Studer Unveils D950 M2 Digital Mixing System

(Click for a close-up)

Featuring an all-new look and an enhanced control surface, Studer's latest generation of its acclaimed D950 digital mixing system, the D950 M2, makes its North American debut at booth 519 during the 109th Audio Engineering Society convention. More than 80 D950 systems have been sold worldwide to leading facilities in the recording, broadcast and post production markets, especially those involved in surround sound mixing and production. The D950 M2 is available now.

New standard features of the Studer D950 M2 include a Central Assign Section, color 8-channel surround meter, and a larger 15" TFT color display monitor. Channel sections feature a top-surface plastic laminate resulting in clean, crisp labeling that will not wear over time. The knob sections contain new rotary encoders with an integral 21-LED ring for display of knob values. In addition, each knob is flanked by an alphanumeric readout that displays the function or precise value of each rotary controller in the system. The channel strips of the M2 feature a new "graphic design language" that enables the operator to instantly recognize the sections of the strip for fast and efficient operation increasing productivity and minimizing fatigue.

Sonically, the D950 M2 continues the Studer tradition of excellence. Studer's renowned 24-bit converters and 24-bit digital inputs/outputs ensure unmatched transparency. The M2's digital core utilizes 40-bit floating point internal processing over a 32-bit bus and is fully configurable allowing the console to be set up with as many channels and buses as needed for a specific task, depending on the number of DSP cards installed. The core features "self-healing" DSP that automatically switches audio processes to a spare card should a DSP failure occur. The console's dedicated allocation of processing effects guarantees users won't run out of power in the middle of a session. The M2's capabilities may be expanded at any time by simply plugging in additional DSP cards.

The heart of the M2 control surface is the new Central Assign Section (CAS) which has unique navigational controls that provide improved operating simplicity and efficiency. With the CAS, engineers avoid the time-consuming learning curve often associated with other systems. The Studer D950 M2 also features Studer's revised AutoTouch dynamic automation system. The enhanced feature set offers a complete off-line editing facility as well as a host of new on-line functions.

With surround sound production growing exponentially, the D950 M2 is ideal for studios moving into the multichannel arena. Equipped with Studer's proprietary Virtual Surround Panning (VSP) technology, the D950 M2 is the only console available today that allows creation of one or more 5.1 sound fields modeled around a few simple parameters set within each VSP-equipped channel. This allows the engineer to create a virtual surround environment for any sound source with total flexibility on room size and localization within the surround sound field. The VSP software in the M2 has been extended to provide smoother and more natural early reflections, as well as the addition of late reflections (reverberation) so that complete room simulation effects can be incorporated into multi-channel mixes.