So I was looking to review another low cost PC recording solution and picked up the Lexicon Omega Desktop Recording Studio for a paltry $199.00. I have to admit that the price of the item got me skeptical about how good this thing would sound and how many features it would pack.

While I won't go into all the details here, take a look below at the official specs at this item and also go ahead and browse the actual owner's manual if you want. Bottom line: The Lexicon Omega Recording Studio sounds incredible and packs good features, however, I ran into some pretty frustrating problems with the software installation of this device, many related to driver issues which frankly are over my simple musician's head. (review continued below...)

Live Results:

Essentially, as far as quality and using this thing along with Protools or Cubase, the audio quality of the recordings are excellent, with good reproduction of highs and lows, and for the money is a much more cost effective solution when compared to different Mbox or rack solutions that exist. Again, when I initially installed the device to my computer using the USB drive, my computer had difficulty recognizing the device (I am using windows XP operating system). When my computer finally recognized the device, the software installation went pretty smoothly.

Next, however, the whole system seemed to freeze my computer multiple times and I had to keep unplugging and plugging in the usb cord in order to start the process all over again. I've done some research and see that other users have had similar problems and most of them are running computers that have limited RAM. If your computer can meet the dmands, I suggest the Lexicon as a viable recording option. Again, I am not the most technically savvy individual so these problems above may not be an issue for you, however, it is important to highlight them. Check out the specs below for some more info. All in all I am happy with this device and after some tinkering with the software settings, I have not experienced any problems since then.

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Lexicon Omega Desktop Recording Studio Specifications:

* Omega Studio Hardware:
* Microphone Inputs (2) Female XLR Pin 2 Hot
* Input Impedance 664 ohms balanced
* Phantom Power +48 Volt
* EIN -118 dB @ 51dB gain (150 ohm source impedance) -120 dB A-weighted
* Maximum Input Level -2 dBu (150 Ohm source impedance)
* Frequency Response +0, -0.2dB 20 Hz - 20 kHz, ref. 1 kHz
* THD+N <.005%, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
* Insert Inputs (2) 1/4" TRS balanced or unbalanced
* Send Level (ring) +19 dBu maximum
* Maximum Return Level (tip) +19 dBu maximum
* Line Inputs (4) 1/4" TRS balanced or unbalanced
* Input Impedance 20 kOhm unbalanced, 10 kOhm unbalanced
* Maximum Input Level +19 dBu (40 Ohm source impedance)
* Frequency Response +0, -0.2 dB 20 Hz - 20 kHz, ref. 1kHz
* THD+N <.012% A/D, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, <.012% A/D/A, 20 Hz - 20 kHz
* Instrument Input (1) 1/4" mono jack
* Input Impedance 1 MOhm unbalanced
* Maximum Input Level +19 dBu
* Frequency Response +0, -0.25 dB 20 Hz - 20 kHz, ref. 1 kHz
* THD+N <.0125% A/D
* Crosstalk <-74dB any input or output to any recording channel, 20 Hz-20 kHz <-95 dB at 1 kHz typical

Lexicon Omega Desktop Recording Studio Features:

* Omega Desktop:
* 2 XLR microphone inputs
* dbx Silver Series mic preamps
* +48V phantom power
* 2 TRS insert inputs
* 4 TRS balanced/unbalanced line inputs
* 1/4" mono instrument input
* 2 TRS line outputs
* MIDI Interface 5 pin DIN connectors for MIDI in and MIDI out
* Coaxial RCA S/PDIF I/O
* 24-bit D/A and A/D conversion
* Integrated multitrack recording, editing, and mixing of audio and MIDI
* 32 stereo audio tracks
* 32 plug-ins at one time
* Unlimited MIDI tracks
* Professional 24-bit recording, mixing, processing
* Full-featured editing capabilities
* DXi soft synth support
* Support for custom screen layouts and keyboard shortcuts
* Polish your products with the included suite of DirectX plug-ins
* Apply morphing effects to your mix with the included FXPad joystick-controlled multi-effects module
* Add analog synth color to your production with the included AAS Tassman SE analog synth module
* Produce and burn professional quality CDs from your projects using included project-management utilities
* Encode audio for internet delivery
* Import general MIDI files
* Unlimited realtime locate markers

Reverb Plug-In
* Classic Lexicon reverb known throughout the recording world
* 35 factory presets, plus a powerful editor for creating additional presets
* 6 reverb types including Hall, Chamber, Plate, Room, Ambience, and Custom
* 16 user-adjustable parameters for fine tuning the reverb
* Advanced yet easy-to-use interface
* Floating-point DSP processing
* Mono and stereo operation
* 16- and 24-bit compatible
* Efficient CPU utilization
* Sample rates up to 96kHz

Lexicon Omega Owner Manual (PDF)

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 at 9:07 pm and is filed under Digital/Multi-track Recording. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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