Monitor Controller: SPL vs Drawmer?

[PianoPerson]

Hello All,

After some changes to my studio setup, I need a simple monitor controller with 2 stereo inputs and 2 sets of speaker outputs (feeding active speakers with XLR inputs), 1 or 2 headphone outputs, and a flat top (so I can place a small desk lamp on it).

Avoiding the cheap and very expensive options, the choice is down to: SPL Control One, SPL 2Control and Drawmer MC2.1. I have no doubt that all of these are very good but find it a bit hard to choose, and was hoping that the always sensible people on this forum might be able to offer advice.

I've listed some pros and cons:

SPL Control One
Pros
Has the facilities I need
Has crossfeed
Excellent audio performance
Looks sleek...
Best price (€599; difference with Drawmer is small)
Cons
Half of the i/o is unbalanced
Short power cable (and you can’t use another one)
Volume attenuation only (I think)

Drawmer MC2.1
Pros
Has the facilities I need
Additional gain available
Excellent audio performance
Internal PSU (so you can use whatever cable length you need)
XLR i/o
Good price (€679)
Cons
Has various professional facilities I don’t need, such as talkback, separate left/right cut and phase reverse
No crossfeed

SPL 2Control
Pros
Has (slightly more than) the facilities I need
2 headphone outputs with crossfeed
Additional gain available
Internal PSU
XLR i/o
Cons
Most expensive option (€829)
Audio specs seem slightly (but probably not audibly?) inferior to the other options

Having additional gain might offer a bit more flexibility in monitoring sources with different loudness? I play Pianoteq virtually every day, using settings for which the volume knob on my DAC should be turned almost all the way up. This gives me a wide dynamic range in my playing, as on a real instrument. For listening to pop / rock / jazz, I turn the volume down significantly, to 12 o'clock or lower. With additional gain, I could still have the volume knob at 1 o’clock-ish when listening to loud sources.

In terms of other gear, I’m perfectly happy with an Audient Mico and Violectric V800 DAC, both connected to an original RME Babyface (now entering its 16th year!), in a fairly well treated room.

I'm leaning towards the Drawmer but crossfeed does seem very useful, and talkback really is a bit silly given my recording needs.

Many thanks in advance for any advice you might have!

[ConcertinaChap]

In his review of the Drawmer MC2.1 Hugh says this about the phase reverse button:

The 'phase reverse' switch flips the polarity of the left channel prior to the mono button, so that whereas pressing the mono button on its own gives 'left‑plus‑right', pressing both together gives left‑minus‑right — the stereo difference or 'Sides' channel. This is an incredibly useful function for aiding the alignment of stereo mic arrays or other two‑channel sources (given the same signal amplitude on both channels, adjusting the level of one channel for the deepest null when listening to the Sides signal guarantees accurate stereo matching), but also for identifying the damage done by over‑zealous lossy data-reduction codecs!

I've had cause to use it, though not very often TBF. All I can tell you is my Drawmer MC2.1 has been doing what it should do excellently well for a good few years now and if it went belly up I'd get another like a shot. I've no knowledge of the SPL so can't compare, I'm just saying you won't regret the Drawmer.

CC

[PianoPerson]

Thanks ConcertinaChap (I appreciate the analogy with PianoPerson)!

How would you rate the headphone outputs on the Drawmer?

[Hugh Robjohns]

They are all good products from reputable manufacturers.

I reviewed the SPL Control1 here:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/sp ... e-marc-one

And the Drawmer mc2.1 here:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/drawmer-mc21

I dont think we've reviewed the 2Control, but it was mentioned in this roundup:

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/de ... ontrollers

The gain/attenuation thing you mention is a complete red herring; you just need to set the appropriate gain structure between sources, monitor controller and active monitors to ensure you can make the system as loud as you want/need.

Just buy on the facilities you need, and set the system up appropriately.

Regarding the stereo difference function, I couldn't live without it — I used it only yesterday to identify a subtle fault on the BBC R3 Choral Evensong broadcast from Exeter Cathedral — but it's only a useful tool if you need to analyse stereo audio and there alternatives ways of achieving the same thing in a DAW if needed.

[ConcertinaChap]

(I appreciate the analogy with PianoPerson)!

Should we call you PP? Perhaps not ...

How would you rate the headphone outputs on the Drawmer?

Excellent. I've got my Avantone Planars plugged in permanently and they like a bit of juice but the Drawmer has no trouble driving them at all.

CC

[ef37a]

Being presently involved in juggling several sound sources to monitors (but not in a "studio" situation) I would really want level/balance trims on most channels.

Dave.

[PianoPerson]

The gain/attenuation thing you mention is a complete red herring; you just need to set the appropriate gain structure between sources, monitor controller and active monitors to ensure you can make the system as loud as you want/need.

