Recording - March 2016 - 26

B Y PA U L V N U K J R .

New Old Sound
McONE Active
A new name in monitor control debuts an impressive active design
Based in Tel Aviv, Israel, New Old Sound Ltd. is billed as a
"Pro Audio gear design workshop." The company's founder
and principal designer, Evgeny Klukin, was born in Siberia,
and got his start at Waves developing hardware boxes like
the legendary L2 Ultramaximizer and MaxxBCL.
NOS currently offers a small but growing lineup, with one
microphone preamp and a selection of monitor controllers.
There are two simple passive models: the McONE Standard,
with an Alps volume pot, and the McONE Stepped, with a 23position stepped rotary volume switch. The focus of this review is
the McONE Active, an active desktop-style monitor controller
created in conjunction with the company's US distributor,
Warren Dent's ZenPro Audio.

In use
The unit is simple to hook up, and operation is as straightforward as it gets. More importantly, the McONE Active sounds
fantastic... which, for a monitor controller, means that it does
not exhibit a noticeable sound at all!
Despite its simple "what you see is what you get" aesthetic,
there are a few things to note. Each input and output is a one-ata-time either/or choice. You cannot choose simultaneous inputs,
nor can you have multiple sets of monitors active at the same
time (with the notable exception being one set of speakers plus
a subwoofer). The Sub out is a simple stereo out. There is no
built-in bass management; all crossover and level setting needs
to take place on your sub itself.

Meet the McONE Active
The McONE Active is a 10.25" x 6" x 3.25" slanted desktop
device that weighs just shy of 4 lbs. It is finished in a
white/cream color with black lettering and is capped on each
end by thick wood side panels. My studio furniture is finished in
a similar wood grain look; sitting on my desk, the McONE
Active looked like it was custom-made for my room... which didn't exactly break my heart!
The unit is a great balance of simplicity and features. It starts
with a pair of 3-position rotary switches marked A / B / C.
The top switch is labeled Input and the bottom control is the
Cue Select. You can send one of three input sources-like your
DAW output, a console's monitor mix, or a portable music
player-to a pair of selected studio monitors, as well as to the
Cue output, which in turn can feed a headphone distributor or
a set of tracking room speakers. A similar 3-position Output
switch selects one of three speaker outputs.
Four black latching pushbuttons are next, marked: Mono, Dim
(-17 dB), Mute, and Sub (a stereo subwoofer out). Volume control
is handled by a large black knob which uses a high quality Alps
pot. It is super smooth yet nicely resistant and feels fantastic.
Next there is Headphone volume control for the headphone
output (on the rear), a top mounted power button and lastly a
red momentary push button for talkback, with a small built-in
microphone located just above the button. When talkback is
engaged, the unit automatically dims and the talkback signal
is routed to the Cue outputs.
All inputs and outputs are located on the back in the form of
balanced 1/4" TRS sockets. As per the controls above, there are 3
input pairs, 3 speaker output pairs, and a stereo Cue out. There
are also a pair for the stereo Subwoofer output, and a single TRS
headphone out. See the sidebar for a short list of relevant specs.

Headphones and talkback
The headphone output is clear and offers plenty of solid
gain. However, the headphone signal is a mirror of the selected input, and you can't hear the talkback mic in it. That makes
it suitable for the engineer in the control room but not for the
talent in the tracking room.
From a workflow standpoint, The McONE Active is designed
so the stereo Cue output feeds a headphone distribution amp or
in-ear monitor setup, and the talkback mic does route to the Cue
sends. This makes sense and I completely understand why it was
designed this way. However, the headphone outs on every other
monitor controller I have owned or reviewed usually include the
talkback mic in the headphone out mix. I only mention this
because it's not uncommon to track artists in the control room,
and it can also be a bit disorienting to not hear one's own voice
in the headphones when giving direction to the talent.
Speaking of (or better yet, into) the talkback mic, its gain is settable via a control on the bottom of the unit, and mine came preset at a level that I found both adequate and appropriate. More
importantly, you have probably read reviews of monitor controllers and computer interfaces with built-in talkback mics where
the reviewer usually uses kind words like "usable". In other
words, most of them are functional, but often tinny-sounding,
slightly distorted, and/or distant. The talkback mic on the
McONE Active goes well beyond "usable"-it's the nicest, fullest,
clearest, and warmest talkback mic I have ever heard!

RECORDING March 2016

Other considerations
I really enjoyed this unit and it did almost everything that I
need a monitor controller to do. It also offered two features I wish
more monitor controllers would offer. The extra switchable stereo
sub output is a great addition, not found on many competing

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - March 2016