Radial Nuance Select Studio Monitor Controller Overview
Hear What You’ve Been Missing
The Nuance Select is a monitor controller designed with the belief that nothing should stand in the way of the sound that reaches your speakers. With exceptional sound quality, it sets new standards for audio reproduction, letting you hear the true, uncolored sound of your monitors with astonishing clarity. Reveal subtle details that might previously have been obscured, and enjoy a more authentic, immersive stereo field. By giving you the full picture, the Nuance Select empowers you to take control and make every mix decision with confidence.
Control without Coloration
The Nuance Select is a studio monitor controller designed so you can hear every single detail through your speakers, with a distortion profile so low that it cannot be measured by most audio testing equipment.
Complete audio transparency is achieved through our innovative Clarity Circuit that allows you to hear the true mix through your speakers without any sacrifice in audio quality, all while still providing you with total control over your monitor setup.
- SRC 1 & SRC 2: Determines which set of Source inputs will feed the Speaker and Sub outputs
- Mono: Sums the left and right channels to mono for the A & B Speaker outputs
- Mute: Cuts all signal to the Speaker and Sub outputs
- Dim: Reduces the volume by -15dB through the Speaker and Sub outputs
- A & B: Selects which set of Speaker outputs is active. Only one of these buttons can be selected at a given time
- Sub: Activates the mono Sub output when selected
- Level: Sets the overall output level of the Speaker and Sub outputs
- HP 1 & 2 Level: Sets the signal level at the two headphone outputs
- SRC 1/2: Selects the input source for each of the headphone outputs. When the button is illuminated, the corresponding headphone output will be fed from the Source 2 inputs
- Phones: Activates both headphone outputs when selected
- AUX: Selects the input source for the Aux output. When the button is illuminated, the Aux is fed directly from Source 2
Looking the Part
Housed in a robust steel enclosure with a milled aluminum faceplate, the Nuance Select will fit the aesthetic of any studio space and easily incorporate into your workflow, with a streamlined approach to the feature set.
Backlit monitor selection and control switches are complemented by oversized chrome knobs on the headphone and master level controls.
- Power: Locking connection for external Radial power supply
- AUX: Stereo unbalanced TRS output for connection to external headphone amps or other devices
- Sub: Balanced line-level mono output for feeding a powered subwoofer or power amp. This is a full-bandwidth output
- Speaker B: Balanced line-level left and right outputs for connection to a secondary set of powered studio monitors or power amps
- Speaker A: Balanced line-level left and right outputs for connection to the primary set of powered studio monitors or power amps
- Source 2: Balanced left and right inputs for connection to the secondary (or cue) outputs from an audio interface or mixing console
- Source 1: Balanced left and right inputs for connection to the primary outputs from an audio interface or mixing console
Inputs, Outputs, and Useful Add-ons
The Nuance Select features two sets of stereo source inputs, along with two sets of balanced TRS outputs for powered speakers. A full-range subwoofer output is also included that can be activated with either set of speakers as desired. Two independent headphone amplifiers are available for monitoring or control room tracking – each headphone output can be assigned to its own stereo source so you can feed a cue mix to an artist while monitoring the main mix yourself. The headphone outputs are provided on easily accessible front panel jacks, and a stereo Aux output is available on the rear panel that can be used to feed an additional headphone amplifier for live room tracking.
Clarity Circuit Explained
The Nuance Select is able to deliver remarkably low distortion and transparency through its patent pending Clarity Circuit. Every aspect of the Clarity Circuit was designed with an overarching goal of keeping distortion to an absolute minimum, so you can hear every detail of the mix without compromise. The Nuance Select uses 100% Class A circuitry (including the headphone amplifiers) to eliminate zero-cross distortions that are inherent to Class A/B op amps, and an ultra low noise internal power supply is also employed to further reduce the overall noise characteristics of the circuit. A true stepped attenuator is employed for the main level control, which is formed around a 21-position gold contact switch and paired with a string of carefully selected precision resistors. Last but not least, the Nuance Select has zero capacitors in the audio signal path, as these can act as high pass filters and cause additional distortion: in their place DC Servo’s are used throughout the signal path. The overall result is a level of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) that is so low it is difficult to measure – 0.00001%.
- Frequency Response: 2Hz - 200kHz ±0.25dB @ +4dBu
- Maximum Input: +27dBu
- Maximum Output: +26dBu
- Input Impedance: 20kΩ
- Output Impedance: 112Ω
- Total Harmonic Distortion: <0.00001%, -140dB, balanced outputs 1kHz @ +18dBu
- Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: 0.00012%, -118dB
- Intermodulation Distortion: 0.00007%, -123dB
- Signal to Noise Ratio: 125dB, 127dB A Weighted
- Crosstalk: -125dB @ 1kHz, -110dB @ 10kHz
- Headphone Amplifier
- -Total Harmonic Distortion: 0.00012%, -118dB
- -Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: 0.0003%, -110dB
- -Signal to Noise Ratio: 112dB
- -Output Impedance: 2.5Ω
- -Output Power: 33mW x 2 @ 22Ω, THD+N<1%, 100mW x 2 @ 68Ω, THD+N<1%
- General
- -Construction: Milled Aluminum faceplate, 18-gauge steel chassis
- -Size: 10" x 5.25" x 3" (254 x 133 x 76mm)
- -Power: +-15V, +5VDC, 29W max (included)
- -Conditions: For indoor use at temperatures between +5°C and +40°C