When you move studios as often as I have the last couple of years, you start having to make tough choices about what kit you keep and install into the new space, which you hang on to, and which you reluctantly sell. If I had unlimited storage resources and unlimited financial resources, I would hang on to every piece I’d ever acquired. But I don’t unfortunately. There are some pieces of kit though that I would never ever sell, unless it meant me keeping a roof over my head. What would I have to have pried out of my dead cold fingers? It would have to be the …

RME Fireface 802 Audio Interface

What Does RME Say About The Fireface 802 Interface?

Ultra-low latency operation with USB or FireWire, combined with the legendary RME driver stability and maintenance. Active jitter suppression, individually switchable reference levels for all inputs and outputs, full stand-alone functionality, RME’s unique DIGICheck metering and analysis toolbox, and identical operation on Windows PC and Mac.

Specs -

• AD, Line In 1-8, rear

• Resolution AD: 24 bit

• Signal to Noise ratio (SNR): 113 dB RMS unweighted, 116 dBA

• Frequency response @ 192 kHz, -1 dB: 5 Hz - 92 kHz

• Channel separation: > 110 dB

• Input: 6.3 mm TRS jack, electronically balanced

• DA - Stereo Monitor Output Phones (9-12)

• Output: 6.3 mm TRS stereo jack, unbalanced

• AES/EBU 2 x XLR, transformer-balanced, galvanically isolated, AES3-1992

• Microphone In 9-12, front

• Input: XLR, electronically balanced

• Signal to Noise ratio (SNR): 112 dB RMS unweighted, 116 dBA

• Gain range: 54 dB

• ADAT OPTICAL 2 x TOSLINK I/O, format according to Alesis specification

• Standard: 2 x 8 channels 24 bit, up to 48 kHz

• SPDIF OPTICAL (VIA ADAT2) 1 x optical, according to IEC 60958

• WORD CLOCK BNC, switchable termination

RME is characteristically modest about the 802. The one thing that post-production DAWs absolutely depend on is truly rock-solid drivers and control software. Here, with their TotalMixFX software and proprietary drivers, RME really delivers. I have never once had this interface crash on me, on any platform. It’s even rock-solid being run through a USB switch and hub - something that most other interfaces would just refuse to do, at least reliably.

Brilliant Legacy Support

Although the 802 is still a current product, RME continues to update drivers and software, along with added features, for hardware going back over ten years. That’s a lifetime for most modern digital audio hardware. And as well as just solidly consistently working, day upon day, the RME Fireface 802 sounds utterly brilliant. The DACs and headphone amps are spectacular, the mic and analogue inputs brilliant and the DSP processing, mixing and routing available through the TotalMixFX software, completely rocks. Plus I can control that software and the interface settings, remotely over a network, either on another computer or on my iPad.

Which brings me to the much sadder topic of what I wish I’d never sold. The thing I have the biggest regrets about selling are my…

Genelec 1029a Monitors

These amazing little monitors really kick out a sound that makes your head hurt, in a good way.

What Does Genelec Say About The 1029a Monitors?

The extremely compact 1029A is a powerful bi-amplified nearfield monitor system ideal for project and home studios, digital workstations, and surround sound monitoring. The monitor has a very rugged cast aluminium construction and magnetic stray field shielding as default for every single unit. Vented speaker enclosure contains an amplification unit, including an active electronic crossover, overload protection circuitry and two power amplifiers, one for each driver.

Genelec's unique Directivity Control Waveguide™ (DCW™) is used to provide excellent stereo imaging and frequency balance, even in difficult acoustic environments. Versatile room response controls allow matching of the system to its surroundings. If very large sound level and low cutoff frequency are required it can be complemented with the 7050A subwoofer.

The 1029A is very easy to set up and use, the only connections required are the mains supply and the line level input. The input is made via balanced XLR female or 1/4" jack socket connector which can also be used in parallel.

The 1029A/1091A combination is a TEC (Technical Excellence & Creativity) 1997 award winner for Studio Monitor Technology, and PAR (Pro Audio Review) Excellence award winner.

• SPL - Short term RMS @ 1m 100 dB SPL

• Peak per pair with music material - 110 dB SPL @ 1m

• Drivers - Bass 5", Treble 3/4" metal dome + DCW

• Crossover frequencies 3.3 kHz

• Free field frequency response ± 2.5dB 70 - 18 000 Hz

• Amplifier power / ch - Bass 40 W, Treble 40 W

• Speaker dimensions (H x W x D) - 247 x 151 x 191 mm

• Speaker weight 6 kg (13.2 lb)

The Ultimate Near-Field Monitor?

I certainly think so. These brilliant speakers delivered clarity and imaging like no other speaker its size. There were a myriad of mounting options, and being front-ported they were very easy to locate in even the tightest of spots. I had five of these along with a Genelec 1091 subwoofer, in a 5.1 configuration. Clients and peers alike couldn’t get their heads around the disproportionately large sound coming from these tiny boxes.

I only sold them because I needed to push up to 7.1, in a larger room, and my faithful 1029a’s were already starting to suffer from having mixed a ridiculously loud action movie. People seem to generally hang on to 1029a’s, so there were next to none available second-hand, and those that were available were eye-wateringly expensive. It did mean that I got a decent amount for them on a famous auction website.

Still wish I’d never sold them.