Review: SSL X-Desk
Solid State Logic has crammed several nifty features into its smallest console yet.
By Brad Watts
9 November 2009
Like the majority of large console manufacturers striving to stay relevant in the 21st century, SSL has in recent years rolled out several ‘mini-me’ versions of its famous mixing desks in order to remain at the top of the professional sound mixing tree. While still producing large, state-of-the-art high-end recording and broadcast consoles with similarly stratospheric price tags, the iconic UK console manufacturer has recently released several more modestly sized and appointed consoles, most notably the AWS 900+ and Matrix. But even these consoles have been out of the financial reach of the vast majority of audio practitioners. This time around, however, SSL has really shrunk the console… and the price along with it.
Compared to the enormous slabs of steel, copper and leather synonymous with the SSL brand, in some respects the X-Desk can’t even really be dubbed a console. For starters you can carry this puppy under one arm – shifting an SSL previously required an eight-man crew, a crane and often a carpenter to take down a wall or remove a window! In all seriousness though, the X-Desk is a whole different kettle of fish, yet it still retains some of the DNA from SSL’s flagship designs. Like the aforementioned AWS 900+ and Matrix ‘project’ consoles, the X-Desk houses the same lovingly hand-crafted circuitry as its vastly heavier ancestors, albeit far less of it. It’s not an analogue E, G, J, or K-series console by any means, nor can it ever hope to inspire confidence (and occasionally terror) quite like these behemoths once did. Nevertheless, the X-Desk represents a fundamental building block of a capable tracking, mixing, and even summing mixer that will remain relevant for years to come. I’ll explain further with some orientation toward the ‘modular’ aspects of the X-Desk before we get into other specifics of the board. The console’s ability to be daisy-chained to other X-Desks is one of its more interesting design aspects, and I’m sure the prospect of slowly building up an analogue SSL mixing system will be attractive to a large number of recording and mixing enthusiasts.
MATCH & MIX
The X-Desk is designed to be used alongside your carefully chosen outboard equipment, or as SSL would indubitably prefer, alongside your own phalanx of classy SSL X-Rack gear. If you’re cashed up enough to turn this idea into a reality, the SSL X-Desk channel strips have been thoughtfully designed to line up perfectly with the X-Rack modules when placed together in a 19-inch rack setup. The resulting amalgamation will go a long way toward looking like, behaving as, and providing the features you’d expect from, a fully-fledged console. Sure, at first glance the console looks to be a mere eight channels, and eight channels by no definition represents a fully-fledged console. But the beauty of the X-Desk is that multiple units can be linked together – or ‘cascaded’, as SSL’s own adjective describes it – up to a preferred maximum of eight. With this convocation of X-Desks you’d ostensibly have 160 channels at your disposal, since each desk can summon a maximum of 20 inputs.
Connection to and from the X-Desk is managed via D-Sub (DB25) connectors. ‘Link In’ and ‘Link Out’ D-Sub connectors take care of linking two or more X-Desks together, while a further eight D-Sub connectors address pretty much every other input and output to the desk. Once two or more X-Desks are cascaded in series, the Mix, Cue, Auxiliary 1 & 2 sends, and AFL functions become linked across all units. This allows switching features such as ‘Solo’ to assert their authority across the full complement of consoles, with the final console in the chain acting as the output master. Equally, combining the X-Desk with units such as the X-Rack XR624 will add even more inputs to the desk. An X-Rack fully loaded with eight XR624 modules (each one sporting eight line-input channels) connected to the dedicated ‘X-Rack Expansion’ D-Sub, for example, will provide a healthy 84 inputs. The only other connectors on the back of the console are the four XLR outputs for speaker monitoring – inevitably dubbed ‘main’ and ‘alt’. These are positioned and labelled relative to the operator’s seating position, which is how I like connections to be mounted (until I’m wiring a system from behind a rack, at which time I change my tune completely).
So, I’m sure you get the picture as to how the X-Desk can grow with your needs. The only aspect I’m left wondering about is whether SSL has an expander-style unit somewhere in the pipeline – a dedicated console for expanding the X-Desk without having to pony up for yet another master section each and every time you add another ‘bucket’ to the console. Perhaps SSL’s idea is to coerce you into the X-Rack option, which in all honesty, wouldn’t be a difficult task. Once you’ve built your mega-console with discrete SSL portions, all that’s missing is automation – at least SSL supplies a recall sheet as a .pdf document on its website – how quaint.
