Focusrite Liquid Channel (2004)

[chrisNova777]

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/focusrite-liquid-channel
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/25-products-changed-recording

Price at launch: £2344

SOS review: July 2004


"The crucial question is, of course, how well the Liquid Channel compares to the original units. Well, to my ears I have to say it compares extremely well indeed.”
Convolution processing to 'sample' filters and reverberant spaces is processor‑intensive, but mathematically fairly simple. As such, it's been available for a while, initially as an off‑line process in applications such as Sound Forge, and later in real time, thanks to Sony's DRE S777 rackmounting reverb.

What conventional convolution can't do, however, is replicate non‑linear processes such as distortion and compression. It fell to a company called Sintefex to figure out how dynamic processes could be emulated using more advanced convolution techniques, and Focusrite's Liquid Channel represented yet another stage in the evolution of this process. Drawing on Sintefex's expertise, they paired convolution processing with innovative analogue circuitry, capable of mimicking the response of many well‑known preamp designs, to create an input channel of unparalleled versatility. Sam Inglis

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