| Safe Sound Audio P1 Details
Our very first product ever sold, the P1 is more fun to use than ever! THE ultimate vocal tracking box, plus a great D.I. make this thing a Swiss army knife…well if Swiss Army knives were hand assembled in the UK!
Front End
Super low noise wide bandwidth microphone input with more than 70dB gain, really good for those fantastic old ribbon mics. High Impedance instrument input.
Balanced Line Input.
Really easy to use single gain knob for all three inputs.
Insert Jack
Plug in your favorite effects unit.
Expander
A studio quality expander that's really easy to use. Beautifully smooth noise reduction or use it as a gate to kick some life into a drum track.
Compressor
This is the SMOOTHEST compressor on the planet. If you love compressors which distort and pump, then SORRY this is not for you. The P1 compressor is super smooth using a multistage design called peakride. Very fast when required to be but always in control and never bad tempered! Fully adjustable THRESHOLD, RATIO and ATTACK. 'Follow audio' controlled release time and automatic gain make-up complete the picture.
Limiter
We don't use the words 'world class' lightly! We believe this is the most sophisticated 100% analogue limiter on sale today. True 'look ahead' limiting which allows a potential overload to be caught BEFORE IT OCCURS but with absolutely no latency. This is STEALTH PROTECTION against digital overloads entering your hard disk based recording system. What's more there's absolutely no adjustment necessary in daily session use. Set once and forget.
Output Stage
Balanced output stage with +21dBu drive capability.
Zero latency Monitoring
Really convenient headphone monitoring during track laying and overdubs. Level blend your 'new take' source material with your 'off disk' playback for the ideal monitor mix.
The Power Supply System
The P1 houses a 100% analogue power supply unit with a super high quality toroidal power transformer feeding three 100% linear power voltage regulators. No nasty switched-mode power stages here we promise!
Safe Sound Audio P1 Features
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Safe protection from digital clipping for your hard disk recording system using the world class dtc limiter
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Sound quality as only a 100% analogue unit can provide, including one of the smoothest compressors money can buy
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Audio monitoring system allows you to track lay and overdub monitor with zero latency
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Low noise wide bandwidth front end with mic, instrument and line inputs
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Beautiful single knob expander for background noise reduction
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Fully adjustable multi-stage compressor, super smooth response
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MAINS POWERED so throw away those cheap wall adapters for good!
Safe Sound Audio P1 Specifications
- Model P1 Audio Processor
Size: 223mm wide by 44mm high (1U) by 225mm deep (excluding cable connectors)
Weight: 1.8kg (4lbs)
- Power requirements: AC power to the voltage indicated on the rear panel ±10%, 50/60 Hz.
Mains Cord Fuse (UKonly): 3A
Rear Panel Fuse: 20mm fuse, 250mA 250V
Power Consumption: 15W
- Main Processor Audio Path
Frequency response: -0.5dB points at 15Hz and 55kHz
Distortion: < 0.01% at 1kHz (typically 0.008%) main signal path working at 0dBu, limiter always in circuit.
- Maximum Input Levels
Microphone: +11dBu
Line input: +21dBu
Instrument: +11dBu
- Input Impedances
Microphone: 2k4 ohms
Line input: > 10k ohms
Instrument: 1M ohms
- Equivalent Input Noise Figures
Microphone: 128dB (max gain with 150 ohms source)
Line input: 100dB (unity gain)
Instrument: 105dB (max gain)
- Output Noise
-93dBu RMS unweighted, measured 22Hz to 22kHz
-95dBu RMS A-weighted, measured 22Hz to 22kHz
- Maximum Output Level (post limiter): > +21dBu
- Output Impedance: 50 ohms
- Input Gain Ranges
Microphone input: 0dB to +70dB
Line input: -10dB to +20dB
Instrument input: 0dB to 30dB
- Expander
Threshold range: -60dB to 0dB
Attack time: typically 3ms
Release time: variable between 90ms and 900ms (tracks the natural audio decay)
Ratio: 1:3 with a small degree of ‘soft knee’ at the threshold point
- Peakride Compressor
Threshold range: 0dB to -40dB
Attack time range: 60ms to 1ms
Release time: variable from 90ms to 500ms (tracks the natural audio decay).
Ratio: 1:1 to INF:1
Make-up gain: automatically set in proportion to the threshold and ratio settings.
Gain reduction meter: calibrated in dBs.
