Audient introduces Nero: Desktop monitor controller

British audio company Audient is proud to announce Nero, the desktop monitor controller. Offering a comprehensive range of I/O, console style monitor control, an assignable sub output, Precision Matched Attenuation Technology and more, Nero is designed to be at the core of the desktop studio.

Marketing Director, Andy Allen says, "Nero builds on our 20 years of expertise in analogue design heritage, courtesy of David Dearden designed circuitry. As a studio grows, it can be difficult to keep a handle on monitoring but Nero will provide centralised, customisable control for all your monitoring needs - right from your desktop."

Four stereo analogue inputs, including two line level inputs, a dedicated cue mix input, one aux input (RCA or Mini Jack) and both optical and coaxial SPDIF inputs give you a wide variety of connectivity options. These can be fed to three stereo speaker outputs (with the ability to set and match volumes), one assignable sub output, and four headphone outputs. "Nero has both a monitoring grade headphone output for the engineer and three foldback headphone outs for the artists, providing plenty of volume and crystal clear headphone mixes when recording or mixing," he says.

Audient have also developed Precision Matched Attenuation Technology, which perfectly matches the volume of the left and right channels of your stereo signal. Unlike other monitor controllers, this prevents any deviation in volume between your left and right monitors, enabling you to monitor accurately and mix with confidence.

Building on the functionality of the Centro monitor controller, Nero is inspired by Audient's heritage in analogue console design and features a range of flexible monitor controls, including dedicated talkback, cut & dim along with polarity, mono, speaker select and cue mix monitoring and the concept of Smart Touchpoints.

"Smart Touchpoints are configurable buttons that allow you to customise your workflow on the fly," says Andy. Hold a touchpoint down to enter setup mode, then simply route and configure Nero's relevant monitor controls to create and save monitoring combinations that work for you. For example route your sub permanently to any or all sets of speakers without losing the ability to switch it on and off. Or permanently sum an output to Mono for your Mono reference speaker.

When it comes to talkback, Nero features an internal mic as well as a dedicated mic input with phantom power, enabling the use of a dynamic or condenser mic of your choice. You can then route any input source as well as talkback to any headphone output, which means you'll always be in control of your session.

"Nero utilises Audient's vast experience in implementing monitor control in recording consoles and desktop controllers, and we feel that knowledge has led us to deliver the best sounding, most flexible desktop monitor controller available at this price point," concludes Andy.

Nero is expected to ship in the second quarter of 2019 and will retail at $499 MAP.