ROAD TEST
Antelope Audio Orion Studio Audio Interface / Converter
By Adam Gallant
The Orion Studio is at the forefront of audio interface design and is part of Antelope Audio ’ s latest arsenal of high-end studio tools . Built without compromise , the unit boasts 32 ins and outs over Thunderbolt and USB connectivity for PC users . Antelope Audio was known for their rock solid digital clocking and have been expanding their product lines over the last eight years to compete with the likes of Universal Audio , RME , and Apogee in the world of high-end audio interfaces .
First Impressions Out of the box , the unit has a modern , brushed aluminum front and very sturdy case . The front panel has four XLR inputs , a talkback mic and switch , monitor A / B switch , a control interface knob , bright display screen , two headphone outputs , and two transformer coupled re-amping outputs . Even with all this connectivity , the unit manages to look very clean and sleek . Navigating the control panel was effortless for me – very intuitive with all of the needed controls at my fingertips . All of the 1 / 4-in . jacks are notably sturdy .
The back panel holds the remaining eight class A XLR preamp inputs , two insert points , word clock , S / PDIF in and out , two pairs of monitor outputs , up to 16 channels of ADAT I / O , two eight-channel DB25 outputs , and USB and Thunderbolt ports . Again , I am simply amazed at the fact that there are eight XLR pres on top of all of the rear connections . Every square inch is nicely laid out , nothing too tight . The power connection is not your standard IEC cable but rather a small breakout box , which frees up needed space in the back .
In Use To me , the most impressive thing about the design of this unit is not the hardware but the software control panel . After authorizing and registering the unit , the control panel launches and you ’ re displayed a power icon that allows you to turn the unit on ( or off ) via your computer . Once opened , the software ’ s user interface is well laid out and routing / digital patching is handled in a very intuitive , graphical way . A click and drag in the routing matrix on the main window will route any of the inputs to any of the outputs . This includes the talkback mic on the way in and the guitar re-amp outputs on the way out .
All of the ins and outs can be named with a simple double click in the matrix , allowing for a complex headphone set-up to be routed efficiently and with zero latency . Gain for all the preamps can be set via the control panel or via the front panel of the hardware . The S / PDIF inputs can also be automatically sample rate converted on the way in , which is something I haven ’ t encountered before . With the layout , flexibility , and look of the control panel , it ’ s obvious to me that the software engineers and designers at Antelope are seasoned in the world of audio production and are looking to turn some heads in the industry .
As mentioned , Antelope is known for its digital clocking , and along with that comes very detailed , clean AD and DA conversion . The sound of the Orion is as clean or dirty as you need since the control panel also runs a handful of very useful and colourful signal processing tools . These behave much the same way your DAW ’ s plug-ins would , but the Orion hardware handles the needed processing ( which means they are rock solid with next to zero latency ). There is an amazing Pultec style EQ , amp simulator with cabinet and mic selection , Antelope ’ s own Auraverb , as well as the to-beexpected EQ and compression , all of which can
be printed on the way into your DAW . There is a pile of presets to speed things up , and you can route any signal to the re-amp outputs on the front of the unit for creative flexibility . An immense amount of thought went into catering this device to producers that have a guitar on hand in the control room .
Another huge plus for me is all of the support material that Antelope provides via their website and YouTube page . Quick video rundowns of the control panel really speed things along for new users . I also used their support team for a small amount of troubleshooting when setting this system up via USB on a PC . They have a very simple chat system and I received a reply in less than a minute . Very impressive response time and the technician on the other end was able to get me up and running in less than 10 minutes . Antelope really has all of their bases covered .
Summary The power and flexibility of this unit are unmatched : route anything anywhere with a simple click and drag ; top-notch analogto-digital conversion ; 12 class A preamps ; basically zero latency ; great support ; and the list of features goes on . There are too many advantages to cover in a single-page review , so I suggest doing a bit of follow up research online if you ’ re are looking to upgrade your recording system . Antelope have outdone themselves with the Orion Studio .
Adam Gallant has worked in all facets of digital audio production , from music composition to location and post audio for television and film . He currently owns and operates The Hill Sound Studio in Charlottetown , PE .
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