Solid State Logic Pure Drive Octo

8 Microphone preamplifiers, converter and USB sound card.

The PURE DRIVE OCTO leverages SuperAnalogue's famous PureDrive™ microphone preamp technology, originally used in Solid State Logic's ORIGIN console. The PURE DRIVE OCTO introduces a new DRIVE mode and USB connectivity to create an 8-channel 2U high rack unit.

Contemporary classic, recording console SSL ORIGIN, ushered in the era of the PureDrive™ microphone preamplifier. This innovative preamp retains the clarity and punch of previous SSL designs, while offering the added versatility of changing its character to a warmer, harmonically rich and saturated sound that changes with gain. ORIGIN, along with its PureDrive™ microphone preamp, has made its mark in the world's top studios. Whether it's capturing the delicate nuances of a piano concerto in PURE mode or adding warmth to a drum recording when set to DRIVE, the PureDrive™ microphone preamp has become an indispensable tool in the most prestigious studios and recording facilities thanks to its flexibility and superior sonic signature.

The PURE DRIVE OCTO continues ORIGN's legacy in a rack unit, offering eight microphone preamps with the renowned PURE and DRIVE modes from the ORIGIN console, but also goes a step further by adding a new "asymmetrical" DRIVE, advanced digital connectivity and a built-in USB interface. OCTO's PURE DRIVE offers four microphone preamp input impedance options, allowing sound engineers to explore different tonal possibilities or match microphone preamp impedance to microphone. In addition, each microphone preamp features independent +48V phantom power, polarity inversion and a high-pass filter. The PURE DRIVE OCTO appears to be one of the most powerful and feature-rich external microphone preamplifiers available on the market, introducing many new sonic and connectivity options for more demanding producers and recording engineers.

Three drive modes - One microphone preamplifier

PURE DRIVE OCTO is the result of SSL's commitment to progressive analog circuit design. No electromechanical components (potentiometers, mechanical switches, relays, etc.) are used in the PURE DRIVE OCTO's critical audio signal path, increasing product longevity and enabling impeccable "matching" of all channels - not just the stereo pair. The use of digitally controlled analog circuits, controlled by potentiometers and electronic switches, simplifies the recall and precision of settings.

Each PURE DRIVE OCTO microphone preamp can be independently switched between three different DRIVE modes: Clean, Classic Drive and Asymmetric Drive.

Clean mode is a highly regarded SSL linear preamplifier with a very low noise floor. It is known for its ability to faithfully capture the sound of the source with exceptional clarity and detail.

Classic Drive is a symmetrical mode that generates mostly odd harmonics; the same sound that characterizes the ORIGIN console.

Asymmetric Drive offers a new sound coloring option designed specifically for the PURE DRIVE series, making even harmonics dominant and providing a distinct rounding of sound, characteristic coloring and softening of transients.

Advanced connectivity

The PURE DRIVE OCTO opens up a world of recording possibilities. A versatile selection of analog and digital inputs/outputs make these microphone preamps with exceptional performance and flexibility. Whether you're recording a band in a world-class studio or adding character to tracks at the production stage. With an integrated USB soundcard, the PURE DRIVE QUAD is also ideal for project studios and field sessions where quality is critical.

The PURE DRIVE OCTO has four rear-mounted XLR combo inputs, four front-panel HI-Z/DI instrument inputs with automatic input detection, and three sets of D-sub connectors for line inputs, as well as insert send and insert return. The PURE DRIVE QUAD insert return/ADC inputs operate up to a full +24 dBu line level, allowing interfacing with other professional equipment.

The PURE DRIVE OCTO's versatile digital connectivity includes an integrated USB sound card transporting eight channels of audio to the DAW with up to 32-bit resolution and up to 192kHz sampling rate. Four pairs of AES/EBU outputs and an ADAT output, transport eight channels at 24-bit resolution and 48kHz, or up to four channels at 24-bit/192kHz via SMUX. The AES and ADAT outputs can be individually used as outputs from a DAW program. In addition, there is a word clock input and output with automatic timing control for reliable digital clocking.

Specification:

• PureDrive 8-channel high-performance microphone preamplifiers
• +48 V phantom power supply, polarity reversal and 3rd order hi-pass filter
• Stepped gain control up to +65 dB
• 31-step Trim control, with precise 1 dB increments - overdrive the signal with the Gain control, then reduce to the appropriate level with Trim.
• 3 modes for each preamplifier - Clean, Classic Drive and Asymmetric Drive
• Mic/Line input switching
• Microphone inputs via XLR
• Line inputs via choice of TRS Jack or dedicated D-Sub connector
• 4 x unbalanced Hi-Z/DI instrumental inputs on front panel with automatic input detection
• 4 microphone preamp input impedance options - discover new sound possibilities for your dynamic and ribbon microphones
• Balanced analog outputs/send inputs for external processing
• Professional line outputs/ADC inputs with +24 dBu level
• Analog-to-digital connectivity via ADAT, AES and USB
• Ability to switch ADAT and AES connections to audio source from DAW outputs (USB) instead of A/D converter
• USB sound card mode
• OCTO - 8 inputs / 24 outputs (@44.1/48 kHz)
• 8 analog outputs / 8 AES outputs + 16 ADAT outputs
• Step potentiometers and digitally controlled analog electronics for precision, stereo matching and ease of recall
• Up to 192 kHz and 32-bit conversion, professional I/O levels (+24 dBu = 0 dBFS).
• Selectable Auto-Sleep mode
• Automatic Wordclock range on input and output