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Resumen del manual
Finally, here was a console with pro features at an anklebiter price. But we got through the better part of a year before we actually got our hands on one and, truth is, we were underwhelmed. A call to Crest engineering confirmed that they were aware of the same issues we had noted (manufacturing and not design-related) and said they were being addressed. We opted to wait to review the HP-8 until that happened and it appears to have been worth the wait. Feature Set I finally got a 24-channel Crest HP-8 to conduct this review, and started down the checklist of mid-market console "shalls" with the channel strips. Each channel started with an XLR input, phantom power switch, -26dB pad switch, two to 65dB preamp gain control, polarity switch and a three-pole 72Hz Lo-Cut switch. Of note is the lack of a TRS line-in jack, but more on that later. After the channel strip preamp and TRS insert jack, was a worthy four-band (two swept mid) equalizer section. The mid controls had a fixed Q of 1.5 with nice 100Hz to 2KHz, and 500Hz to 10KHz ranges. The low-frequency shelving control was at 100Hz, and the high-frequency shelving control at 12KHz. All equalizer controls were nicely scaled and had +/-15dB gain knobs. Tripping on down to my drool-soaked 10 aux sends, they were grouped six, two and two with pre/post fader switches for each group. The fader section was conventional with 100mm faders, PFL switches, mute group switches, subgroup pair switches, main assign switches, mute switch with red LED and an L-R pan control. Metering is done by a single two-color LED for signal present (yellow)/peak (red) indications. Obviously, minimal metering was a designer cost-saving choice, as the PFL switch can provide the ultimate resolution in signal metering. The 100mm fader had about two-thirds the travel in the +/-10dB range, which was unusual to me, but acceptable for most of us. No stereo input channel strips are provided standalone, but five stereo channels are placed in the master section, above the subgroup and aux masters. Each stereo input has an adequate three-band fixed frequency equalizer with a 60mm fader and complete subgroup and master assigns. The five stereo inputs are further grouped in to three TRS line input channels, and two channels with RCA jacks for CD and/or tape inputs. Squeezing every last drop of master section real estate, the Crest Audio HP-8 added two matrix outputs with 11 inputs from the masters and subgroups. According to Crest's owner's manual, not only are the matrices used for backroom mixes, but it states that they can be used for video shoots where a vocal heavy mix might be desired. A most informative note on matrix usage. The HP-8 jackpanel has XLR mic inputs, TRS inserts and TS direct outputs for each channel. Although the HP-8 has a nice internal power supply, an external supply jack is available for redundant backup. Aux send masters, subgroup outs and master outs all received companion TRS insert jacks for flexibility. And to top off the complete feature set, a five-year warranty means they are seriously backing their product. The Road Test The Crest Audio HP-8 console got its torture test at both the shop and a weekend of gigs. The above feature description meant there was a lot to love, as getting eight subgroups for less than $5,000, plus the 10 auxes and high-quality mic pre's and EQs is certainly a heroic feat. But as I worked with the HP-8, I realized its strongest trait is as a 10-mix monitor console. Up top in the master section, each auxiliary (or subgroup) has a dedicated 12-LED bar graph, plus the masters. So five stereo PM mixes, or 10 wedge mixes or something in-between can easily be done by enabling the fader flip switches. The utility and performance of the HP-8 are top notch. I was told just as the product release was announced that the mic pre's and equalization were going to industry-leading, and I believe they pretty much lived up to that goal—though the early production growing pains gave the competition some time to catch up. However, no matter how you slice it today, the Crest HP-8 wins best value in mid-market mixing consoles. Now, no console is perfect, and I want to air my modest "niggle" list on some features. The first niggle is that no channel TRS inputs means that FOH usage was slightly lessened by forcing me to put the effects returns up on the smaller fader stereo inputs. Now, I know this where they want the effects returns to be, but I personally like nice, wide fader travels to fine-tune effects in difficult room acoustics. CD and tape machines are fine on small faders, but effects returns normally live large with me. Another niggle is something that strikes larger, vastly more expensive consoles, though it does apply to the HP-8. That is the issue of assign switches on channel strips and masters. When grouped together, these switches do not have a lot of on/off throw to easily see which switch is enabled. Combine this with modest console ...