| It is 16 transformer input microphone/line preamplifiers using current mode technology invented by Ted Fletcher in the 1970s. AND a 16 into 2 ultra wideband mixer with monitoring. Each input has:- XLR mic input, TRS Line/Instrument input, switchable phantom power, switchable high pass filter, switchable phase reverse, mic/line switch. switchable channel mute (to the mixer), Solo button TRS Channel insert, TRS Individual balanced line output, LED channel metering, Pan control, Mixer channel gain control. Once again this is a product designed to meet a real need in Ted's own experimental studio, and the need of a number of renowned engineers ; a need for very high performance front-ends, and a practical ‘stem' mixer with a bandwidth and definition suitable for 96K+ recording. “I have been visiting studios and engineers both in the UK and in the Southern USA in the last few weeks and suddenly everyone is crying out for super-class front-ends that can accurately transcribe not just the usual audio band, but also the super-high frequencies that we can now record properly with higher samplerates. Bandwidth limits of 20Hz to 20KHz are just not good enough any more; I have recently prepared a special P9 (Ted's definitive Equaliser) with a response that is only 1dB down at 100KHz, specially for a mastering studio in the UK, and the M16 has to be capable of handling performances like that…. and must sound like a million dollars.” The microphone amplifiers are transformer input coupled with the input stage operating in class A. The input amplifier operates in current mode so that the input transformer works with zero flux giving extended bandwidth of 8Hz to 100KHz , unmeasurable 3 rd harmonic distortion within the audio band, and noise performance equivalent to best conventional circuits. Microphone input levels can be from -75 to 0dBu and the overload margin of 30dB is maintained at all gain settings.The mixer stages use balanced bus technology. This gives extreme low noise and distortion, and maintains the audio performance right through to the balanced line and monitor output XLRs. The mixer is capable of 128dB dynamic range.The complete M16 system sits in 4U of rack space and is driven by an external power supply. |