Just buy on the facilities you need, and set the system up appropriately.

Thanks, Hugh; that's useful to know, and sensible advice.

[PianoPerson]

(I appreciate the analogy with PianoPerson)!

Should we call you PP? Perhaps not ...

How would you rate the headphone outputs on the Drawmer?

Excellent. I've got my Avantone Planars plugged in permanently and they like a bit of juice but the Drawmer has no trouble driving them at all.

CC

I might have to reconsider my moniker now. But this is reassuring info; thanks!

[PianoPerson]

Being presently involved in juggling several sound sources to monitors (but not in a "studio" situation) I would really want level/balance trims on most channels.

Dave.

Yes, that is indeed a major advantage of the Drawmer that I didn't mention.

[ConcertinaChap]

They are indeed present on the Drawmer but, for some reason, they are underneath and I found getting the buggers set up right when I first got the Drawmer something of a pain. However once set up they shouldn't need revisiting.

CC

[R_A]

How would you rate the headphone outputs on the Drawmer?

Very good.

I broke my MC2.1 about a year ago through misadventure, and had to send it back to Rotherham for repair (a painless and fairly priced process). During the repair I had to rely on the headphone output of a budget mixer. I was surprised at how bad my headphones sounded through the mixer, and very pleased when the MC2.1 returned back for duty.

[Hugh Robjohns]

They are indeed present on the Drawmer but, for some reason, they are underneath and I found getting the buggers set up right when I first got the Drawmer something of a pain. However once set up they shouldn't need revisiting.

They are underneath for many reasons.

1. Access is only required during initial calibration, so although a little cumbersome, it's a very practical compromise.
2. Dust and liquid can't fall into the trimmer holes.
3. It's a spare bit of panel real-estate that doesn't compromise the front panel control layout or rear panel space for connections.
4. it's very convenient for potentiometer location on the PCB and extremely cost-effective for production.

It's also worth noting that very few other monitor controllers at this price level have individual trimmers for system alignment.

[ef37a]

They are indeed present on the Drawmer but, for some reason, they are underneath and I found getting the buggers set up right when I first got the Drawmer something of a pain. However once set up they shouldn't need revisiting.

They are underneath for many reasons.

1. Access is only required during initial calibration, so although a little cumbersome, it's a very practical compromise.
2. Dust and liquid can't fall into the trimmer holes.
3. It's a spare bit of panel real-estate that doesn't compromise the front panel control layout or rear panel space for connections.
4. it's very convenient for potentiometer location on the PCB and extremely cost-effective for production.

It's also worth noting that very few other monitor controllers at this price level have individual trimmers for system alignment.

All good stuff ^
I would have thought the most practical way to proceed would be to invert the controller onto a folded cloth or foam pad?

Dave.

[Hugh Robjohns]

When I reviewed it I think I just rotated it 90 degrees to stand on its left end cheek. As long as there is plenty of free cable movement it's not hard to access the trimmers.

[ef37a]

When I reviewed it I think I just rotated it 90 degrees to stand on its left end cheek. As long as there is plenty of free cable movement it's not hard to access the trimmers.

Ah but see...that would need my left eye as the main operator and it don't do middle of things. If I were to put one on its right hand side I would be tackling the trimmers left handed. Total 180 gets me on top of things.

I used to be virtually ambidextrous struggling inside gear but one loses such skills.

Dave.

[ConcertinaChap]

They could have been put on the top where there's plenty of space, maybe under a slide-off panel to protect from dust. But the placing is not a show stopper even for me.

CC

[Hugh Robjohns]

A slide off panel would add considerably to the manufacturing complexity and cost... would it be justified when rotating the box is functional for something that needs to be accessed annually at most.

[ConcertinaChap]

Well, as I said: the placing is not a show stopper even for me. The problem has gone away to a large extent recently because nowadays I can trim my main monitor outputs using the Neumann DSP software for my KH120 IIs.

CC

[PianoPerson]

Thanks everyone for the helpful input!

I ended up buying the SPL Control One, because it's compact and simple, because its volume knob has a decibel scale, and because it has a headphone output with crossfeed.

I've had it for five days now and very much recommend it. As a monitor controller, it's very clean and accurate, while the crossfeed on the headphone output is genuinely useful (and addictive). Build quality is excellent; I expect it'll last me a very long time. I was a bit concerned that half of the I/O is unbalanced but everything works just fine. It's certainly not the cheapest monitor controller out there but I find it to be reasonably priced.

[ajay_m]

One thing I don't entirely get about monitor controllers is that (and I may be missing something here), I could fork out around £640, or less than the top-end model in the lineup here, for an A&H CQ12T mixer and have what seems like a lot more functionality AND be able to easily route stuff to multiple monitors and headphones and whatnot. And be able to multitrack record to an SD card, have a built-in multi-channel USB interface and all manner of things. I get I'm moving faders on a touch screen but... is that necessarily an issue?

