicated artist cue mix and a Talkback Mic so you no longer have to connect an external mic to communication with the artist (who will hear you on Phones 2 and Speakers B). Speakers A are dimmed automatically when you push the talkback button, making speech more audible and avoiding feedback.
Desktop form factor keeps you in the mix position
On top of exceptional sound quality, the Crimson 3's desktop form factor lets you manage your monitoring system without leaving your mix position. The Crimson's well-laid-out controls make precise adjustments easy, and the simple layout makes adjustments a breeze.
Features:
- 16 inputs; ample I/O to function as the central hub of your studio
- 6 recording channels @ 24Bit/192kHz
- 2 boutique-grade discrete mic/instrument preamps
- 4 balanced line inputs
- 2 separate headphone amplifiers let two people monitor simultaneously
- 2 stereo speaker outputs
- Phonitor Matrix, for natural, speaker-like monitoring
- Talkback Mic for convenient communication with talent
- Real-time analog monitoring
- Connect and control two stereo speaker sets for reference monitoring
- One Knob monitor mix from recording and DAW return paths
- Artist Mode provides a dedicated artist cue mix
- High-end 24-bit/192kHz AD/DA converters
- Works with your DAW or as a standalone device
- USB 2.0 compliant; MIDI I/O
- Convenient hot-plugging with an iOS device for recording/monitoring (up to 96kHz)
- 34V operational voltage for professional levels up to +22 dBu
- Pro level boost for consumer electronics
- Fixed-Master-Clock ensures very low jitter
- True 1:1 audio — no sample rate conversion or clock recovery
- Crafted in Sound Performance Lab's Niederkrüchten, Germany facility