HUM Audio Devices don’t tend to do things by halves — even the quickest of glances at the likes of the N-STRIP or the LAAL make it obvious that some serious engineering goes into their products. Their latest release falls into the utility category, and sees the company apply their usual no-expense-spared approach to an insert matrix.
Revealed at this year’s NAMM Show, the N-Matrix is an all-analogue affair that has been designed to tackle all manner of insert tasks that mixing and mastering engineers may require. It delivers an expanded version of the passive insert matrix housed in the centre section of their N-Trophy console, and has been developed at the request of mastering engineers who were interested in its switching capabilities, but didn’t necessarily need the console itself.
The unit is equipped with six insert points that can be arranged in any order, and offers the ability to configure two separate three-insert signal chains. Flexible routing options make it simple to set up parallel or series processing chains, and there is a built-in Mid-Side encoder and decoder that can be placed at any point in the signal chain to allow for Mid-Side processing with any gear attached to the insert points. Everything can be controlled directly from the front panel, and HUM say that despite its apparent complexity, the N-Matrix is very intuitive and easy to use.
All of the N-Matrix's routing functionality can be controlled directly from its front-panel switches.
As you might expect, the company have cut no corners when it comes to audio quality. The device boasts a fully balanced signal path throughout with all switching and routing tasks performed by high-quality relays — there are nearly 300 in total! Audio paths have been kept as short as possible, and the PCB boards that handle the left and right signal paths are separated from each other to ensure the best possible performance. Components of the highest quality are used throughout, and the only active circuits present are those are those responsible for Mid-Side encoding/decoding, Side trimming, stems summing and output level trimming.
Pricing & Availability
The N-Matrix is available now, priced at $5369£4662 including VAT.
www.hum-audio.com/n-matrix-relay-based-all-discrete-insert-matrix