[Luke W]

One thing I don't entirely get about monitor controllers is that (and I may be missing something here), I could fork out around £640, or less than the top-end model in the lineup here, for an A&H CQ12T mixer and have what seems like a lot more functionality AND be able to easily route stuff to multiple monitors and headphones and whatnot. And be able to multitrack record to an SD card, have a built-in multi-channel USB interface and all manner of things. I get I'm moving faders on a touch screen but... is that necessarily an issue?

I think it simply depends on what you want or need. In my case, that would just duplicate some of the stuff I already have, give me some new things I don't want, and importantly, still not do everything my monitor controller does! At least not anywhere near as simply and quickly, anyway.

[Hugh Robjohns]

One thing I don't entirely get about monitor controllers is that ...

It all comes back to workflow, ergonomics, signal path, and flexibility.

At its core, a monitor controller is a signal router and conditioner, with a volume control, and yes, all of those functions can be found in a variety of analogue and digital mixers, DAWs or dedicated monitor controllers.

However, some solutions are a lot more practical than others, in terms of desk footprint, speed and convenience of operation, signal path quality, focus of controls and features, and so on.

Personally, I want to know that the mute and volume controls are still going to work even if the computer crashes. And I want to be able to select and listen to sources without having to turn the computer on.

For speed and simplicity of working, I also want dedicated buttons to select and A-B compare sources (with simple options for gain-matching them), to switch between different outputs instantly and repeatedly, and to be able to quickly mute/solo output channels, or listen to the mono sum or stereo difference signal, or throw in polarity reversals, or drop the subwoofer in or out. I also want dedicated outputs to external metering systems, too, and the cleanest of clean signal paths that allow me to hear the difference between a £50 converter and a £2000 one.

I can do all that lightningly fast and reliably with my dedicated monitor controller... It could all be done with other technical solutions, of course but maybe not as well...

[PianoPerson]

When it comes to recording and mixing, I'm a mere amateur, with fairly simple needs. A compact and simple but high-quality monitor controller fits my bill perfectly, even though it is indeed expensive compared to a lot of audio interfaces.

One major advantage of a (really good) monitor controller is that it's computer-independent and therefore more likely to be used for a long time. I'm a bit shocked by how short the life-span of audio interfaces can be, simply because manufacturers stop providing up-to-date drivers. RME are a clear exception, of course. The fact that they continue to support my 15-year-old Babyface is one reason why I only needed a monitor controller. I now use the Babyface mainly as a digital interface, with an Audient Mico and Violectric V800 connected to its digital I/O (both of which I've had for more than a decade). With the SPL and good speakers, it's a dream setup, and not even all that expensive in the long run.

[Michael Dow]

When it comes to recording and mixing, I'm a mere amateur, with fairly simple needs. A compact and simple but high-quality monitor controller fits my bill perfectly, even though it is indeed expensive compared to a lot of audio interfaces.

One major advantage of a (really good) monitor controller is that it's computer-independent and therefore more likely to be used for a long time. I'm a bit shocked by how short the life-span of audio interfaces can be, simply because manufacturers stop providing up-to-date drivers. RME are a clear exception, of course. The fact that they continue to support my 15-year-old Babyface is one reason why I only needed a monitor controller. I now use the Babyface mainly as a digital interface, with an Audient Mico and Violectric V800 connected to its digital I/O (both of which I've had for more than a decade). With the SPL and good speakers, it's a dream setup, and not even all that expensive in the long run.

I'm still using a MOTU pcie-424 system with a 2408mk3 as main, two 2408mk2's and an 828mk2 hooked up via adat to one of those! These things just keep on going! 2002 i think they came out!

[ef37a]

I know I wrote earlier that I would want individual channel trims but I finished up with the Audient Nero which doesn't!
In my defence I did say "for studio purposes" and that is not what I am doing. The Nero gathers signals from my TV setup, a S/PDIF source from a CD deck and the outputs of my M4. Other sources will surely be added in the future.

With the exception of CD digital, all these feeds can be controlled at source and the TV sound goes to the "ALT" RCA inputs and that has a -10 to +10dB gain trim.

I am very happy with the unit and the sound quality is as transparent as I expected it to be. Beef? Tiny one, it seems that the box could be clever enough to remember the last input selected? No, it defaults to "SRC1" at power up when "ALT" would suit me better. The LED meters show the input level. This had me foxed for a bit because S/PDIF was hitting +15 and yet the windows were still intact. For me, I would prefer to know the level I am sending. Are all monitor controllers configured this way?

Dave.