Rob Tavaglione, the workshop owner, tests the new Radial Nuance Select and discovers that it has excellent sound quality.
The new Nuance Select monitor controller is a tank, and good old Radial ( and veteran designer Hutch Hutchinson ) can help streamline workflow ( both as “per the usual” for Radial ). Nevertheless, with this system, the company incorporates a new idea, the Clarity Circuit, to accomplish amazing sonics.
Nuance Select is a desktop screen controller providing clear type switching, screen selection, volume control and headphone facilities. On a 14-inch TRS, two pairs of balanced monitor outputs ( and a single bass out ) are provided, while two sets of balanced sets of observe outputs are also provided.
Two discrete headphone amps are provided ( on front-panel ¼-inch jacks ) with muting, independent input sourcing and level. On an unbalanced stereo TRS, an Auxiliary output that allows either input to conveniently feed an external device ( likely a headphone amp or foldback monitors ), as well as a quick workflow, such as a mono, mute, and dim switch.
This is all controlled with a proper 21-position stepped attenuator (volume control ) that provides accurate left-to-right balance within 0.1 dB at any volume, via resistors and DC servos, not capacitors ( caps do n’t always age well, drift in value over time and can introduce noise ).
The Clarity Circuit is Class-A and exceptionally clean, with little tangible THD of -0.00001 %, interference of -125 database, A-weighted signal-to-noise of 127 database, and speed response from 7 Decibels to 20 hertz.
This is all contained in a steel enclosure, with a polished aluminum 10 x 5-inch faceplate, backlit silent switches, and chrome control knobs (especially attractive is the huge, 2-inch attenuator ), powered by an external supply connected with a locking 4-pin XLR at the end of a sturdy 12-foot cable. Owing for getting the facts straight, Radial!
After weeks of daily work, my assistant and I were able to quickly come to terms with the Nuance Select’s exceptional cleanliness and absence of distortion, something we’ve probably never heard of before. The change is more confirming than stunning, more transparent than special, more revealing than introductory. There is no warmth generated by the unit, there is no added cohesion or gelling, dynamics are untouched, there is no emphasis of frequency, there is no ( de ) emphasis of placement, panning or soundstage. There is just stark reality, linearity and assurance.
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Only a few of my clients noticed the NS change, but only my assistant noticed it because the differences are significant to my ears but appear to be refined to laypeople. However, I quickly developed a reliance on such top-notch audio value, and I was disappointed that I was unable to use Nuance Select in my studio!
I track bands and use analog summing ( no console ). My installation requires a feature-rich joystick with several sources, multiple-input-blending for my headphone/cue mixes, and a talkback device, also. For what it’s worth, I would prefer XLR connections and multi-color (ed ) switches for even more ease of use.
However, for those of you with great, standard, present, all-digital procedures, the Nuance Select comes highly recommended. A three-year insurance backs up common Radial stability, a retail value of$ 699 makes for just a moderate expenditure, and I can promise you’ll love the sound quality at whatever stage you dial-up on that big and beautifully clicky stepped attenuator.