Combining Camden Audio preamp technology with a reference-grade headphone amplifier, the Camden EC1 interface is aimed at musicians, vocalists, podcasters and video producers seeking elite-quality recordings, as well as reference headphone critical listening.
The Camden EC1 claims to offer one of the cleanest and most transparent preamps on the market into a standalone, desktop-friendly chassis that can integrate with any audio interface. It’s 12-way rotary gain switch enables easy recallability of preamp gain while a dedicated mic, line, and Hi-Z input modes combine its functionality as a mic preamp, line-level saturator and instrument DI thanks to dedicated jack Link outputs for each channel.
‘Camden’s unprecedented performance allows you to vastly improve the quality of your tracks,’ says Product Manager, Elliott Thomas. ‘Using its Mojo control, Camden EC1 goes from extraordinarily clean and natural sounding, to thick, vintage-style analogue saturation that can add that magic colour to your tracks.’
With two discrete Mojo styles – Thump and Cream – the Camden EC1 can imitate vintage transformer or valve-based preamps. Mojo’s saturation is completely variable, allowing the amount of saturation to be set for each source. The transformer-based preamps can be bypassed and removed from the signal when clean and transparent performance is required, using the true-bypass switch.
The Camden EC1’s reference-quality headphone amplifier and independent, 4-channel line mixer allows for direct, zero-latency monitoring of the Camden preamp using headphones connected directly to the front panel. The preamp can be monitored directly using headphones during mic placement to find the sweet spot of the instrument/source, and used to create a zero-latency, analogue headphone mix by mixing the preamp with external playback from dedicated Stereo Aux and Mono Ext Line Inputs.
The unit features a Hi-Z instrument D.I. circuit with a dedicated quarter-inch jack Link output for reamping bass and electric guitars on studio or stage. It also uses Cranborne Audio’s CAST system for distributing audio around the studio or stage using Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat7 cabling. Connectinng the CAST out to Cranborne Audio’s 500R8 or 500Adat, and the EC1’s preamp is directly connected to the interface’s input for further processing and recording. At the same time through the same cable, 500R8/500ADAT transmit their monitor mix to the EC1’s headphone mixer for monitoring.
This allows 500R8/500ADAT users to relocate their Camden EC1’s preamp and headphone amplifier into the live room using a single Cat5e, Cat6 or Cat7 cable whilst freeing-up 500 series slots in 500R8/500Adat for more EQ and compressor modules and extra processing before hitting 500R8/500Adat’s converters.
With an abundance of I/O available, Camden EC1 offers flexibility with third-party audio interfaces and recorders by including dedicated XLR outputs, impedance balanced jack outputs with 10dB pad, and a link output when using the EC1 as a DI.
‘Engineered and designed under the Cranborne team’s watchful eyes,’ continued Karpowicz, ‘Camden EC1 features elite audio specifications and application-based features that defy its price tag and is accessible for professional, project, and home studio engineers.’
The Cranborne Audio Camden EC1 will be available in November 2020 (via Sound Technology in the UK) priced at £549 RRP inc VAT. A half-rack kit will also be available priced at £40 RRP inc VAT.
