I’ve got 500 series modules all over my wishlist this year. Every year around the holidays, I get really excited about trying something new in the studio. With budgets coming to a close for the year and money burning a hole in my pocket, it’s hard not to splurge on some studio upgrades that I want (in addition to the very real expenses that include the things I actually need).
Am I late to the game? Absolutely, but for what I would consider to be a good reason. Let me set the stage and take you back about a decade before we get into the good stuff – the gear.
Flashback: 500 Series in 2012
Back when I was a hungry audio engineering intern in Nashville circa 2012, 500 series was by far the HOTTEST thing in the game. Everybody from SSL to Radial to the retailers like Vintage King were trying to get in with their own hardware. Meanwhile, API was crushing everyone else having developed in this format for over 40+ years.
And while the modules were cool and flashy, they were limited to the biggest players. As you can imagine, it’s not cheap developing on a specific format for a niche of the market. Especially when hardware sales were already on the decline.
The Gold Rush
But the 500 series chassis (racks?)… Oh boy, could anyone make one of those.
And make them, they did. Music manufacturers churned out 500 series racks left and right. There were promos popping up all the time shouting “buy 4 units, get a lunchbox free”. Or “spend $2500 on 500 series modules, get an 8-slot rack for half-off”! They were cheap to make and really only had one function – supplying power to the modules.
Despite that simple purpose, these early units failed. Hard.
Consider it a shared quality assurance test that large swathes of the audio industry participated in. A hive mind of excitement, then disappointment as engineers and producers everywhere started filling up their 500 series racks to find one issue after another. Better yet, they were all related to – you guessed it – power.
The Crash
There were two main issues that audio professionals quickly caught on to with 500 series units. While the lunchbox design was convenient, it also usually meant manufacturers would forgo the external power supply for the sake of portability. Big mistake (initially).
By having the power supply within the rack itself, units close to the power supply would often become noisy. They’d pick up on the electromagnetic waves from the power conversion. This problem has largely been addressed by shielding in modern units that continue to keep the power supply in the unit to avoid “the brick”.
Even if you got a unit a decade ago that wasn’t noisy, you’d still run the chance of getting an unexpected wakeup call. Halfway through loading up your 500 series chassis, you realized you didn’t have enough juice for the job! This was especially painful for those that chose to take a build-as-you-go approach to their collection. You’d leave slots open initially just to find those slots couldn’t support another module months or even years down the road.
Today’s standards have really addressed this issue as well. Most 500 series chassis oversupplying power to ensure sufficient headroom when running even the most power-hungry units at full tilt. Budget options have a standard to adhere to as well. Plus, QA has really stepped up to ensure that most chassis available have been vetted a bit more thoroughly than those initial models.
Some manufacturers have started addressing this problem on the module side too. They realized that a less power-hungry unit can work more efficiently in even the most inexpensive modern rack. Meanwhile, a few other manufacturers are loving the extra power they’re able to top into. Want a good example? Just go look at some of the tube units out there!
Why Start Now?
Other than the obvious “I want to try something new” statement that I started with, there’s plenty of innovation in this space that I’m excited to get involved with at all levels of the market. 500 series is no longer a major league-only sport for the APIs, SSLs & Neves of the world; there are DIYers and smaller manufacturers playing ball too. Need a few examples?
DIY with Classic Audio Products, Inc. (CAPI)
CAPI looks like a DIYers dream company if they’re looking to get into the standard modules you’d expect to find in a 500 series setup without the added cost of legacy name brand weighing them down. They’ve been around since 2008 and they’re constantly selling out of kits due to popularity. If you want to start with one of their DIY chassis, they run about $350 (when they’re in stock).
CAPI also offers classic 500 series preamp and EQ kits. Both follow a very familiar design for fans of API gear.
More Power with Rupert Neve Designs
In terms of power supply issues, Rupert Neve has so far seemed to go the furthest to address any concerns. Their 10-slot 500 series chassis, the R10, boasts a double-shielded, 2,400mA internal power supply. From there, it’s capable of supplying a whopping 200% of VPI-spec required current for each module.
Go ahead and load this one up with tube gear – it’s ready for the challenge.
Digital IO with Heritage Audio
Heritage Audio has been in the 500 series space for quite some time already. Between their 500 series modules and other outboard gear, they’ve really solidified themselves as a player in the Neve-styled gear space. It feels wrong to call them clones, because they’re just so premium feeling they could stand on their own merit.
Heritage leads the way when it comes to On-Slot Technology (OST). OST is their in-house solution for providing independent power to each of the slots in their rack. This is both functional (better headroom) and practical (isolated failures). In either case, a single module can no longer take down the whole rig.
We’re really excited for their newest addition though, the Heritage Audio OST-8 ADAT. It’s an 8-slot 500 series enclosure with 8 channels of 24-bit/192kHz A/D conversion. Hello, unused home studio digital inputs.
Digital Recall with WesAudio
WesAudio is another newer name on the market that we’ve been watching closely for a few years. Their big proposition is that their 500 series modules can be controlled via software. This makes the hybrid workflow of working with analog and digital gear together all the more seamless. With digital recall, simply loading up your session should be all it takes to dial in the DIONE NG500 bus compressor. Putting you right back where you left it set last time. Best of all – you can automate it via software too!
WesAudio gear does have one major caveat. While their modules will work with most 500 series chassis, you’ll need a WesAudio chassis to leverage the advanced features like digital recall. It makes sense why this is necessary, but we should all hope this innovation leads to a standard over time. That way, other manufacturers can start tapping into similar hybrid functionality.
More Connectivity with Cranborne Audio
Cranborne Audio has come out swinging with their 500R8 USB Audio Interface. It serves double-duty as an interface and an 8-slot 500 series chassis. I’m sure they’re not the first to think of this design, but they’re definitely the first to execute on it. They’re not pulling any punches either… This unit offers 28 in, 30 out, which exceeds almost all other USB interfaces on the market in terms of IO. This alone puts them solidly positioned alongside Apogee, RME & Universal Audio in terms of overall connectivity.
We’ll share more hands-on notes should we get a chance to demo this amazingly feature-packed unit.
Next Steps
There are so many different options to explore in the world of 500 series. Even just choosing the right chassis to house the modules can feel daunting. Do you go with more slots to grow into or stick with something smaller as you feel your preferences out? Small chassis can be found new for under $300 today. The price per channel doesn’t really decrease by much as you grow. So this doesn’t feel like one of those situations where you’re saving by buying “bulk” upfront. But buyer beware – small racks will fill up quickly if you catch the bug!
We’ll share our first foray into the 500 series chassis realm once the first contender arrives next week. If you want to follow along, make sure to join the email list below and come along for the ride!