Flex-10 USB Audio Interface

Harrison Flex-10

Flex-10 brings the legendary build and tone of Harrison Audio's technology to a dual-channel USB/ADAT audio interface—a compact box with uncompromising sound. Unmistakably reaching toward analog feel and aesthetics, the interface is immediately striking, with two moving-coil VU meters sitting across the top of the panel and a knob-per-function layout affording the tactile, intuitive workflow the device calls for.

Channel architecture is what makes Flex-10 special, and it is based around the same concepts that made the 32C console a prime choice behind hit records by Michael Jackson, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, and many others. Each of the two channels runs a high-performance Harrison mic preamp complete with line switching, 48V phantom power, and a -20dB pad. Following the preamp is Harrison's celebrated filter circuit. Comprising switchable, fully sweepable high-pass and low-pass with a frequency overlap generous enough to shape a narrow bandpass, the filter section is as useful for utilitarian cleanup as it is for more drastic sound shaping. Next is the H-DRIVE—a bypassable proprietary transformer circuit which lets you add varied degrees of warmth and saturation to the signal.

Rare in an interface of this size, each channel is also equipped with an insert point with its own bypass switch, opening up the signal path for additional processing. The monitoring section is equally hands-on. There are two independent output pairs, Main L+R and Alt 3+4, each with its own level, mute and stereo metering, and the VU meters can be switched to display either pair. Direct monitoring runs through a MIX knob with a stereo/mono switch, and two headphone outputs each carry their own level control, with HP2 switchable to the alternate pair for a second cue mix. Eight channels of ADAT expand the input count when the two preamps aren't enough.

Flex-10 is, perhaps, not the lightest interface on a desk, and it isn't trying to be. What it offers instead is a signal path you can see and touch, from a company that has been honing this craft since 1975.

Flex-10 Features

• Dual-channel USB/ADAT audio interface built around Harrison console design
• Tactile knob-per-function design
• Two high-performance Harrison mic preamps with line switching, 48V phantom power, and a -20dB pad per channel
• Harrison high-pass and low-pass filters on each channel, fully sweepable and switchable in or out, with enough frequency overlap to shape a narrow bandpass
• H-DRIVE: bypassable transformer circuit with continuously variable drive
• Insert point per channel with its own bypass switch
• Seven-segment dBFS metering with clip indication on input and output channels
• Two moving-coil VU meters with individual trim, switchable between the main and alternate output pairs
• Two independent monitor output pairs: Main L+R and Alt 3+4
• Direct monitoring with variable blend and a stereo/mono switch
• Two headphone outputs with independent level controls
• HP2 switchable to the alternate pair for a second cue mix
• ADAT lock and USB status indicators