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REVIEW Trident Audio S80

The emergent trend of near-identical vintage equipment reissues continues with a strip from the Trident Series 80 console. Dave Foister casts a connoisseur's eye and ear.

JOHN ORAM's presence at Trident during the golden years makes him well placed to under-stand what it is about certain consoles that made them special. So far he has applied that experience to producing new processors under the Oram Sonics banner, but now he has bought the Trident Audio name and produced a replica of the channel strip that made the Trident Series 80 the console it was, The classic channel strip, and particularly console EQ, in a box is nothing new. If you want the original sound of a console by Neve, API, Focusrite, Amek, or one or two others. they're there to be bought off the shelf, with the added reassurance that new components and a warranty can bring. How close a link the replicas can claim with the original is very much a variable, but not with the Trident Audio 580 Producer Box. From the metal knobs to the case made of the same distinctive wood as the original Trident trim, the S80 is a painstaking reproduction. and this runs right through the whole design, as it does on many of the other replicas already mentioned. No attempt has been made to sanitise, update or 'improve' the original design; the aim was to produce exactly the same sonic character as on the original, and that meant cloning it as closely as possible. As is often the case, the most problematic component was the transformer, and Sowter was commissioned to replicate one of the few original transformers available. The front panels were printed using the original anodising process, and the engraved push-buttons are the same; the only obvious difference is the mirror-image placement of the controls, so that the EQ has the frequency selection on the left and boost-cut on the right. The circuitry itself comprises the microphone pre-amp and the equaliser, and all the controls for these elements are on a short strip. The box contains two of these strips, and a third panel that constitutes a simple mixer for the two channels, with pans, mutes and group faders. Each channel has its own XLR inputs and outputs plus insert points, and the mixer has separate stereo outputs. The controls themselves are relatively few and simple, and will be familiar to those who remember the original console.		The preamp has separate gain trims for the mic and line inputs, a switch to select between them, phantom power and phase reverse. The EQ itself has four bands, the outer two shelving and the inner two switched-frequency mids. This is where the real simplicity is apparent, as there is no bandwidth adjustment, no great overlap between bands, and fairly coarse switching of the frequencies. HF and LF have only two frequencies, selected with push-buttons, while the mid bands have seven each on rotary switches. There is a separate low-cut filter at 50Hz and a button to switch the whole EQ in and out, shown by the only LED on the strip. But features and complexity are not what an EQ like this is all about. The Series 80 console had a sound that people wanted, and the success of this Producer Box depends solely on how well it duplicates that sound. Oram's studio had an original Series 80 channel strip hooked up alongside the new box via an A-B switch, and I was left alone to explore the two. The character of the EQ was immediately obvious. There is a great big warmth in the lows and mids, and sparkle and edge in the upper end. The HF shelf set at 8kHz is quite aggressive and easy to overdo, while at 12kHz it adds a beautiful smooth sheen. Switching around the mid frequencies with lots of boost showed the Q to be narrow enough to be able to hear the centre frequency while wide enough to give broad control without worrying about how few frequencies there are to choose from. The most remarkable thing though was the fact that Oram has achieved the aim of duplicating the original; any setting I created on the original could be cloned exactly on the S80 with no audible difference. The one variation is that the new boost-cut pots have a slightly different law from the old ones, and have to be moved a little further away from the centre detent to get the same result, although the settings at the extremes are identical. This opportunity to do such a direct comparison is a rare thing for a manufacturer to offer to a reviewer, and Oram's confidence in the S80 design was vindicated. This is truly a replica of a desirable original, and if that particular colour is missing from your palette the S80 will fill the gap.
Dave Foister		© STUDIO SOUND SEPTEMBER 2000.

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