Consider the Dangerous Music system. I reveiwed it for mix magazine in the Nov. 06 issue. I liked it lot. Although I'm NOT shilling for it, I can point you to the review; just adding one more to the group for you to consider.

http://mixonline.com/products/review/

or:

http://mixonline.com/products/review/audio_dangerous_music_monitor_2/

wow it's kind of ugly :)

any other suggestions?

Not your cup of tea, eh? Heheh... (Well, they said that about Abe Lincoln, too.... :wink: )

Personally, I liked the "StarTrek" look of it and it fit nicely in my lap while working. I would have kept it, but couldn't afford it. :x

The Dangerous stuff, the Crane Song Avocet, etc., definitely "The Sh*t" -

But if you're looking for a flexible unit with a solid set of features for next to nothing, it's the PreSonus Central Station. The DAC alone (which is quite capable) is worth the price. Passive signal path, "A or B + C" switching (allowing the use of parallel subs, etc.), multiple digital inputs... It's a no-brainer.

I used one here for quite a while with no complaints.

massive mastering.

So the dangerous and Crane song avocet are better than the presonus central station?

:) they really stand out as ugly though... haven't they heard that sexy sells?

1 HOUR LATER EDIT:

Lol i just found another pic of the dangerous monitor st-sr at a different angle with something in the background to compare it insize and it actually looks really good.. i take back my previous remark :P

is it really the value for the $$ ?
i hadn't expected this unit to be one of the pricey ones.

found this
(dead link removed)

would this not essentially get the job done?

as much as i'd love to get the dangerous it just seems like overkill. what would make it worth it?
whats the _big_ difference..

and is the presonus control center probably the best choice then?

Well, you can hardly go wrong with SPL, but that's really built to be a surround unit.

And yes, the Dangerous and Crane Song (my personal favorite) stuff is another level completely. And more ugly. :lol:

I just didn't know what kind of budget you were shooting at -

haha, well the thing is, if it's necessary i'll get the money to buy the dangerous, but i'm just not really convinced that it's worth the money.

What is it that seperates it from the other controllers?

I can tell you first hand that the Central Station is a spectacular unit. Completely passive with plenty of I/O. I especially like the lightpipe in that can be assigned to the main mix. Unless you're willing to shell out the cheddar for the Crane, I think it'd be your best bet. Just make sure you get the remote with it or your arm will get plenty fatigued during sessions.

The nice thing about the remote is (unlike the BK) it doesn't require 40 cables running to and from your desktop either...

You know - Next to your video monitors (bright freakin' idea that was).

yep

running signal from the rack to the desk top is silly

that's why I like the PIC controlled remote stuff similar to the Dangerous

It's the central station for me. Here's why...

I can't afford to be Dangerous or buy a Crane.

I absolutely did not want to have a unit on my desk that had to have a million cables plugged into the back of it making it basically immobile. That ruled out the Mackie Big Knob and the SPL MTC 2381 (that's the one for control room speaker control).

That left the Central Station and the Coleman TB4 MKII. The coleman also has a couple different modles that could fit the bill.

In the end I went with the Central Station because of the digital input and the remote...and in reality, the price.

If you've got the scratch, go with Danger Crane (great band name btw). Coleman makes a few different units and they are pretty darn nice as well.

okay i'll review the danger, and the central station put them side by side and see which one would benefit me more.

Thanks a lot for your help guys i really appreciate it.