elysia channex|studio

This debut channel strip from innovative German manufacturers elysia is much more than just a preamp, EQ and compressor in the same box...

For a company such as elysia, who have already developed a range of high‑quality preamps, equalisers, compressors and various other hardware, building a channel strip is arguably the next logical step. But while others might choose simply to combine several modules in a single device and call it a day, that really wouldn’t be elysia’s style. Instead, mastermind Ruben Tilgner chose to go back to the drawing board and rethink the whole channel‑strip concept. The outcome, the channex|studio, is truly impressive — so much so that deciding where exactly I should begin this review was a challenge! But looking at the photo at the top of this article, you might be wondering why the dials on the front plate look they way they do, so let me start with the general concept...

The Shell

The channex|studio has a fully analogue Class‑A audio signal path, and elysia use their own discrete VCAs to give designers full control over specifications such as THD. (There are more than 50 of those VCAs in each channex!) However, it’s all controlled digitally. It’s an approach that allows every parameter to be saved, recalled and automated and, as with devices we’ve seen from the likes of Bettermaker, Wes Audio, Tegeler Audio, Cranborne Audio and Black Box in recent years, to be remotely controlled using a DAW plug‑in (VST2, AAX, AU). It’s important to note that, while the plug‑in can be very convenient, elysia didn’t want users spending money on a high‑class channel strip to have to end up staring at a screen. Thus, there is no need for a connection to the plug‑in (or the standalone application) to operate the channex|studio: every single parameter can be controlled from the front panel, including saving and recall. I really thank them for that!

They invested considerable time in designing ‘the Shell’, which is a hardware control module that’s repeated 15 times on the front panel and, presumably, so called because its layout is reminiscent of a scallop. The knob in the centre doesn’t turn a digital encoder, which could present obstacles for a designer having to deal with different parameter ranges, and neither is it a motorised pot, which would be slower and pose a greater risk of mechanical failure. It’s actually an analogue potentiometer, without stops and with two conductive tracks, used to set control voltages. Those are quantised with 12‑bit precision, resulting in 4096 possible values — more than sufficient for any and all parameters of the channex.

Two LED rings surround the Shell’s knob. The inner, non‑segmented one acts as a backlight, its colour varying to indicate the chosen parameter or signal peaks. The outer, segmented one is capable of more: not only can it light in different colours (blue, red, orange, white) and in different brightness levels, but it can also be used for metering. This comes in very handy for input gain and compression, but also in other sections. A button at the bottom completes the Shell layout. It goes without saying that it can also be illuminated, but it can also access multiple functions, according to the length of press — some of the channex’s front‑panel Shells allow the control not only of an alternative parameter, but even a third one, indicated by a slash on the front‑panel labels (for example, one knob’s function is switched between ‘gain’ and ‘hi pass/pol’).

The preamp, capable of 64dB of gain, accepts microphone, line and instrument signals, and incorporates a convenient line/instrument input on the front panel.

Connections

When it comes to the analogue I/O, lots of channel strips are equipped simply with an input XLR socket, an output XLR socket and some kind of power connection. A handful offer additional XLRs for direct access to different processing sections. But elysia’s channex|studio has a whopping 22 sockets on the rear panel, plus another three on the front. Clearly, then, it’s not just the digital control that marks this out as different!

Of course there’s a microphone input, but you can also feed line‑level signals (rear‑panel XLR/TRS combo) or even instruments through the channex|studio, the latter via a convenient socket on the front. Making it possible to use only the preamp, or to split the signal for simultaneous dry‑and‑wet‑use, external monitoring or what not, there’s a dedicated preamp output (XLR and TRS). The main output carries the processed signal, and additional equipment can be connected using a couple of XLRs that can be inserted in different points in the signal chain. Computer communication can be established either by USB or by LAN via an RJ45 Ethernet connection; a proper internal 24V power supply gets its juice from an IEC socket.

Most channel strips have a single input and output, and a socket for the PSU. The channex|studio is built a little differently!

The channex|studio can do a lot more than just process an audio signal, though. It’s intended to cater for all the monitoring needs in a recording situation too. Headphone outputs for both engineer and artist are on the front and back, and monitor speakers can be directly connected. You can even add a talkback microphone that can be sent into the artists headphones using a front‑panel control or an external footswitch. A stereo playback input can be mixed with the recording signal, and in case the artist doesn’t like the sound of the internal reverb processor (yes, there is an internal reverb processor!), you are free to add anything you like through the stereo external effects input. In case you are looking for a link socket: there is none, channex|studio...