RUPERT NEVE DESIGNS RND-5034 | Newton Channel | Mic Pre + Eq + Compressor W/ Silk

RND-5034

Newton Channel Mic Pre + EQ + Compressor with Silk - 1 RU

Equally well suited for a project studio, large-scale commercial facility, or live-sound rig, the Rupert Neve Designs Newton Channel is an intuitive, high-quality channel strip that provides engineers, producers, and artists with modern functionality and classic sound on demand for a wide variety of recording and mixing applications.

The Newton Channel features a classic Rupert Neve mic pre, custom transformers, and Class-A line amplifiers for a huge headroom and punchy, larger-than-life sound. The discrete 3-band EQ section with fully sweepable mid-band provides flexible and musical controls to quickly sculpt your sound. The discrete compressor section features a fast and smooth VCA circuit to gently tame transients or apply heavy compression.

Silk Red and Blue Saturation lets you dial in subtle richness or over-the-top vintage-style harmonic saturation using a simple set of controls. Other features include 31-position detented control knobs to accurately recall and match your settings with speed and precision. A Stereo Link Switch allows you to link the gain reduction of two Newton compressors for powerful stereo-bus processing. Located in the unit's 1 RU rack-mountable chassis is a universal power supply with IEC connection for worldwide AC power from 100-240 VAC.

The Input Stage and Mic Preamp

The Newton’s microphone preamplifier contains all the tone and musicality expected from a Rupert Neve Designs piece. This preamp makes it incredibly easy to quickly dial in a tight, clean, and detailed sound. With a robust 72 dB of gain, including 6 dB of fine trim control, the Newton is ideally suited for a wide variety of sources.

While the input stage is tailored to be an ideal match for standard microphone source impedance, it is equally happy being driven by line levels—so a pair of Newtons can also be put to use as a high-end mixing tool for any studio.

The Newton also includes the company's distinctive variable high-pass filter with a comprehensive frequency range adjustment and independent bypass switch, allowing the engineer to quickly eliminate unwanted noise, rumble, or other low-frequency build-up in the source signal.

The Equalizer

The EQ section in the Newton is optimized for speed and flexibility with a simplified set of controls. The low- and high-frequency shelf bands are controllable with accurate 31-detent potentiometers that provide up to 12 dB of gain boost/cut, giving you the ability to dial in either subtle or extreme settings as desired.

The parametric mid-band of the EQ section includes another 31-detent potentiometer and a wide range of mid frequencies to boost or cut—switchable from 220 Hz to 7 kHz. This makes the MF band particularly flexible, allowing for taming low-mid muddiness, boosting mid-frequency presence, or removing any harshness in the upper midrange.

The carefully chosen fixed Q setting maintains a healthy balance of musicality and precision—just wide enough for brush-stroke equalization without adversely affecting neighboring frequencies. As with every section of the Newton Channel, the EQ has an independent bypass button for double checking settings every step of the way.

The Compressor

The Newton Channel also contains Rupert Neve Designs’ ultra-smooth VCA compressor with +20 dB of make-up gain and ample control for any amount of needed compression while maintaining a natural sound.

Also included is a helpful pre/post EQ push button to place the compressor either before or after the EQ section, plus an independent bypass button.

Variable Silk

At the end of the Newton’s signal path is the unique and highly coveted variable Silk circuit, which gives you the power and control to amplify second- and third-order harmonics by saturating the custom Rupert Neve Designs output transformers for a vintage tonality.

Silk Red mode highlighting harmonics in the highs and upper mid frequencies, and Blue mode accentuating harmonics in the lows and low mids. With the variable Texture knob, you can precisely dial in the desired amount of harmonic density.

Custom Transformer Outputs

The Newton Channel has a custom transformer output stage with a balanced MAIN standard XLR line-level output.

Additionally, a separate -6 dBu XLR output can compensate for high levels of input and Silk harmonic saturation, enabling engineers to fully drive the Newton to achieve more transformer harmonics without clipping the next device in the chain.

Both outputs are active and can be used concurrently.

Specifications

• Audio I/O
  • 1x Combo XLR-1/4" 3-Pin Line/Mic Input (Main Out, Balanced)
  • 1x XLR 3-Pin Line Output (Main Out, Balanced)
  • 1x XLR 3-Pin Output (-6 dB Out, Balanced) 
• Power Source
  • AC Input (Built-In)
• AC Input Power
  • 100 to 240 VAC, 50 / 60 Hz
• Power Consumption
  • 35 W
• Mounting
  • 1x Rackmount
• Dimensions
  • 19 x 8.12 x 1.75" / 48.3 x 20.62 x 4.45 cm
• Weight
  • 9.21 lb