PRODUCT REVIEWS

MIX MAGAZINE 

by George Petersen

PRODUCT

CRITIQUES AND COMMENTS

D&R ORION CONSOLE

When one thinks of The Netherlands, tulips, windmills and boats drifting along colorful canals are the images that come to mind. But Holland is also home to a number of high-tech companies such as Philips and D&R Electronica.

Over the years, D&R has catered to an appreciative audience of recording and broadcast professionals throughout the Europe-an community, and its console line is starting to make serious inroads into the North American market.

Although D&R offers a wide variaty of consoles, ranging from the entry-level Vision to the top- end Octagon, the mid-priced Orion is the comanies most popular model. Designer Duco De Rijk has paid special attention to the sound quality in all of D&R's consoles, and his philosophy is that, whether you choose a simple or complex mixer. the audio quality should be excellent. The main difference between the D&R models is features rather than performance.

Orion is an in-line recording console, available in standard configurations ranging from 16- to 48-input/output modules, providing 36 to 120 inputs, respectively (with the included dual stereo effects return modules) in mix. Options include a pedestal stand; up to 456-point TT patch bay; and PowerMute, PowerVCA/'Dynamics or PowerFade (moving fader) automation packages.

In North America, D&R consoles are sold factory-direct, beginning at $12,995 (U.S.). Some typical models, such as an Orion 24 (64 inputs in mix)-which would retail for $26,300 goes for $17,895; and a 32-channel patch bay model (88 inputs in mix) sells for $25,795, more than $12,000 under D&R's comparable retail. Bear in mind that these are typical models, and users could custom configure the Orions with various options (or short-load a longer frame for later expansion) to suit different needs or specific applications.

Standard features an the Orion include +48VDC phantom power and phase reverse switching on all mic inputs: eight aux sends (with pre/postfader switching on 1-4); 10Omm long throw channel faders: fader reverse switching; phase metering; highresolution 25-segmentnt LED bar graph meters on the stereo outputs; 11-segment LED meters on all in-line channels; 100Hz (-9 dB, octave) switchable highpass filters: and 4-band sweepable equalization with a +/- 16dB range. The LF and HF sections of the latter are shelving type and are hardwired into the mainchannel pathway: the LMF and HMF bands are peak type (with a fixed Q of 1.5) and can be switched to be in the channel or tape monitor pathway.

An EQ defeat switch is also provided. Aux sends 1-2 and 3-4 are pre./'post-fader switchable: 5-6 and 7-8 are post-fader only. As with other boards in its price range, one set of aux send knobs controls the 5-6 or 7-8 pairs; a switch lets the user decide between the two.

Whether the console has a patch bay or not, all channels also have connectors for the XLR mic input and five 1/4-inch TRS jacks (line and monitor inputs, monitor and channel insert points, and group output).

The TT patch bay option requires the space of 14 modules but is laid out with plenty of room to see what you need to patch. There are jacks for 120 Tieline points, plenty for the bulg-ing outboard racks in todays studios. All connections to the 456-point patch bay are made via 66 25-pin D-sub connectors. which are becoming more common on consoles such as those from Tascam and DDA, as well as the Tascam DA-88 and Fostex RD-8 modular digital multitracks. The Orion manual contains detailed sections outlining the patchbay wiring and installation procedures, as well as complete schematics for the console.

Orion has a sonic

transparency that I

rarely encounter in

consoles in this

price range.

A unique feature of Orion is the "Floating Subgroup System." Though the console is an 8-buss design, FSS allows the user to bus any number of channel inputs to any channel number-other than the first eightwithout using the patch bay.

For example. if you want to route some inputs to tracks 23 and 24 of a tape machine, you can assign any number of channels to busses 1/2 or 3/ 4 and press the "From Sub 1/2 or From Sub 3/4" switches on console channels 23 and 24, thus automatically feeding those tape tracks.

FSS is a clever, time saving approach to studio routings, without having to pay for a lot of (typically unused) extra buses.

Other than figuring out the FSS system. Orion operations are fairly simple. One minor exception to this is the fact that a green LED lights when the mutes are active. This took bit of getting used to: on most consoles. a green LED near the fader refers to channel "On."

The solos operate in-place, so the operator can check the placement of any channel a the stereo mix. And speaking of solos, a solo level adjust pot in the master section gives the operator a +/-1OdB control for adjusting the overall level of the solos in the control rooms, so whether you prefer a loud or soft solo, you determine how you want to work. Another nice touch in the master section is inset trim pots under the l00/1k/10k Hz oscillator switches, for precision calibration of tones.

Anyone who regularly reads this column knows I have a particular dislike for concentric knobs, but on the Orion's EQ and aux send sections, these controls didn't bother me for a couple of reasons. First of all, the knobs are tapered for easy access to the lower knob: and second. the controls are spaced far apart. so I could get to them without changing the settings on adjacent controls. I liked the feel of the 100mm channel faders. although the short 6Omm faders on the dual stereo return modules had a stiff, feel. perhaps to afford more control in the shorter throw.

One of my first projects on the Orion was mixing a traditional jazz trio with crap drums, bass and electric guitar. The kick had that traditional boomy jazz sound, and a quick touch of EQ added a bit of snap, which I liked.

Overall, I found the equalization to be pleasant and musical. whether used on vocalists, narration. drums or guitar-either acoustic or electric. By the way, the guitar player on that jazz date was accompanied by the alsotraditional buzzes and hums created by a combination of cheap 1970s era effects and a grounding problem on in antique ES355. The easy solution would have been to gate the offending noises, but there were a lot of subtleties in the performance. Gating would have cut out the noise and the notes. so I went in with the EQ, which nicely took- care of the problem without added harshness.

In fact, Orion has a sonic transparency that I rarely encounter in consoles in this price range.

This led me to investigate the board further, so I started with the-mic preamps, which measured out at 0.003% THD at 1 kHz and a frequency response that was -0.2 dB from 20 to 20k Hz. In the 40 to 40k Hz range, the mic preamps were a ruler-flat ±0.1 dB. THD at 1 kHz from channel input to output measured as 0.009% much better than the claimed spec of 0.015%: and even with all faders and channels set to unity gain. THD (at 1 kHz) was only 0.030%. Frequency response (any input to output) also came in under spec, at +/- 0.2 dB from 20 to 20k Hz. Obviously, these guys are serious about audio.

Overall. I was impressed with the D&R Orion. The sound and transparency of the console are first-rate: the price is affordable. and the board's few shortcomings-such as a lack of a control room dim (attenuator) switch. rotary pots instead of short Faders on the monitor inputs and concentric controls -are minor and would not affect performance.

I liked the floating subgroups and soon became dependent on (if not addicted to) the phase meter. Of course if you want more you can always add the mute. VCA or moving fader automation options.

(No part of this online publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means - other than for the purposes of immediate viewing - without the express written consent of the publisher or author)