Rupert Neve Designs 5057 Orbit 16 x 2 Summing Mixer

Thanks to 60 years of console design experience, the 5057 Orbit imbues mixes with the sound, width, and power that only a Rupert Neve Designs Class-A analog summer can. Featuring Rupert Neve Designs’ famous custom transformers and variable Silk Red & Blue harmonic color, the Orbit takes your “in the box” mixes to new heights of depth and clarity - without compromising the advantages of recall and a DAW-based workflow.

Born to Drive

When pushed into saturation, a mix bus and its output transformers create musical, non-linear harmonics that are the glue that ties recordings together and brings them to life. Rather than an external summing solution that offers little more than an ultra-clean representation of the in-the-box experience, the Orbit provides the extraordinary richness, harmonic complexity, and depth that only a Rupert Neve console can bring to the mix.
The Orbit uses a custom output transformer originally developed for the Shelford Channel, providing both a Main Output and a -6dB output. The latter allows the Orbit to be driven to achieve more transformer harmonics without clipping the next device in the chain. This transformer has become a Rupert Neve trademark over the years, and its sound can be found on countless records.

Classic Sounds on Demand

Every mix requires its own specific treatment. In addition to the choice of outputs, the continuous "Texture" control with Silk Red and Silk Blue modes will give you complete control over the harmonic density and tone of your mix - or allow you to leave it clean and uncolored. Silk Red mode emphasizes transformer saturation in the high and upper-mid frequencies to amplify harmonics in the midrange, often associated with vintage Rupert Neve equipment, while Silk Blue emphasizes saturation in the low and low-mid frequencies to add "sonic weight" to any source. Especially for those mixes that sound "small". Unlike EQs, these controls saturate the output transformers and add harmonic saturation to the source depending on the amount of Texture applied.

Build Your Dreams

While the Orbit is an extremely effective tool on its own, to increase the number of channels, multiple units can be added via the Buss Link. The 5057 Orbit can also be used as a starting element in an expandable summing system using the 5059 Satellite for flexible summing & routing, along with the 5060 Centerpiece for additional mixing and monitoring functions. These units create the core of a modular analog console system capable of competing with any much larger studio setup.

Channel Separation and Precision

With precisely set channel levels and accurate mix buss attenuation via high-quality stepped switches, the Orbit's pristine signal path and matched channels provide very low (almost non-existent) crosstalk, between +/-0.1dB. This will give your mixes a wider and more accurate stereo image, great depth, and the most direct signal path that will allow you to perceive every single detail of your mixes.

DAW Based Recall without Compromise

Frequent recall can be a challenge for modern mix engineers. The elegant simplicity and precision (fixed level accuracy) of the Orbit allows for fast and easily repeatable DAW-based recall from one mix to another, adding the rich, unparalleled sound quality of Mr. Neve's Class-A transformer-coupled mix buss.
There are other summing solutions in the world – but only the 5057 Orbit, the 5059 Satellite, and the 5060 Centerpiece will give you the legendary Rupert Neve sound.

FEATURES

• 16-Channel +/- 21V Class-A Mix Buss for massive headroom
• Silk Red & Blue Modes with Texture control to precisely manage the preferred amount of classic tonality
• Dual-tap output transformers create a harmonically rich sound character without clipping downstream devices in the audio chain
• Mono switches allow precise centering of each mono mix element, such as vocals, kick drum, snare drum, and bass
• Excellent linearity and precision, better than +/-0.1dB per channel
• Ultra-low crosstalk for great sonic depth and a wider and more open stereo image
• Expandable with other 5057 units via buss link to increase the number of channels
• Recallable, fast DAW-based recall with the added rich, unparalleled sound quality of Rupert Neve Designs
• Robust and compact 1U chassis design, with DB25 inputs and XLR outputs, combinable with other Rupert Neve Designs summators to create an absolute top-level modular mixing system

SPECIFICATIONS

• Input Impedance: 16 kΩ
• Frequency Response: 10 Hz to 50 kHz: +/- 0.1dB 150 kHz: -3dB
• Noise (22 Hz - 22 kHz): -90 dBu typical
• Maximum Input Level @ 1 kHz: +26dBu Maximum Output Level @ 1 kHz: +26dBu
• THD+N% (22 Hz - 22 kHz): 0 dBu @ 1kHz: 0.003% +20 dBu @ 1kHz: 0.0006%
• Crosstalk: 1 kHz: -103 dBu 10 kHz: -93 dBu

WEIGHT & DIMENSIONS

• Product Dimensions (W x D x H): 19” (48.3 cm) x 9” (22.9 cm) x 1.75” (4.4 cm)
• Shipping Dimensions (L x W x H): 24” (61 cm) x 13” (33 cm) x 4” (10.2 cm)
• Shipping Weight: 10 lbs (4.5 kg)