The USB Studio/D by Swissonic has been available for a few months. I knew that it was a USB audio interface for Mac or PC, with some line mixer capability, but not much more than that. Apple had just perfected its USB audio driver in OS version 9.04, with Windows USB audio drivers having been part of its operating system for some time. It’s when I heard that the Studio/D had ASIO drivers for the Macintosh that I became compelled to have a look at the piece.

Swissonic Studio/D (click for larger view)

USB as a computer connection for an audio device is certainly attractive to the laptop user, whether it’s for the portability or not. It is, however, a necessity for an iMac user who wishes to do audio on a professional or semi-pro level. ASIO drivers make it much more viable as an "audio option." Solutions are good, but options are better.

Swissonic has two versions of their USB audio device—the USB Studio and the USB Studio/D. The D stands for digital I/O, and it’s the USB Studio D that I’ve got sitting right here.

The USB Studio/D sells for $849, while the USB Studio goes for $699, suggested retail prices. Comparable devices in that price range would be the Roland U8A that sells for $649, which comes with a recording software package and a built-in MIDI mixer control surface and effects, though this unit is PC only, 44.1k/16 bit. Ego-Sys has a USB audio device, also PC only with Mac drivers planned for the summer (though they're not on their site). The Ego-Sys sells for $300, and has a selection of stereo inputs but no mixing capability. So where the Swissonic USB Studio/D shines is in having Mac ASIO drivers in the present tense. Otherwise, a war of features could ensue.

Event Electronics has a USB audio item coming out in the near future, with a pitch something like, "PCI cards are so messy" (my interpretation). That’s no reason to go USB, and I hesitate to begin to compare the Studio/D to any of the PCI audio options on the market. I would like to have, in fact, looked at the Swissonic box sleeve to see how they pitch it to the potential buyer holding it in his/her hands at the music store. C'est la vie. Let’s get it out of the box and into the rack.

Documentation
I expect a manual to give me what I need, and I am someone who will first look to the manual for a straightforward guide to getting the most out of my new product. I enjoy a "quick guide" that will get me up and running in a timely fashion, and then an organized way to go deeper as questions arise.

Right off bat I got the "Quick Start" guide, and then an "Overview." It’s nice to see this kind of statement about the theory of operation, i.e., what the product is intended to deliver and a bit of how. Though the manual is only 19 some-odd pages there was no table of contents, which is perhaps the most organized way, other than an index, to direct me toward more detailed info.

The overview and the features list gave me a deeper sense of what I was dealing with, but still left me with a few questions. All told, the USB Studio/D gives me stereo in to and out from my computer via the USB bus, a number of analog inputs with routing options, digital I/O (opti or coax), two mic/instrument pre-amps and even a phono pre-amp, with record, mix, control room and headphone outs. The digital I/O and analog A/D handle 20 bit audio at up to 48k sampling rates, while analog D/A only converts at 16 bit.

Examining the Unit and the Manual
This is a sturdy, single space rack unit, with level knobs on the front and connection jacks on the back. It’s not dazzling in appearance, but it’s a handsome piece. The level pots (a/k/a potentiometers, or "rotary faders") are firm with a nice feel to the travel. The function switches are small and, while not exactly recessed, they take a little bit of "intention" to engage or disengage them. That’s OK, that might make them more durable in the long run. By alternately staring at the unit and consulting the manual, I was able to pretty much determine what the USB Studio/D deal was.

USB Studio/D Front (click for larger view)

USB Studio/D Rear (click for larger view)

The front is divided into two sections by an 8-LED ladder showing left and right record levels. To the left of the LED level indicators is a mixer/record section (though not labeled as such), where 2-mic, 2-instrument, 1- stereo line/phono, 4-stereo line and 1-digital input can be given level either to the stereo monitor buss or to the stereo record bus, determined by a "record enable" switch below each pot. The record bus has a "record level" pot, which is the master level for all channels on the record bus, that is, those channels with the record enable switch engaged. Since there are no direct outs on the back, this tells me that all signals must go through the record bus, or "summing amplifier," before going to the computer.

One other pot in this mixer section, labeled "computer," gives level to the signal coming from the computer to the monitor bus. There’s no record enable here, as of course you might just be feeding the signal back into itself.

To the right of the LED ladder is a master section of sorts, comprised of a "Digital Out" level with overload LED, a "Monitor" level, and one "Headphone" level pot. The Digital Out has a switch that selects between the monitor and record bus as the source, and also a sampling rate switch. The Monitor Out has a mute switch, though I can’t yet imagine why. Other front panel features include phantom power indicator LEDs for the mic ins, a "lock" LED for the digital input to show the presence of a valid digital signal, a record and monitor bus overload indicator LED, and the power switch and power indicator LED.

The back panel welcomes all unbalanced analog inputs on TS jacks for mono, and TRS jacks for stereo instruments, except for the switchable line/phono input on RCAs. Mic inputs are XLR, with phase inversion and phantom power switches and a TRS insert jack for each mic channel. Digital I/O is switchable between optical on Toslink connectors or coaxial on RCA. All other outputs are unbalanced RCA.

The back panel offers a turntable grounding terminal for the phono input, the USB connection, and a voltage selector for your AC line. The power transformer is internal, so an AC power cable with a ground is included. A dual fuse holder is removable for easy service.

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