Let’s Make the LEDs Blink
I've put the emphasis on the Studio/D ASIO drivers, so I did my testing on an iMac 350MHz with 192 Meg o' RAM, and MOTU's Digital Performer v2.7. First, I hot-plugged the Studio/D into the iMac USB port, to see how it and the Mac OS v9.04 meeted and greeted each other. There was a brief gurgle, and that was it. I went into the Apple menu | Control Panel | Sounds, and there it was, the USB audio driver on input and output. Output had automatically selected itself, so the glorious Mac start-up sound was coming right out of my studio monitors. Yahoo.

The next step was to download the Studio/D ASIO driver, which is available on the Swissonic website, www.swissonic.com. Included are an extension, the ASIO driver itself, and a readme file. The extension went into the System Extension folder, and the ASIO driver into the Digital Performer ASIO folder. This ASIO driver supports multiple Studio/D units, I might add.

As advised by Swissonic, I powered up the computer, and then powered on the Studio/D. This is a little quirky, as USB is supposed to allow for hot-plugging, but I blame USB. Having followed this procedure, I heard the system gurgle, then I opened Digital Performer. DP won't open if you don't have a MIDI device attached, so I attached and configured an OMS driven USB MIDI device. I connected both USB devices, the Studio/D and the MIDI device, to a Belkin powered USB hub.

I ran the ASIO profiler in Digital Performer, which came up with the right driver but told me that it didn't necessarily match the device that was attached. This didn't worry me too much, as I know from experience that there may be a simple issue in the DP profiling process that was incompatible with the Studio/D ASIO driver, so I clicked OK to the error and I had the Studio/D as an ASIO device running in Digital Performer. I set the inputs to the USB ASIO device.

I decided to record a stereo mix of live drums that I had created, taking the -10 dB analog output of a DAT into the line in of the Studio/D. This mix was something I had spent a bit of time with, recording the drums and mixing them (and ultimately sampling them for loops), so I had a fairly deep sense of their sonic quality. I had some Monster Cable with RCA to RCA connectors, so I used them for record and playback.

I set the gain on the line in channel to about 3 o'clock, and the record master level to about 1 o'clock (after engaging the "record enable" switch, of course). The DAT in these sections was recorded a bit on the low side, peaking at about -12dB. This gain structure gave me a reasonable record level in DP, though I could probably have cut it a little hotter. I pressed record (as I am apt to do) in DP, and recorded a couple of minutes of the drum tracks. Boom, there it was, recorded audio in an iMac.

Playing back involved setting the outputs to Studio/D Out 1 - 2, and setting the level on the Studio/D "Computer" level pot to about 2 o'clock. Playback was flawless, and the Studio/D sounded good. How good? I did an A/B between the Studio/D/Performer playback, and the original tracks on the DAT. The goal of any recording device is to replicate, going out, exactly the sound that was going in.

Overall, the Studio/D did a very good job. The low end was not quite as robust as the source, with minimal attenuation on the sizzle side, but I was pleased with the results.

Conclusions & Considerations
The Studio/D has ASIO drivers. That's a big deal for right now, though I'm sure other companies are struggling to achieve the same thing. The Studio/D does deliver what it says it will do. It performed well, offers some convenient mixing/routing, and with a quality sound that works for semi-pro as well as many professional situations. Swissonic itself lists the Studio/D as a semi or sub-pro device, perhaps because of its less than 24-bit resolution, though that to me is not the dividing line. This is certainly the way to go for someone needing or wanting the convenience of a USB audio device. The Studio/D is priced a little higher than the other viable USB products on the market, and in a price/performance ratio I'd say it's at about a 1.2:1.

I'd like to see some way to bypass the mixer when recording audio. Though convenient if you wish to blend a number of signals, a direct out on some or all of the channels would be desirable to many professionals. Also, the digital I/O seems to be an add-on to the device, as opposed to fully integrated. You don't actually record right to USB from it, it goes D/A into the mixer and then to the computer via USB. The same is true for the digital output.

Swissonic has done a nice job with this device. Though it may not last forever, the addition of Mac ASIO drivers puts Swissonic on the forefront of USB audio. As I understand from Swissonic, Windows ASIO drivers are expected by the end of the month. Check the company's website, www.swissonic.com

JD Mars is the producer of Digital Pro Sound, and an experienced audio engineer and composer.

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