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Hi all

Not sure if I'm in the right place but here goes. I'm having a clear out and I've got to get rid of this but I don;t know a hell of a lot about it. Does anyone have any knowledge about it they'd be willing to share
http://www.flickr.c… Libra II - a set on Flickr[/]="http://www.flickr.c… Libra II - a set on Flickr[/]

There's a label on the back that says it's manufactured by Audix the model is a Libra II and the serial is 2103. I've googled this and come up with nothing.

Thanks in advance for any help

Dean

Comments

Kapt.Krunch Fri, 12/16/2011 - 03:58

Attn: Remy!

This one may be right up your alley.

That's an interesting critter, alright. About 20 minutes of searching came up with some things that MIGHT be helpful.

We all know "Audix" these days as an American manufacturer of microphones. I'm sure they didn't make that mixer.

Audix Microphones was started in the mid-80's, and there is no evidence that I find that they ever made mixers.

Besides, that mixer has 70's written all over it. The brightly colored knobs, console size, etc...in a 70's TASCAM sort of way...except with a lot more pushbuttons. Then again, it's got what appears to be the ladder LEDs above the groups, and more-recent looking slider knobs? Maybe it's a bit later?

A search for "Libra mixer" only came up with AMS Neve Libra...which that obviously ain't.

The closest I could come was linking several keywords I found in some searches together.

If you Google "Audix", "Tannoy" and/or "Wenden" (in different combinations), you'll find UK-based "Tannoy Audix" (merged in the 90's), and I would assume that mixer might be something from an earlier time of that Audix branch? Apparently, they are/were concentrated on the broadcast market.

Clearer close-ups of the buttons' and knobs' functions would be interesting. And, what looks like four clusters of five 1/4" jacks on the back is intriguing, also. I couldn't read the labels. What are those?

I could find no other reference for that particular mixer, but that's what my guess would be. Some sort of broadcast mixer? (Remy might recognize some of the layout, I suppose?) You might dig further, and contact whatever company they may be now, to see if they have any info?

BTW, looks like a few board modules may be missing? Or, are those optional boards for a specific purpose, but the channels work fine, otherwise?

Is it fully functional?

Good luck,

Kapt.Krunch

excessivewear Fri, 12/16/2011 - 04:53

Hi
Thanks for the reply. I've now been in touch with Audix Broadcast They say the man who'll know will be in on Monday, so I've mailed some pics to them and hopefully they will get back to me soon. I've got a little more info from the person I acquired it from and it seems he got it from someone with connections to BBC in Bristol. With regards to it working I'm not sure. It powers up but I couldn't get a signal through it not sure if it's because the sockets on the back are actually GPO connectors? plus I've never used anything quite like it before so not sure if I'm using it right. The sockets consist of 10 group outs,4 Aux, 4 ext and mon L+R. There are a few empty sockets in the rack of modules but I'm not sure if they're optional as the ones that are in have tapeon the board with what appear to be peoples names written on them.

Thanks Again

Dean

Kapt.Krunch Fri, 12/16/2011 - 05:04

Please update when you get more info? Never know when someone else might run into one of those, search for info, and this thread pops up in web search, right? May be helpful for someone down the road. Preserve history, and all that?

Plus, I'm just kind of intrigued by the thing.

Cheers,

Kapt.Krunch

PS. You may be able to get an approximate date from searching for date codes on some of the components. Try any transformers, and especially, the pots. Just search the numbers (and any brand/model/etc.) to see if anything pops up. I'm GUESSING no later than the early-mid 80's, leaning towards late-70's/early 80's.

excessivewear Thu, 02/02/2012 - 01:38

Ok

I haven't heard anymore from Audix about this one. From the little bit of googling I did, it would appear that the BBC migrated from Neve over to Audix (at least for a while) also Massive Attack apparently recorded Mezzanine on an Audix desk. As interesting as it is it's got to go, as I have no room or use for it, so I'm gonna ebay it. Thanks for all the replies

Dean

RemyRAD Thu, 02/02/2012 - 19:02

I remember some of those PA boards but never paid much attention to them as I wasn't very impressed. I actually think I used one of those at a small bar/restaurant where some of my friends were playing in their band? It certainly wasn't anything to write home about.

Good luck selling that piece on eBay.
Mx. Remy Ann David

JoeH Fri, 02/03/2012 - 05:55

I too am curious to see what this was, should you ever find out. In some odd ways, it reminds me of an AMEK board I used in the 80's when I worked for a remote recording company at the time. It had a similar layout on top, but much smaller. The buttons were similar, ditto for the meters and push buttons. The odd thing about the AMEK board I mentioned was that it was rumored to have been a prototype, used for Broadcast purposes. (Not entirely sure how it came to be sold in the USA, by a local/Philadelphia supply company.) I never saw one like it since then.

It was built like a tank, heavy as hell, and had similar side boards to the one in your picture.

I'm curious about those relays inside the unit, and the back panel 1/4" jacks are puzzling in how they're laid out and labelled. Sure looks like a prototype of some sort.

x

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