Reviews | Imagination Works

Roland OCTA-CAPTURE – external sound card with 8 inputs and 192 kHz

Lets review external sound card Roland OCTA-CAPTURE, designed for professional studio work; it can work with sampling rates up to 192 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision ( internal processing is performed with 40 bits precision ). Its frontal panel has : 4 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, first two are instrumental Hi-Z inputs, rest 2 – microphone inputs with switchable phantom power +48 V; preamplifiers, phantom power, compression and SENS function control buttons with back-light; LCD display, that shows information about card’s work; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, Direct Monitor switch, display, headphones signal source and card power control buttons with back-light and outputs volume control knob. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; power adapter input; MIDI input and output; coaxial digital RCA input and output; 8 analogue TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs; and 4 additional combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs. To all combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs high-quality preamplifiers are connected, such inputs and all 8 main TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs of card are balanced.

External sound card Roland OCTA-CAPTURE ( rear view )

Dynamic range of 8 inputs is 104 dB, 8 outputs is 113 dB; for it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.6 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0, WDM and Core Audio interfaces, via which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Its sizes are 284 ( width ) x 158 ( depth ) x 50 ( height ) mm and mass is 1.3 kg; its body is made of aluminum. Package contains : Roland OCTA-CAPTURE sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. In the entry level studio sound cards segment Steinberg and Behringer are leaders and Focusrite and Roland devices are slightly weaker than them; in the middle level studio sound cards class, second ones catch up with leaders and show no weaknesses. So, when audio interface of such level is being chosen, there is need to look on specific task, for which card is bought, and on prices of these devices.

Sony Alpha NEX-3N – compact mirror-less camera with APS-C sensor and Sony-E lens mount

Lets meet today with compact mirror-less photo-camera Sony Alpha NEX-3N with APS-C sensor with 16.1 MP effective resolution and Sony E mount for interchangeable lenses. It can make photos with 4912 x 3264 pixels maximal resolution and save them in JPEG, MPO and RAW formats; and video in Full HD 1920 x 1080 60, 1440 x 1080 30 and VGA 640 x 480 30 modes and save it in MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 and MPEG-4 AVCHD formats with AAC stereo sound. Wherein ISO sensitivity levels are in 200 – 12800 range. Camera has no built-in viewfinder and has 3″ tiltable LCD display with 460.8 K dots resolution and built-in flash.

Photo camera Sony Alpha NEX-3N ( top view )

Camera supports automatic and manual focus change, exposure and diaphragm settings; it can be used for astronomical photos making. It saves data on Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick PRO HG-Duo, SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards; and does not support Wi-Fi connections for data transfers and remote control. It has following connectors : USB 2.0 for data transfers and Li-ion battery charging, HDMI D Micro and DC input for powering from electric line and battery charging. Its sizes are 112 ( width ) x 64 ( height ) x 36 ( depth ) mm and mass is 210 g ( only camera body without lens, battery and memory card ).

Photo camera Sony Alpha NEX-3N ( rear view )

Package contains : Sony Alpha NEX-3N camera itself, Micro-USB cable, power adapter, strap on hand, 1-year warranty card and user’s guide; there are also kits with bundled lenses. It is very functional compact mirror-less camera : it has APS-C sensor ( larger sensors are usually built into heavy mirror cameras ) and it can record Full HD video; so, if there are enough money for purchasing of this camera, then it is the best choice. But if APS-C sensors of Sony are too pricey ( this company never set low prices on its products, but usually have very good quality ), then there is ability to look on Olympus and Panasonic cameras of such type with Micro Four Thirds sensors.

Review of new in-ear headphones Skullcandy S2PGGY

Lets review new in-ear headphones Skullcandy S2PGGY, manufacturer again does not tell anything about their technical details. Judging by their view, 8 or 10 mm drivers are built into them; information about their sound frequencies range, sensitivity, impedance, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input Skullcandy does not provide. Volume control module with microphone is built into their cable; price of device is 30 USD. Price of Skullcandy S2PGGY is not overly high, if they have very good specifications, but, accounting the fact, that manufacturer does not tell anything about them, it is better to buy high-quality in-ear headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with very good technical characteristics, which manufacturers openly name, and which has the same or even smaller price and quality design.

