ASP510 Review: Rob James (StudioSound)

Audient ASP510 Review
Rob James, Studio Sound Magazine, January 2001

"Proving that its focus is not exclusively on retrospective analogue audio equipment, Audient has followed its successful analogue desk with a surround sound controller. Rob James finds its sweet spot.

Although Audient is a relative newcomer to the scene, the names behind the company are familiar ones as David Dearden and Gareth Davies were the 'DD' in DDA. Between them the design team has 50 years experience; their ASP 8024 analogue recording console--although seen by some as a strange thing to have designed in this digital age--has garnered much admiration and many sales. It is now joined by the ASP 510 surround sound controller which embodies much of the same philosophy and 'look and feel' as the console.

At 230mm wide by 120mm deep, the remote control manages to appear uncluttered without using up too much precious real estate. The heavy alloy top plate curved downwards at the front is both aesthetically pleasing and practical for a free-standing unit. The curve might pose more of a problem if you wanted to build the unit into a console surface. Larger, internally illuminated keys deal with frequently accessed functions while smaller keys have illuminated legends when active. The volume control is a real pot with end stops as opposed to a shaft encoder whose position actually has some relevance and obviates the necessity for a numeric display. Personally, I would have liked a numeric level display and I understand this could be made an option if enough people feel the same way. Operation is almost self explanatory and so, ironically, the ASP 510 comes with an excellent, and comprehensive manual including helpful application diagrams and very clear pin-outs if you are making your own cables.
With a maximum of 5.1 monitoring the ASP 510 comes in below the middle of the price range and has obviously benefited from being a late entrant. It offers a sensible number of inputs with flexible configurations. There is a total of three 6-channel and three 2-channel sources, a 6-channel speaker output and 2-channel and 6-channel recorder outputs. After
discussions with Audient it will now be possible to 'lock' a single surround source by simply holding the key down for a few seconds. This will allow, for example, a surround guide track to be heard when monitoring recording or playback. It will also be possible to gang any two or even three surround keys in the same way so that if you switch from say, Surround Play A and B to a stereo source and back to surround Play A, surround Play B will still ganged with it.
There is now a considerable choice of surround monitor controllers at varying price points. These range from the very simple to the extremely complex capable of controlling 7.1 sources with fine control of downmix options, bass re-direction and multiple encoder-decoder switching. But all the things you need for everyday surround mixing are present on the 510 without over complicating the issue. Monitoring controls are among the busiest in the studio and need to be completely instinctive--and they are extremely personal things. One size doesn't fit all. I particularly liked the robust feel of the keys and the uncluttered appearance of the Audient unit. Best of all, for me at least, everything fell naturally to hand on first acquaintance. Performance figures for the console appear conservative and subjective audio quality reflects the designers' obsessions. I was unable to detect any artefacts. I believe the simple downmixing and absence of bass re-direction is appropriate for most likely applications. Where more comprehensive downmixing control is needed I remain to be convinced the monitor controller is the place to do it.

Whether the requirement is for a stand alone monitor controller or a more comprehensive addition to a console's routing the ASP 510 has a lot to offer.
Audient have achieved an unusually good balance between sufficient inputs and facilities whilst retaining maximum clarity and simplicity. If you intend to work in surround a monitor controller is essential. Once auditioned, the ASP 510 may well become indispensable."