SOUND ON SOUND
Hugh Robjohns has been Sound On Sound's Technical Editor since 1997. Prior to that he worked in a variety of (mostly) sound-related roles in BBC Television, ending up as a Sound Operations Lecturer at the BBC's technical training centre.
He continues to provide audio consultancy and bespoke broadcast audio training services all over the world, lectures at professional and public conventions, and occasionally records and masters acoustic and classical music too!
Toft Audio have updated some pedigree vintage designs for their first product, which offers two channels of mic preamplification, compression, and EQ.
Could you clarify the difference between floating- and fixed-point 32-bit operation in the digital domain. I know that floating-point systems allow for data to be handled at word lengths above 24-bit, which are then dithered back down. Does it also result in a greater dynamic range?
These two affordable problem-solvers facilitate digital interfacing and mixing in the home/project studio.
Yamaha pack most of an 02R96 into a unit little bigger than the 01V96. Could this be the ideal console for the quality home studio?
I was told by a sound engineer that, when mixing, it is not a good practice to have all the channel volume faders way up and to have the master fader down, and that this applies both to analogue and digital consoles. Is this true?
Focusrite update their successful high-end Producer Pack to keep it ahead of the game.
I did a recording session recently using a mixture of dynamic and condenser mics, and realised my desk does not have switchable phantom power for each channel — they're either all on or all off. Luckily, I had some external channel strips which I ran the condensers through, but is it safe to apply phantom power to dynamic mics?
I have a compressor with inserts to access the side-chain. What is the side-chain and what would you use these inserts for?
This preamp gives you vintage Decca design at a surprisingly low cost.
What do the specifications 'active' and 'passive' denote for monitors? Does 'powered' mean the same as 'active'?