Reprinted from August 1999
equipment
review
Rane SM 82
Line Mixer
by Dr. Frederick J. Bashour
s many of my readers know, when I
d o classical recording sessions, I
put all my analog electronics and
A-to-D converters out where the musicians
are and just run long fiber-optic cables to
my control room. I’ve been doing this since
1988. Only in the last few years, however,
have I been recording multitrack digital.
In this case, the data coming down those
fiber-optic cables gets recorded on individual tracks in my M a r k of t h e U n i c o r n
(MOTU) 2408 hard disk system, and I monitor a mix in the control room through the
MOTU PCI Console software application.
While in Cleveland in November 1998, I
realized I was missing something - I had
no way to monitor a mix of all my mic
channels while I was out on the stage with
the musicians, adjusting analog parameters
such as mic placement, EQ, levels, compression, etc.
Sure, I could have monitored two channels at a time through that strange little
headphone amp in the Apogee Electronics
AD-8000 ( PAR, 11/98, p. I5), but if I
wanted to hear how my individual channel
tweaks affected the sound of the entire
mix, I was out of luck, unless I ran back
and forth between the stage and the control room. What I needed was an analog
monitor mixer.
I also could have lugged around my 03D,
o r even have set up that cute little
MIDIman SAM mixer ( PAR, July 1999,
p. 38) (along with a DAC). Using the 03D
would have been overkill for my intended
use and the tiny SAM gadget only mixes
four stereo pairs, and sometimes I use
more than eight tracks.
I really needed a small analog mixer
with a lot of channels. Good sound was
also important because I needed to hear
the effect of my subtle tweaks without
coloration from another set of analog electronics.
I looked through my catalogs and
seemed to have plenty of choice in the
matter. But once I eliminated all the mixers that looked like miniature consoles -
too bulky to lug around - the list narrowed considerably. Most of the small,
single rack-space line mixers were at the
low end, pricewise. These units would
most likely color m y sound t o o much.
Also, many of them didn’t have enough
inputs anyway. There was one exception,
which immediately rose to the top of my
wish list - the Rane S M 82.
The Rane seemed to have eight stereo
inputs, and since each of these fed a
post-fader send bus I could actually get
t w o different stereo mixes out of it, if
needed. I could even return a stereo signal to it. This gave me an idea I hadn’t
thought of before - I could send an analog version of my digital stereo mix (from
the MOTU console) back to it, and compare my pre-digital rough mix with the
one I was building up back in the control
room.
I found a copy of the mixer’s manual on
the Rane Web site, downloaded and printed
it, got really excited and, sight unheard,
decided to get one. I phoned up Brett Moss,
equipment editor at P A R , and asked to
review it. Exactly two days later, a package
arrived on my doorstep from the Rane folks
in Mukilteo, Wash. Ah, the perks of the
audio reviewer!
Features
The single rack-space S M 82 ($599) is
only 5.3” deep, but every possible nook and
cranny, both inside and on the front and rear
panels, is efficiently used. Each of the eight
stereo inputs has a rotary pot for level and a
1" fader for balance. Next to the balance
fader is another one, which is used to control the post (rotary) fader send level. That
makes eight knobs and 16 small vertical
faders on the front panel! The rest of the
Copyright 1999 by IMAS Publishing (USA), Inc. Reprinted with permission
panel is completed by a power switch, two
more rotary pots - for master level and
return level and two more small faders,
which a r e used f o r master balance and
return balance.
Each stereo input channel, as well as each
of the stereo output busses, has a red LED to
indicate overload (with a 4 dB safety margin). No other metering is provided but, hey,
consider the size of this thing!
The rear panel is equally filled. There are
25 one-quarter-inch jacks (some balanced,
some single-ended) and a power jack that,
for the first time in my experience as a PAR
reviewer, is not an IEC connector. Rather,
it’s a female RJ-45 telephone network-type
jack that connects to the large Rane external
line lump power supply.
I’ve subsequently learned that most Rane
equipment is powered in this manner; it
gives arguably better control of ground and
hum parameters and, in fact, the Rane manual spends quite a bit of time explaining the
At a Glance
Applications:
Line-level mixing needs - MIDI
gear, submixer t o larger system,
monitoring
Key Features:
16 input channels of transparent
sound in a single rack-space; stereo
auxiliary sends and returns; linkable t o another SM 82 for even
more inputs
Price:
$599
Contact:
Rane at 425-355-6000
equipment
review
theoretical basis of line noise reduction. The
extremely well-written manual also contains
detailed diagrams of connector wiring possibilities; Rane doesn’t want to leave anything
to chance!
Back to those 25 one-quarter-inch I/O
jacks. Each of the eight stereo channels has
a pair of TR input connectors - that’s 16 so
far. Just like on most MIDI equipment, if
one connects a plug only to the left channel
jack, a mono input is obtained, and the balance fader on the front panel becomes a
panpot. There’s a pair of main outputs, on
balanced TRS jacks, and another expand
output, unbalanced, with both channels
together on a TR jack - there just wouldn’t
have been room for a 26th connector! The
last four jacks are two loop sends and two
auxiliary returns, also on TR connectors.
In use
Within minutes of unpacking the SM 82, I
had it wired up to the eight analog outputs
from the eight-channel DAC card in my
Apogee AD-8000. Since the Rane Web site
had provided me with complete specs and
wiring diagrams, I prewired eight short
XLR-to-TR cables while awaiting the
mixer’s arrival.
I played back a multitrack recording
through the Apogee unit, and monitored the
Rane mixer’s analog output through Stax
headphones. The S M 82 does not have a
headphone jack. At first I considered this
unfortunate omission but, after examining
the use of panel real estate, and considering
my own priorities, I still could not decide
which one of the controls to give up for a
headphone jack. Sure, there might have
been room to squeeze an 1/8" jack in there
somewhere, but this is a serious piece of
professional equipment, so I’m sure the
Rane engineers dismissed that possibility in
a hurry.
I own four sets of Stax headphones and
always leave one set out in the recording
hall with my analog equipment, so the lack
of a headphone jack wasn’t a problem. I
pressed play on the computer and adjusted
the Rane’s pots and faders. It took me less
time to get a mix happening than it did for
me to type this sentence - the controls are
very intuitive and, considering their small
size, feel pretty good.
Summary
What about the sound? I heard practically
no difference whatsoever between the direct
sound from a single stereo pair from the
Apogee A-to-D card and that same pair after
going through the mixer! Being a tube guy,
I have no experience with the 2059 op-amp
chips Rane uses for everything except the
summing amps (where the schematic shows
Copyright 1999 by IMAS Publishing (USA), Inc. Reprinted with permission.
a 4570), but I can safely say that they sound
just fine.
The direct sounds that went through the
mixer weren’t identical, but they were close
enough for the monitoring use I intend. And
for some reason I suddenly had to run something through the SM 82 on the way to my
recorders, I wouldn’t hesitate. It’s that transparent. I guess that simple, well-engineered
solid-state design using op-amps isn’t too
shabby these days. Congratulations, Rane,
you impressed Dr. Fred!
No way am I sending this thing back to
Rane-just send me the bill.
Product Points
Rane SM 82 Line Mixer
Plus
Small size
Transparent sound
Extensive and flexible I/O
Minus
No headphone jack.
The Score
A n incredible combination of
flexibility, size, and sound
quality.