NEED TO KNOW
SOLITARILY
Let’s leave the pipe dreams aside for now though, while we have a look at what the X-Desk is capable of as a single standalone unit. To start with I should point out that the X-Desk is an ‘in-line’ design, which can handle 16 channels of input via the channel strips alone, so it’s an ideal candidate for a summing mixer should that be your bag. Typically the eight channels operate as normal, with eight mono sources feeding through eight very smooth, albeit light to the touch, 100mm faders. Farther up the channel strip are stereo Cue sends. These can be used as a separate stereo cue mix for the talent when tracking, or two mono cue mixes. With a push of the ‘Alt’ button, however, these level and pan controls will accommodate a further eight inputs into the desk. Below the cue-mix section are two discrete auxiliary sends, labelled ‘FX1’ and ‘FX2’. Each of these has a stereo return path, increasing the X-Desk input count to 20. There are another two line inputs which take the form of a stereo ‘iJack’ – a 3.5mm input for devices such as iPods – although this doesn’t offer any attenuation (I guess you’ll have to mix the iPod signal via its own output control). At the top of each channel strip is a gain control, an ‘Alt’ button to switch between the two input sources, a phase button (hoorah!), and an insert button to instigate any outboard that may be strapped across the channel as an insert. Each channel strip has a cut/mute and solo button that light up like Christmas tree decorations in bright hues of yellow and orange.
EYES RIGHT
On the right-hand side of the console is the master section, which offers talkback facilities, including a built-in talkback microphone. The talkback button defaults to a momentary-only setting, meaning that it only works while you’re physically holding down the switch. In this mode, there’s no risk of embarrassing yourself by making some regrettable statement about the singer while the talkback mic is open and feeding into his or her headphone mix. If, however, you prefer a latching talkback switch, holding down the talkback button as you power up the console will put the talkback button into latching mode – a handy option. Unfortunately, there’s no facility for connecting an external talkback mic, which could become aggravating if the raspy internal mic starts to grate with the talent. There’s also no fader for master output attenuation. Instead, a rotary pot takes care of master level output – above which are dim and talkback level control pots. Another interesting feature of the master section is the ability to mix the master bus and the master bus insert points. This comes courtesy of a ∑ sigma button that allows all sources (Mix, Ext, and iJack) to be summed before the final output. Adding the insert path to the output mix is achieved with a separate glowing button, so you have the choice to combine or mix your stereo bus insert processing. I might point out here – even though one might expect this of a unit from SSL – all knobs, faders, buttons and controls feel indubitably top notch – no dead spot at detented centre-pan positions and so forth. There were also rumours circulating the net recently that the X-Desk was manufactured in China, which should probably be dispelled here while we’re at it. I can assure you all the markings and legending dictate that the console is indeed lovingly crafted in Oxford, Britain. We’ve also had this confirmed directly by the folks at SSL.
SOLID LOGIC?
Obviously the X-Desk isn’t going to suit everybody’s budget, but I’ll add to this statement that, for the asking price, you’re getting a bunch of features you won’t see on other eight-channel desks. Perhaps more importantly, you’re also getting SSL’s SuperAnalogue circuit design that is truly pristine. Using this desk provides an utterly transparent signal path and an incredibly reassuring feel to any signal you’re passing through it.
Aside from the euphonic aspects, however, is the incredible versatility of the X-Desk. Being an in-line design, and the fact that the insert outputs are always active, there are a number of ways the X-Desk can be used. You could route the channel insert outs directly to your recorder and have the returns permanently patched back to the X-Desk, if that’s your bag. You could run the entire desk as a 16-input summing mixer, then whip it out of the rack for a location recording, knowing full well that it’s an easy job to patch it back into your rig upon your return, by simply reconnecting the D-Sub connectors. Or you could simply run the console as a straight eight-channel tracking desk, featuring a pair of mono cue-mixes alongside complete talkback facilities. I honestly think when people look at what the X-Desk has to offer by itself, and then consider the ease of integrating outboard, or indeed another X-Desk (or desks) in the future, the asking price really isn’t so steep. If I were in the market for a summing amp, a small console, a monitoring system with talkback, or all of the above, the X-Desk would easily top my list.
RESPONSES