SMC 7.1 Surround Monitor Controller

The SMC 7.1 expands analog surround monitoring to 8 channels and offers Solo, Solo-In-Place and Solo-To-Center, as well as a headphone jack.

Inputs & Speaker Management
Two 7.1 and two stereo input sources can be connected to the SMC 7.1. This is important because in monitoring, two productions are always compared with each other. A subwoofer can be added to a stereo input by activating the LFE button. Each loudspeaker can be switched on and off individually, and the SMC 7.1 remembers the last speakers used for each source.

The Solo-In-Place function now turns the loudspeaker on/off switches into solo buttons. This allows each loudspeaker to be heard alone at its position. Solo-To-Center places the selected loudspeaker on the center speaker, so that it can be listened to exactly from the front, in case critical listening is required. An alternative output is available for connecting a pair of stereo loudspeakers. 

The 45mm all-aluminum rotary knob moves an 8-level potentiometer. Mute is especially important when the DAW is sending full-range audio garbage due to a problem. Mute can be used quickly to protect speakers and hearing. As an alternative to the speakers, headphones can be used for monitoring. The headphones can be switched on and have their own volume control.

Expansion Rack
The SMC 7.1 can be installed in the Expansion Rack, to be screwed into a 19-inch rack. The Expansion Rack is equipped with a switch that can passively route the stereo output signal of the SMC 7.1 to four stereo outputs. In this combination, the SMC 7.1 is expanded by three additional stereo outputs. This allows a 7.1 loudspeaker array and full-range, mid and nearfield stereo speakers to be controlled and monitored.