New ST-2 Processor from Crest Audio

Rendering (Click for a close-up)

Crest Performance, a division of Crest Audio, introduced the ST-2, a two-channel, single-rack-space mic/line processor and channel strip.

Each of the two channels on the ST-2 consists of four functional sections: the microphone and line preamplifier; a four-band parametric equalizer; output level, pan, meter and sum controls; and a SmarTube sound processor, a solid state processing technology that replicates the warmth of vacuum tubes to provide a distinct sonic edge for your mix.

For ease of use in live or installed applications, each channel has low impedance mic and high impedance line/instrument input connections with jacks located on the front panel and duplicated on the rear panel. Both inputs have separate gain controls. Mic inputs have -20 dB pad, polarity reverse, fourth-order high-pass filter and 48 Volt phantom power. Equalization consists of low and high shelving controls and two fully adjustable low-mid and high-mid parametric filter sets. Output control and visual monitoring are kept simple for each channel, with independent mute, level, pan, 10-segment color LED bar-graph array and signal presence LED.

The ST-2 has a versatile input/output/assignment scheme that allows each section to be used separately if the situation demands it. Each of the two channels can be assigned independently to either the A/B stereo bus or only A or B via the stereo/mono switch. In stereo mode, the channel 1 and channel 2 signals are panned between the A and B bus individually. In mono mode, the channel 1 signal is sent only to the A bus, bypassing the pan feature, while the channel 2 signal is sent only to the B bus, also bypassing the pan feature.

The ST-2 includes XLR balanced (+4 dBu) and 1/4" unbalanced (0 dBu) I/O options, with a pair of additional 1/4" balanced (+4 dBu) I/O for daisy chaining to additional units. In this configuration, each ST-2 becomes a master for its succeeding unit.

The ST-2 (U.S. MSRP $599.99) will be available in Q2 2005 from authorized Crest Performance dealers.