Review of mirror-less camera Olympus PEN E-PL3 with interchangeable MFT lenses

Lets review compact mirror-less camera Olympus PEN E-PL3 with interchangeable lenses for Micro Four Thirds mount. It has High speed Live MOS Sensor with 4/3″ size and 12.3 MP effective resolution; it can make photos with 4032 x 3024 pixels maximal resolution ( with ISO 200 – 12800 sensitivity levels ) and save them in JPEG, RAW ( with 12 bits per channel precision and lossless compression ), RAW+JPEG and MPO formats in sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces. Camera can record video in Full HD 1920 x 1080 60i, HD 1280 x 720 60p and SD 640 x 480 30 modes ( wherein picture data from sensor comes with 30 fps, it seems that, 60 fps are received via software interpolation ) and save them in AVCHD ( with Dolby Digital sound encoding ) and AVI Motion JPEG ( Stereo PCM, 16 bits and 48 kHz ) formats. Camera has no built-in viewfinder and flash, they can be attached via Hot Shoe interface. Its tilting 3″ LCD display has 460 K dots resolution; sensor-shifting image stabilization is built into it.

Photo camera Olympus PEN E-PL3 ( rear view )

Camera supports automatic and manual focusing, exposure control and diaphragm settings, it has remote control support via special cable; it can be used for astronomical photos making. It saves photos and video on SD, SDHC, SDXC ( UHS-I compatible ) and Eye-Fi flash memory cards and does not support Wi-Fi connections for data transmitting and remote control. Following connectors are built into it : USB 2.0 for data transferring and Li-ion battery charging, Mini HDMI type-C, VIDEO-OUT, Accessory Port ( AP2 ) and Hot Shoe. One charge of its Li-ion battery is enough for 300 photos making, its body is made from metal, its sizes are 109 ( width ) x 64 ( height ) x 37 ( depth ) mm, and mass is 312 g ( including battery and memory card and without lens ). Camera can work in 0 – 40 degrees on Celsius temperatures range and relative air humidity range 30 – 90 %.

Photo camera Olympus PEN E-PL3 ( top view )

Package contains : Olympus PEN E-PL3 camera itself, Olympus FL-LM1 flash, Li-ion battery, charger, USB/Video multi-cable, strap on hand, optical disk with OLYMPUS Viewer 2/ib software, warranty card and user’s guide. There also are kits with bundled photo-lenses. This camera is one of the cheapest cameras with interchangeable lenses, wherein it has relatively big sensor ( of the same size as top-level Olympus cameras have ) and can record Full HD video; it has no mirrors, its body is made from metal and it has compact sizes and small mass, so, it is useful in travels and shooting from hands ( especially with optical image stabilization ). Weak side of camera is small amount of dedicated controls, but this is a consequence of its compact size and design for novice photographers. So, this camera can be surely recommended for purchase, when there is need in camera with big sensor and interchangeable lenses and there is no wish to pay for Sony NEX and Canon EOS M cameras with their APS-C sensors.

Photo camera Olympus PEN E-PL3 ( tilting display )

Skullcandy S5AVGM – new women’s monitor headphones

Lets review new monitor headphones Skullcandy S5AVGM, which, as manufacturer says, are designed specially for women. And begin with the fact, that manufacturer does not tell anything about their technical specifications ( sound “specially for women” – is not a technical detail ); judging by their view, 40 mm drivers are built into them – this all, that can be said about their technical data. Information about their reproduceable sounds frequencies range, impedance, sensitivity, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input is not provided by Skullcandy. Their cable is detachable; in its volume control unit microphone and phones remote control buttons are built in. They are supplied in 3 color variants : orange, blue and black. With total lack of technical information, their price 100 USD is too big : for smaller sum there is ability to buy professional studio monitor headphones ( which are far superior, than this device ) and for 2 times smaller sum there is ability to buy very good monitor headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with very good technical details, which their manufacturers openly disclose. Wherein such devices have nice design and will fit both men and women, they can be decorated, if so needed. So, these headphones Skullcandy S5AVGM are not recommended for purchase and it is better to chose device of other manufacturers, which publish their real technical details.

ESI GIGAPORT HD+ – external sound card for 8 channels

Lets review external sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+, which can work with 8 independent channels or with 7.1 channels surround sound and supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; power, USB connection activity and all 8 channels activity indicators; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones with gold-plated contacts ( one of them plays mixed sound of all 8 channels, the other one plays only sound of 1st and 2nd channels – it can be used as monitor output ). Its back panel has 8 analogue RCA outputs with gold-plated contacts.

External sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+ ( rear view )

For sound card drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with support of ASIO 2.0, WDM and MME interfaces, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers and supports Core Audio interfaces; via these interfaces it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live and others. It is supplied with Image-Line Deckadance LE software, used by DJs. Its sizes are 120 ( width ) x 70 ( depth ) x 20 ( height ) mm, its body is made from aluminum. Package contains : ESI GIGAPORT HD+ sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. This card is designed for playback of many independent sound channels ( for example, on concerts ) and for 7.1 channels surround sound playback; if sound card will be bought for this purpose, then this device will handle these tasks very well; if there is need in more functional studio audio interface, then it is better to buy device with such functionality of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI itself or other manufacturers.