- Dynamic Threshold Control Limiter
Threshold: fixed internally to +7dBu
Attack time: fastest ‘natural’ is 5ms augmented by the ‘look ahead’ dynamic threshold control.
Ability to control peak level: will control overshoot to within 0.5dB for a very fast rise time waveform (30us) set for 6dB of overload.
- Monitor Output
For highest quality monitoring use headphones with an impedance of 600 ohms or above. Use of low impedance headphones is possible but expect reduced audio quality.
Safe Sound Audio P1 Applications
- Tracking sources which require an invisible control of dynamic range
- Line level use during mixdown, the P1 holds things in place without noticeable effect
- Instrument tracking / D.I.
- Keeping overages from causing nasty clipping
- High gain for use with ribbon mics (+70db of clean gain available)
- High quality headphone amp for no latency monitoring
- Many more!
What We Think
I had originally received a P1 to review for an online gear magazine, and was very impressed with its ability to control dynamic ranges without altering the original sound. That compressor is one of the most unique around, it just rides sources like vocals so smooth! The preamp is very good, on the clean side of things and very all purpose. The instrument D.I. is stunning, with extended lows and detail that’ll make you stop shopping for the next expensive box for recording bass! So instead of reviewing it, we decided to make a business out of it…and Front End Audio was born. It’s still hand assembled in the UK village of West Yorkshire, and Robert Campbell (former NEVE designer) still performs final testing and assembly of each unit we receive! Try the P1, with our return policy of 100% of purchase price (see our policy page) what have you got to lose…or gain!
Warren Dent, Front End Audio
Safe Sound Audio P1 Reviews
"The unit is built exceptionally well with high-quality components, and there's a real power supply inside...The compressor really shines on vocals. Even with ratios greater than 4:1, I was able to smooth out some fairly dynamic vocal tracks without any hint of overcompression or unnatural "pinching" in the upper mids. I've never been a fan of the RNC, mostly because everything I send to it sounds smaller, even when it's supposedly compressing "transparently." On the other hand, the P1 seems to fulfill on its promise of transparent compression. Whether I sent it syllables sung staccato or layered oohs and ahhs, post-compression levels were solid, and the vocals sounded up front even when the compressor was clamping down to -15 dB. Also, any initial transients in the vocal that made it past slower attack settings didn't sound overly sibilant--another reason why the P1 sounds so transparent...
Dang if the P1 isn't the easiest to use Bass DI and recording chain out there. Unless you hit the limiter, which adds a bit of distortion to the attack (which could be a good thing if you're looking for an agressive, picked sound), it's pretty hard to screw up the sound of a bass with this thing. In fact, I was able to dial in some of the best DI'ed bass sounds with the P1 that I've ever gotten...The P1 also seems to excel at capturing acoustic guitar, an instrument that I consider to be one of the hardest tests on a recording chain...The expander also worked well on a guitar track with a noisy amp. And on vocals, it was easy to set up the expander so it decayed naturally even on quiet syllables. No matter what instrument I threw at the expander, I never got it to chatter...a great-sounding, do-it-all recording strip that's super easy to use. Give the P1 a shot. You can't lose."
- Andy Hong / excerpts from the summer 2006 TapeOp Magazine Review
"The P1 seemed to have a more in your face presence than the Neve chain. The P1 also put across a sense of warmth similar to going to analog tape first" – Bill Drescher, Producer / Engineer for Rick Springfield, Richard Marx, INXS, Bangles, Ringo Starr, Shawn Colvin and Los Lobos, Alien Cowboys and more. Read the review at www.mojopie.com.
'During testing, the P1 Audio Processor lived up to its technical claims by being almost impossible to make sound bad! It's input stages are very clean and free of added colour, while the compressor evens out the levels in a very musical way without robbing the sound of life ... It sounds good in the same effortless way a nice tube mic does' – Paul White, reviewer for Sound on Sound Magazine UK. Subscribers can read the review at www.soundonsound.com.
"Darned good. Very, very clean, with no hint of harshness, and I see the word "beautiful" is in my listening notes…the P1 is clean, clean, clean…I tried some a capella choral music...through the P1; it kept the power and the punch while managing her wide dynamic range very nicely. I also tried it on other vocals, including the long, drawn-out notes of the eerie "Been in the Storm So Long," and it handled the music with aplomb. Likewise some narration voice-overs sitting in the computer from a few months ago. My conclusion: This compressor really likes vocals." - Paul Stamler, Recording Magazine. You can read the review in its entirety in the September 2005 issue of Recording.
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