Sonifex RM-2S4 4 Stereo Channel Input Reference Monitor with 2 LED Meters

The RM-2S4 is a 1U rack-mount unit offering quality loudspeaker monitoring and accurate, high-resolution metering of up to four stereo audio sources and more with the addition of optional expansion cards. Sources may be in any mixture of analogue and AES/EBU digital formats, with sample rates up to 192kHz accepted.

Audio inputs on the RM-2S4 can be analogue or digital because they are autoswitching using the left Neutrik XLR for AES/EBU, or both Neutrik XLRs for analogue inputs and they can be used in any combination.Analogue inputs can be balanced or unbalanced in any combination. The digital inputs have switchable AES/EBU termination for (close-range) bridging operation and there is extra global input gain available for both analogue and digital low-level sources.Sources (and additional banks of sources, if fitted) are selected via a front panel rotary encoder, with clear LED indication of the current selection. A pair of line-level audio outputs, configurable as analogue or AES/EBU digital, follow the selected source at either a fixed level or one mirroring the loudspeaker volume.

The level of the chosen source is displayed on a pair of bright, multicoloured 53-segment bargraph meters, with a choice of seven accurately modelled scales/responses to suit different applications and local preferences. Clear scale labels are provided for you to chose the scale displayed and the meter brightness can be adjusted from the front panel. A separate phase meter indicates channel correlation or phase error conditions. On the rear panel, open-collector alarm outputs provide hardware indication of sustained underlevel, overlevel, phase errors and digital source lock.

Six illuminated pushbuttons provide access to a range of audio "...modifiers' "- instant dimming of the volume, individual muting of each audio channel, stereo-to-mono conversion, phase inversion and Middle+Side transcoding. On the rear panel, logic-level inputs allow direct remote access to the DIM and MUTE functions.

The three-way loudspeaker system is fed via a DSP-based active crossover and a trio of highly efficient Class-D amplifiers. Careful attention to driver selection, materials and case design, plus active DSP equalisation, has ensured a flat response and outstanding reproduction from such a shallow unit. A protective limiter prevents damage to the loudspeakers under overload conditions and the front-panel headphone socket automatically mutes the internal loudspeakers when a plug is inserted. A Balance control allows you to alter the stereo imaging of the left and right channels.

A further five-band parametric equaliser can be accessed for room-equalisation purposes via Sonifex SCi Windows-based remote control software. Source selection, status monitoring and unit ID functions, plus firmware updates to add extra functionality, are all accessible remotely via both USB and RS232 connections in conjunction with Sonifex SCi software. The open control protocol also allows operation with terminal programs or customised applications.

Optional additions to the RM-2S4 include HD video input expansion cards, allowing multiple AES groups embedded within an HD-SDI or SD-SDI signal to be de-embedded and monitored, either with (RM-HD1E) or without (RM-HD1) Dolby E or Dolby Digital encoding.