Infrasonic Amon – external sound card for studio work

Lets review external sound card Infrasonic Amon, designed for studio work. It supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) microphone input without phantom power +48 V plugging in ability, its amplification level control knob and clip indicator; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) instrumental Hi-Z input, its amplification control knob and clip indicator; USB connection indicator, TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones and volume control of sound card’s outputs. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it; MIDI input and output; and linear RCA inputs and outputs.

External sound card Infrasonic Amon ( rear view )

For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.3 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0, MME, DirectSound and Core Audio interfaces, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. It performs analogue to digital conversion with : 102 dB signal to noise ration, 102 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; digital to analogue conversion : signal/noise 108 dB, 108 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; wherein channels isolation is 100 dB. Card’s body is made from aluminum. Package contains : Infrasonic Amon sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. From one side : this is a good sound card, which can perform its work and has MIDI connectors; from the other : its sampling rate is not the biggest, it has no balanced inputs and outputs and digital inputs and outputs and it does not support phantom power plugging in to microphone input. So, this card can be recommended for purchase only if it costs much less than more functional cards of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI and other manufacturers, if it costs at comparable to them level, then it is better to buy device of one of these manufacturers.

Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 – wide angle light powered photo-lens for Leica M mounts

Lets meet in optical part with wide-angle light powered standard photo lens Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 for Leica M mounts. Its 40 mm focus is fixed, aperture can be set in f/1.4 – f/16 range ( its light power is very high ) with use of 10 diaphragm blades, field of view is 56 degrees and minimal focusing distance is 0.7 m. 7 lens elements in 6 groups are built into it, there are lens variants with single-coating and multi-coating of optical surfaces; 43 mm optical filters can be attached to it. Its body made from metal, focus and diaphragm are set manually and it has no optical image stabilization. Package contains : Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, 1-year warranty card and user’s guide. This is a good wide-angle light powered standard photo-lens for Leica M mounts, it is good for portrait and area photos with small magnification.

Lets continue to push down KEF : review of new monitor headphones M400

Lets continue reviews of headphones of KEF and look on new M400 monitor model; manufacturer stays true to itself and from real technical characteristics names only following facts : 40 mm drivers are built into them ( they would have been set larger drivers for Hi-Fi basses reproduction ) and they are moved by neodymium magnets. And keeps silence about their : reproduceable sounds frequencies range, sensitivity, impedance, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input. Also it tells fairy-tales about “unique” “technologies”, that are built into them, which technical sense ( its existence is under big doubt ) is known only to manufacturer itself, and asks 250 USD for this device. This is a classical example of marketing money pumping from customers with use of Placebo effect. So, these headphones are not recommended for purchase and it is better to buy more than 2 times cheaper professional studio monitor headphones, which will surpass this device in all respects, or 5 – 7 times cheaper high-quality consumer monitor headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with known technical characteristics, which the most likely also surpass ones of this model.

Akai Professional Advance 61 – MIDI with color LCD display and full functions spectrum

Lets review MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61, which has full functions spectrum for professional music creation. It has : 61 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch; 8 velocity and pressure sensitive drumpads with RGB backlight; color 4.3″ LCD display with specialized buttons for instruments control; 8 large endless-rotation knobs; specialized buttons for control of drumpads sounds banks, transport and octaves; buttons for note-repeat, time-division, arpreggiator and tap-tempo; ruberized pitch and modulation control wheels; inputs for expression pedal and footswitch.

MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61 ( rear view )

After purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s site following sounds packs : AIR Music Tech Vacuum Pro, Loom, Hybrid 3, Xpand!2, Velvet and Transfuser; SONiVOX Eighty Eight Ensemble and TOOLROOM RECORDS Launch Packs. Keyboard is supplied with Virtual Instrument Player, to which VST plugins can be connected and controlled with use of special keyboard buttons. It works in Windows 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.8 and newer without additional drivers and integrates with modern DAWs ( FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others ), their instruments and VST plugins. Its sizes are 914 ( width ) x 293 ( depth ) x 88 ( height ) mm and mass is 5.44 kg, there are also 25 and 49 keys modifications of this keyboard. It is good MIDI keyboard, which has all functions and controllers for professional music creation, and it worth its money, especially if it will be bought with discount.

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