CAUTION: if you are still enjoying the EVO5 countdown, and don’t want to be tainted with any product details until the official announcement at Musikmesse in 15 days, STOP READING NOW!
Preliminary specifications for the EVO5 digital mixer obtained by Create Digital Music reveal the folowing:
- It’s a 5-channel mixer with MIDI and effects. (Ok, you might have guessed that, but anyway…)
- The EVO5 includes a 12-channel FireWire interface that provides 6 stereo in and 6 stereo out, so you can stream audio to and from Ableton Live, Native Instruments Traktor, and other applications.
- 4 channels of the EVO5 can handle the FireWire audio, the 5th is for microphone input.
- MIDI can also be transmitted over FireWire and there are both MIDI In and Out ports.
- 4 continuous rotary knobs under the display can be used for MIDI control, as can the channel EQ knobs, which are non-continuous.
- I/O includes 4 phono preamps, 5 line inputs, and RCA and XLR outputs.
Beyond this promising feature set, much of the EVO5’s potential success seems to be riding on its user interface. The EVO5 has apparently been in development for over a year with the revered Italian design firm, Giugiaro, best known for high-end European sports cars like Ferrari and Alfa Romeo. This is the first time Giugiaro has designed a DJ product and their involvement raises expectations for a fresh perspective on the DJ mixer UI.
One can only assume that the low-res rendering images floating around won’t do it justice!
Ed.: Hmmm, I think I’d probably take an Alfa Romeo over what looks like a fairly ordinary mixer, but we’ll see! -PK