Take a look at the Symetrix 528E

Symetrix is a common name to find in broadcast control rooms and many other places in the audio chain. The 528 is a time-proven performer as a professional broadcast vocal strip.

Now, the 528E is finding itself in Podcast studios around the world. Laura and I take a matched pair of 528E’s around the block on a 30 minute test drive. I found the hookup to be quite standard for a vocal strip. A unique design feature of the 528E lets you tap into the audio chain as it passes through the de-esser, downward expander and compressor and finally the voice-taylored parametric EQ.

A couple of unique things stood out to me on the 528E. First; no surprises. The 528E looks like, and is built like a piece of pro equipment. Except for the blue finish, it is very “DBX” like in appearence sporting solid feeling knobs and several LED VU meters. If you are looking for flashy looks, you won’t find it here.

Under the hood, the 528E simply feels solid. The sound is just as solid. I felt as though I had a lot of control over my audio with the 528E. The EQ gives plenty of range, the downward expander sounded clean and the compressor allowed me very subtle to very hard squashing of the audio.

Overall, the 528E did exactly what I wanted, when I wanted it in a straight-forward, no nonsense 1 rack-unit package.

If you are looking for a solid vocal workhorse, check out this strip.

From the PodSqod Team to everyone out there; have a safe and Happy New Year!

Best,
MarkJensen & Laura

Filed under: Podcasts