At this week’s 141st AES Conference and Exhibition in Los Angeles, Solid State Logic (booth #221) will introduce Nucleus2 (price TBA), a new version of the company’s DAW controller, audio interface and studio monitoring hub. SSL offers Nucleus2 as a complete solution for engineers and producers who work in the box, whose work is centered around multiple projects, recall, fast workflow and creative inspiration. Nucleus2 responds to customer requests with the addition of talkback, main/mini monitor switching, a change to Dante connectivity and a new white look.
A key addition is a Talkback input with adjustable gain that feeds the headphone output. A large Talk button was added near the transport controls. The Talk circuit can trigger a switchable -20dB DIM in the monitor outputs if desired. Another request was the addition of a second set of speaker outputs and a Mini monitor button in the center section for comparing mixes on different systems.
The USB sound card in Nucleus has been replaced with a new SSL Dante Network I/O audio interface. Dante is a professional audio networking technology that uses standard Ethernet to connect devices to computers. In a personal studio where direct connectivity to a DAW computer is required, Dante is a single Ethernet cable alternative to Thunderbolt or USB, with a reported latency of 4 ms when used with the supplied Dante Virtual Soundcard software running on a DAW computer. In a larger multi-space facility Dante provides audio over IP audio networking technology that facilitates low latency audio sharing between multiple computers. Dante enables users to combine audio devices from a wide range of audio manufacturers on a network and share audio between them. SSL reports that as of September 2016 more than 350 audio brands have adopted Dante into more than 800 products. A Dante network is scalable; adding additional mic pre’s or extra analog outputs is as simple as plugging another Dante device onto the network, where it is automatically detected and ready to use.
Nucleus2 has an inbuilt network switch with two Ethernet ports: one port for connection to a computer, and one port for adding other Dante devices to a setup. Finally, the Talkback signal can be switched to feed Channel 2 of the Dante interface for remote communication to other rooms over a network.
Nucleus2 retains features from the original Nucleus, including high-quality motorized faders, a metal chassis, jog wheel, heavy duty transport buttons and simultaneous control of three DAWs.
Nucleus2 will be available from November 2016.
