Presonus Central Station vs Igors Controller?

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Mbira

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 4, 2004
Messages
2,422
Location
Austin, TX
Hi folks,
This thread is being started out of curiosity  about the differences between these two boxes.  Most people know what awesome work Igor does on his projects.  Here is the beautiful Monitor Controller he has available as a kit:
http://www.groupdiy.com/index.php?topic=31371.0

My question is sonically, what would be the difference between this and a Central Station.  I understand most people view presonus' active stuff as 'prosumer' at best, but we are talking about a passive device here.

I like Igors solution, but with the exchange rate and purusha case and shipping , it is quite pricey and quite a bit more than the $450 for as Central Station.  Again, I'm not trying to create controversy, just trying to see what I'm missing.  Thanks!
 
That's list price.  I've seen them regularly for $450-$475 with remote.  In any case, Igor mentions that his is more in line w/ the Dangerous and Avocet stuff.  So I'm wondering sonically what's the difference between these passive devices?
 
Mbira said:
That's list price.  I've seen them regularly for $450-$475 with remote.  In any case, Igor mentions that his is more in line w/ the Dangerous and Avocet stuff.  So I'm wondering sonically what's the difference between these passive devices?

In a word.... quality...

I LOVE the Presonus guys with all my heart and have some good friends there... but the Central Station is not built to last rigorous studio environments.

I have had one in my studio for 2 years of daily use... first thing to go was the talk back button, it now pops out and the backlit lamp is burnt out... next was one of the LED's in the VU meter, next was one of the buttons getting 'jammed' and the latest is DC offset on the master out, so nice scratchy pot.

The unit is AMAZING value for the price offering WAY more options than even some of the top of the line units that have been mentioned... but build quality and longevity are not highlights.

Also the Presonus uses a stereo pot for attenuation, so it doesn't track all that great and you can get volume swings between L + R speakers, esp. low down in the throw... which is not great.

High end units like the Igors kit, the Avocet and Monitor ST offer relay switched precision attenuation via selected resistors, offering total and absolute recall with almost ZERO stereo shift... something you CAN'T do with a pot... no matter HOW good.

What the top end units offer is reliability, longevity, build quality and sonics improvements over the CS.

I was going to jump in and build one of Igors kits but given the total costs you are looking to be in for around 700-750 Euros ($930 - $1000USD) inc kit, case (+ shipping) and PSU and then still have to build it.

This def. stands in the same league as designs from the other companies. For example the Dangerous ST streets for $1,875.00, but it is scalable to accept both 5.1/7.1 surround via an additional module and the new A.S.S Digital options as well offering a few more features than Igors Kit (in all fairness his offers a few they don't!).

I'm getting a real deal on the Dangerous so it seems to be the way I will go in time (heck if you pay street it is almost DOUBLE Igor's kit so bear that in mind) as I also feel it will be a sound investment RE possible resale down the line if I ever turn off the studios power button once and for all (God willing it won't ever come to that!).

Hope all that helps!

Cheers

Matt
 
Thanx Matta, as always I am late :)
Just to add, I'd never used VGA cable to transmit anything except digital control signals or CV.
From the other point, you don't have consumer level A/D and nice led vumeter in Igor's unit :)
As well, if your A/D has large DC offset at the output, you will be surprised with clicks
(not very annoying, but still clics) when relays swithing.

One only benefit in my CRM is it is crystal clear monitor control.

The rest like trim offsets for every i/o, include programmable dim and tb offsets,
without using any additional parts in signal flow,
nice look and 1 db steps, ergonomics etc are insignificant :)
 
I got my CS for about 250€ including the remote. There's hardly anything that matches that as far as price/quality, I think. sold my mackie big knob for 200e...

If you want a step up from the CS, I think Igors controller is the way to go.
 
Hi,


  we've just installed a Presonus Central Station and remote in our studio. It'll never win any awards for build quality, but it sounds(or should I say say DOESN"T sound!) awesome. I think we'll get a spare remote, since I am sure it'll get a hammering. Very handy having the optical input so you can play files off the computer without dumping Protools/Logic. Shame that it sounds a bit wierd in mono setting, and that you cannot adjust the dim level.

  I am loving it! I would love to have something like this built from premium components.


      ALl the best,


  AndyP
 
Central Station is very useful device but i hate it on  low volumes... glitch and stereo shift  is horrible... and it clicks on every single switch  :mad:

i never needed remote for it...

1. is there anyway i can change that stupid stereo pot with stepped one, i didnt open it yet.... may be someone did!

2. is remote better on  low volumes with glitch and stereo shifting ?

3. i wish i had some founds for Igors remote :(

 
kambo said:
1. is there anyway i can change that stupid stereo pot with stepped one, i didnt open it yet.... may be someone did!
Hi there. Unfortunately the short answer is no: A stepped attenuator is a pretty large and expensive piece, especially in stereo, it is really unlikely that one would fit in the space that your stereo pot resides and even if it did they are very expensive http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?products_id=274 - I believe this one is a voltage divider - so even for $195 you don't get the performance of a constant impedance (bridged?) t-attenuator which I assume is what Igor's kit uses (In his kit the attenuator circuit is controlled by relays, not mechanically like it would be with a traditional stepped attenuator). There are some cheap ones available on E-Bay from Hong Kong but size might still be an issue. You can get a nicer pot if you can find one to fit.
best of luck, Ben
 

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