Rupert Neve Designs Newton Channel Microphone Preamp/EQ/Compressor

The Newton Channel is a powerful modern channel strip born from a legendary sonic lineage. Its intuitive design provides classic sound on demand, with all the instantly-recognizable character, musical tone-shaping abilities, and proven reliability that define a Rupert Neve Designs product. The Newton is equally well-suited for a project studio, large-scale commercial facility or live sound rig -- giving more engineers, producers, and artists a chance to join the RND family than ever before.


What's the difference between the Shelford Channel and the Newton Channel? Find out here:


The name originates with Rupert's birthplace -- Newton Abbot, England -- and reflects the sonic journeys of his life: from Newton Abbot to Wimberley, vintage to modern, and everything in between. This is a truly versatile, world-class channel strip capable of bringing any source to life with the classic sound of Rupert Neve Designs.

The Newton Channel includes a fully Class-A mic preamp, a musical, 3-band discrete EQ section, a fast & flexible VCA compressor, and custom Rupert Neve Designs transformer-coupled outputs with revolutionary harmonic color stage: variable Silk Red & Blue.

The Input Stage & Mic Preamp:

The Newton's microphone preamplifier contains all the tone and musicality expected from a Rupert Neve Designs piece. This preamp makes it incredibly easy to quickly dial in a tight, clean and detailed sound; and with a robust 72dB of gain including 6dB of fine trim control, the Newton… read more is ideally suited for a wide variety of sources.

While the input stage is tailored to be an ideal match for standard microphone source impedance, it is equally happy being driven by line levels -- so a pair of Newtons can also be put to use as a high-end mixing tool for any studio. The Newton also includes a distinctive variable high-pass filter with a comprehensive frequency range adjustment and independent bypass switch, allowing the engineer to quickly eliminate unwanted noise, rumble or other low frequency build-up in the source signal.

The Equalizer:

The EQ section in the Newton is optimized for speed & flexibility with a simplified set of controls. The low and high frequency shelf bands are controllable with accurate 31-detent potentiometers that provide up to 12dB of gain boost/cut, providing the ability to dial in either subtle or extreme settings as desired.

The parametric mid-band of the Newton EQ section includes another 31-detent potentiometer and a wide range of mid frequencies to boost or cut, switchable from 220Hz to 7kHz. This makes the MF band particularly flexible, allowing for taming low-mid muddiness, boosting mid frequency presence, or removing any harshness in the upper midrange. The carefully-chosen fixed Q setting maintains a healthy balance of musicality and precision -- just wide enough for brush-stroke equalization without adversely affecting neighboring frequencies. As with every section of the Newton Channel, the EQ has an independent bypass button for double- checking settings every step of the way.

The Compressor:

The Newton Channel also contains the latest iteration of Rupert Neve Designs' ultra-smooth VCA compressor, with +20dB of make-up gain and ample control for any amount of needed compression while maintaining an effortless sound. Also included is a helpful 'pre EQ/post EQ' push button to place the compressor either before or after the EQ section, plus an independent bypass button.

Variable Silk:

At the end of the Newton's signal path is the unique & highly coveted variable Silk circuit, providing the power & control to amplify 2nd and 3rd order harmonics by saturating the custom Rupert Neve Designs output transformers for a vintage tonality. With the variable Texture knob, the engineer is able to precisely dial in the desired amount of harmonic density -- with Silk Red mode highlighting harmonics in the highs and upper mid frequencies, and Blue mode accentuating harmonics in the lows and low mids.

Features:

- 12-position rotary switch that controls the microphone preamp gain in 6dB steps. For line level input signals, set the Mic Gain to the "0dB" position.
- Push-button switch that illuminates RED when +48V Phantom Power is engaged.
- Push-button switch that illuminates AMBER when engaged and inverts the phase of the preamp signal.
- 31-detent potentiometer that allows the user to adjust the preamp gain within a range of +/- 6dB.
- Push-button switch that illuminates GREEN when the high pass filter is engaged.
- 31-detent potentiometer that allows the user to adjust the cutoff frequency of the Sallen-Key high pass filter within a range of 20Hz to 250Hz.
- Push-button switch that illuminates GREEN when the EQ section is engaged.
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the amount of boost or cut for the low frequency shelf within a range of +/- 12dB.
- Push-button switch that selects between the two available low frequency shelf frequencies: 60Hz (OUT) and 150Hz (IN).
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the frequency of the midband peaking EQ within a range of 220Hz to 7kHz.
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the amount of boost or cut for the MID FREQ peaking EQ within a range of +/- 12dB.
- Push-button switch that selects between the two available high frequency shelf frequencies: 8kHz (OUT) and 16kHz (IN).
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the amount of boost or cut for the high frequency shelf within a range of +/- 12dB.
- Push-button switch that illuminates GREEN when the compressor section is engaged.
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the compressor threshold range from +20dBu to -30dBu. When the input signal rises above the set threshold level, compression begins with a soft-knee at a 2:1 ratio.
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the compressor release time. The overall timing range available is 50mS (FAST) to 500mS (SLOW).
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the compressor make-up gain within a range of -6dB to +20dB.
- Push-button switch that routes the compressor section ahead of the EQ section when engaged.
- Illuminated push-button switch that toggles through the three available SILK modes: OFF, RED, and BLUE.
- 31-detent potentiometer that controls the amount of SILK harmonics added within the transformer output stage when SILK is engaged.
- 8-segment LED meters that indicate compressor gain reduction (dB) and output level (dBu).
- LED that illuminates GREEN when the Newton Channel is powered ON.
- IEC AC power inlet with integrated power switch. 100-240VAC at 50/60Hz. 35 Watts maximum AC power consumption.
- Slide switch that lifts XLR Pin 1 from chassis ground on the MAIN OUT as well as the -6dB OUT to help isolate from ground interference.
- Balanced XLR output utilizing a lower level, secondary output on the custom Rupert Neve Designs transformer.
- Balanced XLR output utilizing a custom Rupert Neve Designs transformer.
- 1/4" TRS jack that allows two Newton Channel compressors to be linked together for stereo compressor operation. *Only intended for use with other Newton Channel LINK jacks.
- Balanced XLR-1/4" TRS combo jack input that can be used for MIC or LINE level signals. read less