Is Antelope Audio’s ZEN Quadro one of the best audio interface beneath $600?

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Whether or not you’re a producer or musician, a podcaster or streamer, or simply somebody who revels in high-quality sound, your selection of audio interface is significant to the success of your tasks. Nonetheless, in such a busy and crowded market, it may be onerous to know the place to begin and the questions can appear infinite: Does an interface have sufficient inputs and outputs for my wants? Will the preamps complement and assist my mics and devices? What distinction do the converters make? Ought to I get the purple one or the black one?!

Confronted with such myriad decisions, choices and variables, many people merely set a funds after which purchase no matter feels proper in that funds. In any case, you get what you pay for… proper? Nicely, not all the time — typically you get much more.

Take, for instance, ZEN Quadro Synergy Core, the newest interface from pro-audio specialists Antelope Audio. Constructed into a wise, compact and rugged casing, the ZEN Quadro is laden with high-end options usually discovered solely on costly pro-studio grade {hardware} — in actual fact, a few of its capabilities outstrip even these high-cost choices! But regardless of this, the ZEN Quadro is simply $599/€599.

Flagship converters

An important issue that determines an audio interface’s sound high quality is the analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue converters. Antelope Audio has some status on this subject, with a lot of its status constructed on its spectacular converter and clocking expertise.

This experience is current in ZEN Quadro, which comes loaded with the very same converters as present in Antelope’s high-end Galaxy interfaces. These have been paired with the corporate’s proprietary 64-bit AFC™ (Acoustically Targeted Clocking) digital clock expertise, making certain hyper-accurate wordclock timing and ultra-low jitter.

Sonically, this interprets to super audio element and readability, correct and spacious aural imaging, and an astonishing 130dB of dynamic vary when working at 192kHz/24-bit. This simply outperforms all different interfaces in its class (to not point out many in increased courses!).

Console-grade preamps and beneficiant I/O

To maximise the facility of the excellent converters, Antelope Audio seemed to the preamp designs of high-end mixing consoles of the 80s and 90s. The ensuing 6-transistor design recreates these traditional consoles’ readability, color and character whereas delivering as much as 75dB of near-noise-free achieve.

ZEN Quadro boasts 4 console-grade preamps, one for every analogue enter channel. All might be switched to line mode for connecting to synths and different line-level sources, while the primary two – conveniently positioned on the entrance of the unit – can even swap to a Hello-Z mode to be used with electrical guitars, basses and the like.

Along with these 4 analogue inputs, ZEN Quadro can deal with a further eight channels of digital enter by way of its optical ADAT port, plus an extra pair of digital channels served by way of a coaxial S/PDIF enter.

Output provision is equally beneficiant: Alongside the principle left/proper monitor output jacks there’s a stereo coaxial S/PDIF digital output and pair of secondary line outputs, helpful for feeding indicators to exterior results or for offering completely different monitor mixes to completely different performers. There’s additionally a pair of headphone outputs, every of which carries its personal combine and is powered by its personal unbiased headphone amp.

All of this provides as much as a powerful 14 enter channels and 10 output channels, greater than sufficient for all the things however the largest, most complicated periods. Furthermore, all analogue ins and outs might be switched to DC-Coupled mode, permitting them to ship and obtain CV indicators from analogue and modular synths.

Synergy Core

Some high-end interfaces function onboard DSP so as to add audio results and processors instantly throughout the {hardware}. This takes among the impact processing pressure away from the host pc and permits results to be utilized to enter indicators with out introducing any important latency. That is helpful for enter conditioning with EQs, compressors and the like, and to make sure performers can hear correctly how their efficiency will sound, which is essential for vocalists.

What’s notably thrilling about ZEN Quadro is Antelope Audio’s Synergy Core’s processing energy. ZEN Quadro’s distinctive mixture of FPGA and DSP chips permits results chains to be added to any of the interface’s analogue and digital enter channels, in addition to to the principle DAW playback busses – preferrred for monitor-calibration EQ and mastering processors.

The interface comes pre-loaded with 37 impact processors overlaying all vital bases – preamp emulations, EQs, dynamics processors and such – with greater than 50 extra processors out there. Many Synergy Core results are modelled on traditional boutique {hardware} too, injecting tons of sophistication and character into your recordings.

Guitarists are notably properly served by Synergy Core, with a big assortment of traditional guitar amps to select from, together with a stack of cupboard emulations which can be so detailed they even enable the kind and place of the (digital) mics to be adjusted.

Synergy Core is made much more compelling by the interface’s potential to run absolutely standalone. Impressively, you may recall as much as 5 custom-made presets, with a lot of your routing, parameters, and mixer channel settings accessible instantly by way of the unit’s high-res color show. That is good for stay performances, permitting ZEN Quadro to behave because the mixer for a whole band, or for it to take the place of enormous, cumbersome and costly guitar rigs.

A number of Hosts

As a USB Class Compliant system, ZEN Quadro will work with any host pc, working system or system that helps the usual. Should you’re on Home windows, you’ll want a further ASIO driver, which might be put in individually.

The interface has fairly a particular trick up its sleeve right here too: it sports activities a second USB-C port that may be linked to a second, simultaneous host, which permits audio indicators to be routed between these hosts.

This distinctive function is a giant deal for podcasters and streamers, massively simplifying duties corresponding to routing audio from phone-in company into the principle program stream, or taking part in in music and sound results. It’s also preferrred for musicians who use synths or results working from a pill as a part of a efficiency.

General, then, it’s clear that ZEN Quadro is punching far above its weight. No interface of comparable value can match ZEN Quadro’s spectacular function set and beautiful audio constancy, and no interface with comparable options can match ZEN Quadro’s superb asking value.

So, maybe all of these complicated audio interface shopping for questions might be boiled right down to only one: “The place can I get a ZEN Quadro?!”

Be taught extra at Antelope Audio.