It’s hard to believe we’re in the middle of the year, but whether you’re mid-summer or mid-winter right now there was no let-up in the flow of new audio gear and software to keep engineers distracted. Here we round up our favourites.

Focusrite RedNet PCIeNX

For those old enough to remember, the soundcard interface form factor was where it all began, and for high end users who need to pipe hundreds of digital signals to and from their machine, this unassuming slice of silicon lives on in Focusrite’s recently unleashed RedNet PCIeNX. Slotting directly into the back of a PCIe-enable tower or chassis, this digital interface can channel 128x128 streams of Dante-speaking audio between devices at vanishingly low latency.

The Focusrite RedNet PCIeNX delivers a remarkable 128x128 channels of 24-bit/192 kHz audio for demanding applications such as Dolby Atmos mixing across Dante networks with high channel-counts. The RedNet PCIeNX replaces its predecessor, the RedNet PCIeR card, and introduces a virtual network controller that enables both audio transmission and control/monitoring functions through a single Ethernet cable. Focusrite's PCIe drivers claim seamless compatibility with Intel and Apple Silicon processors on Mac systems, with Windows 10/11 systems using RedNet PCIeNX’s multi-client ASIO and WDM support.

For some, the audio interface resides a box of some kind in the rack, or even on the end of a USB lead next to their coffee. Pro users mixing to picture, however, now have a sleek new slot-dweller in the RedNet PCIeNX.

Waves Clarity VX DeReverb

Up until recently, post mixers (and music mixers too) will have spent too much time wishing for drier recordings from the set or studio. With practicalities on set and acoustics conspiring to bake the room’s sound into some recordings, many will have been waiting for someone or something to make noise and echoic problems disappear.

De-reverb plugins aren’t entirely new, but simple tools that work well are a more recent innovation. When Paul Maunder took Waves Clarity Vx DeReverb (and the PRO version) for a spin he highlighted just how well this particular tool can suck the room out of voice recordings with ease. Its simple one knob control in the standard version means artefact-free dry crisp voice recordings, while the Pro version adds delta monitoring and frequency-targeted treatments for experts to get their teeth into.

As mixers navigate production quirks and domestic listening environments, clean, reverb-free dialogue in the mix is the gift that keeps on giving. The Waves Clarity Vx DeReverb plugins aren’t the only solutions out there, but they do work well and are simple to use when when that deadline is looming…

Apple Mac Studio M2 Ultra

Earlier on in June Apple provided yet another shiny new box for engineers to pore over with the release of their Mac Studio M2 Ultra. With questions raised about whether or not Apple’s Mac Pro flagship machine ticked enough boxes for existing high end users, many eyes turned to the tech giant’s Mac Studio M2 machines instead.

Complimenting the existing Mac Studio range, Apple’s high-rise mini marvel raised quite a few smiles when it was initially released, with a price tag low enough to keep new users interested, and specs to turn the heads of quite a few pros as well. Sitting alongside the existing M2 Max option, the Mac Studio M2 Ultra packs a 32-core Neural Engine, 800GB/s memory bandwidth, and up to 192GB RAM with up to 8TB of storage.

With innovations including silent cooling and tonnes of connectivity feeding the latest M2 Ultra SoC firepower, Apple may have regained the attention of the Apple Faithful wherever the Pro offering has failed to inspire.

Rupert Neve Designs Newton Channel

From a name synonymous with high end gear, Rupert Neve Designs gave those with a discerning ear and deep pockets another reason to put off that holiday with the release of its Newton Channel. Falling in just under its Shelford big sister, this single channel strip offers a Class A front end serving up the RND sound into slightly simplified EQ and compression stages as compared to the Shelford channel. The thing that sets this box apart from some, and unifies it with the Shelford has to be its Silk circuit, which lets engineers infuse inputs with its signature controllable saturation flavours.

Despite the promise of digital cleanliness, engineers of all ages just can’t seem to get enough of the extra offered by the sound of classic analogue designs, with many of these conceived while quite a few of us were still waiting to be born…

DaVinci Resolve Studio

Reading the blog, you’d be forgiven for thinking that we spend all our days in the Land Of The DAW, however some of us on the team also shoot and edit video. Non Linear Editors (NLEs) have consigned video decks, vision mixers and genlocks to the bin in the same way that the DAW transformed audio. For most of this century video editors have been enjoying the same ITB marvels for their craft as those working in audio do, thanks to the modern NLE.

In a scenario echoing the DAW experience, Russ recently wrote about how his old NLE had forced a move to pastures new in the form of DaVinci Resolve Studio. Since his move, he has been able to work in the way that he wants, while harnessing its fully-fledged built-in DAW which has lain undiscovered by some reading this. On top of that, it offers a complete workflow taking in everything from ingest, cut, edit, motion graphics, colour grade, mix and final output. Russ also lauded its tab-based navigation that makes it simple to move from module to module.

This story just goes to show that when your daily driver can’t get you from A to B, sometimes the best thing to do is leave it behind and try something new…

What were the things in June that rocked your studio world? Let us know in the comments.