Take Command of Your Monitor Speakers

The Central Station is one of our most popular products for professional studios because it provides the perfect combination of stereo inputs, outputs, and recording-communication functions, allowing you to easily manage multiple sources and monitor speakers.

With Central Station, you can easily switch between three sets of stereo, analog input sources with individual level controls. Two stereo S/PDIF digital sources connect via one coax and one Toslink optical port. You can audition these sources with up to three pairs of speakers with individual trim pots for each speaker—recessed to avoid accidents. You also get a pair of line-level main outputs, a pair of line-level cue outputs to feed a headphone-distributions system (such as our HP60 or HP4), and two screaming-loud headphone amplifiers with individual level controls.

A Mono switch sums the stereo source so you can check for phase problems, and a Dim switch lets you reduce the speaker output by 20 dB. Of course, you can mute the speakers as well.

The Professional’s Choice

The pros know that for critical listening, a monitor-control system must be as sonically transparent as possible. That’s why we gave the Central Station an audiophile-quality, passive signal path, with no op-amps or ICs, and equipped the S/PDIF inputs with high-definition, 24-bit, 192 kHz D/A converters that deliver 115 dBu of dynamic range.

To enable you to watch your levels, the Central Station sports dual 30-segment, tri-colored, fast-acting, peak-hold LED meters, which can display dBu and dBfs. You can calibrate these meters to match your DAW or other audio device, and a handy switch lets you clear the peak-hold.

Speak to the musicians over the headphone and cue buses using the onboard talkback microphone or connect a mic to the XLR talkback input. The cue signal is automatically dimmed when you use the talkback mic, and a jack admits a footswitch for hands-free talkback operation. Finally, with the optional CSR-1, you can remote-control the Central Station’s main volume, input select, output select, talkback, mute, dim, and mono functions.

With pristine audio quality; the ability to switch between multiple analog and digital sources and three sets of speakers; fast, accurate metering; and all of the extras that make your studio work easier and more efficient, it’s obvious why the Central Station is the professional engineer’s choice for monitor control.