PreSonus Monitor Station V2

For Professional Studio Work!

The PreSonus Monitor Station V2 is the ideal switching and communication unit for computer-based studios that still lack the central "master" section of a professional control room. Comparing reference mixes, making precise judgments across different monitors and communicating comfortably with musicians via a professional talkback unit are indispensable for a successful studio routine — and the compact Monitor Station V2 handles all of this with ease. Thanks to high-quality components, both the monitor and the headphone sound for participating musicians are top-notch. In addition, all large switches feature integrated status lighting so the engineer always knows the current state.

Besides the main volume control, the Monitor Station V2 offers a wide range of switching, control and routing options. It can be fed with different stereo signals — e.g. the main mix and a playback mix — via two pairs of balanced jack connectors. The third aux input is doubled: as a pair of phono jacks for typical line sources and as a 3.5 mm stereo mini-jack; the latter is ideal for conveniently using tablets or smartphones as sources. The phono and mini-jack inputs can even both be used at once; their signals are summed internally. Above the mini-jack input is the S/PDIF input, which can be connected, for example, to the digital output of a CD player.

To monitor the Main bus signal, the Monitor Station V2 features a 2 x 8-segment LED level meter that can be calibrated to -10 dB, +4 dB or +10 dB. On the rear you can connect three pairs of studio monitors or two pairs plus a subwoofer, whose levels can be precisely matched with three small trim pots. The clever part: the three speaker-select buttons can be assigned different switching modes. In the default mode they work independently, so the summed signal can be output to all three outputs simultaneously — e.g. to the control-room monitors, the subwoofer and another monitor pair in the live room or studio foyer.

In the second mode ("Toggle") only one monitor pair can be selected at a time — this corresponds to the classic control-room setup with, for example, miniature speakers, nearfield monitors and main monitors.

In the third mode ("Toggle A/B") the A and B select buttons trigger against each other — they can therefore be assigned to two alternative monitor pairs. Button C, by contrast, operates independently to, for example, switch a subwoofer on or off individually or, as in the first mode, activate an external pair. Mono, mute and dim buttons (the latter with adjustable attenuation) are invaluable helpers during recording and mixing.

The three source-select buttons ST1, ST2 and Aux are duplicated. This allows both the Main and the Cue bus to be fed with different signals. These buttons also offer two programmable switching modes. In the default setting they function additively, i.e. the three stereo sources can be summed as needed; the Aux source can be faded continuously with a pot (this could, for example, be a click track for the headphone feed). If you choose the second mode, only one source can be active on the Main and Cue bus respectively — the buttons then act as toggles. The four powerful headphone outputs have separate level controls and a button each to route either the Main or the Cue signal to that headphone feed.

The Monitor Station's talkback section enables effortless communication with musicians in the recording room. When the talkback button is pressed, the built-in electret condenser microphone is activated, its level is routed to the Cue bus, and the speaker output is automatically reduced by 20 dB. If required, you can also use an external (dynamic) talkback microphone connected to the rear XLR connector.

In addition to the speaker outputs, the Monitor Station offers two further balanced jack output pairs: via the Cue Out you can send the headphone signal to an external headphone amplifier, and the Main Out provides the pre-main-volume summed signal to feed, for example, a master recorder.

A Wealth of Possibilities!