Avid Unveils S6

IBC (Hall 7, Booth #J20), Amsterdam, 2013/09/13

Company once again delivers breakthrough innovation in a future-ready control surface featuring unprecedented modularity, ergonomics and speed

Avid® (NASDAQ: AVID) today unveiled a major new addition to its industry leading family of control surfaces for sound recording, mixing and editing, further extending its leadership in the space. Avid S6 is designed for audio professionals in the most demanding production environments, delivering the performance needed to complete projects faster while producing the best sounding mixes. In addition, S6 provides mixing professionals with a state-of-the-art solution that easily scales to meet their current and future challenges.

"Working in ever more complex environments with fast project turnarounds, mixers need intuitive, tactile control of editing and mixing, and the ability to easily work with other artists, engineers, and facilities," said Chris Gahagan, senior vice president of products and services at Avid. "Drawing on more than 20 years of leading edge innovation, the S6 delivers the game-changing modularity, superior ergonomics, and streamlined collaboration to meet mixers' changing business requirements."

Built on the same proven technology that is core to the industry-leading ICON and System 5 product families, the Avid S6 enables mixers to quickly turn around complex projects while swiftly handling last-minute changes. With its unparalleled ability to simultaneously control multiple Pro Tools® and other EUCON™-enabled DAWs over simple Ethernet, S6 also speeds workflows and enables network collaboration on a single integrated platform.

Avid S6 redefines professional mixing with key features that include:

• Revolutionary modular design — Adapting to every stage of a user's business, the S6 control surface can be customized with the addition of the modules needed to match current workflow. It can be horizontally and vertically scaled as the client base grows. Pre-configured S6 M10 or S6 M40 surfaces may be purchased with the required faders, knobs, etc. already provided or, with S6 M40, further personalized with different channel control combinations.
• Superior ergonomics — A traditional, familiar console layout allows easy transition from previous systems. The multipoint touchscreen quickly and easily accesses plugins, large track counts, surround panning and more, while top-lit status knobs and high resolution OLEDs add operational efficiency. Additional 12.1" displays on S6 M40 systems further enhance instant project overview by providing deep visual feedback on key items such as channel names, audio meters, routing, clip names, and scrolling waveforms. Ultimate recall enables quick location for last-minute mix changes.

• Intelligent studio control — Compatible with Pro Tools and other popular EUCON-enabled DAWs, S6 enables detailed work on up to eight audio workstations simultaneously, as well as the ability to switch sessions in seconds from a single control surface across the facility. High-speed Ethernet connectivity makes it easy to reconfigure operations as business requirements dictate.

Availability and pricing

Avid S6 will be available at Avid resellers worldwide in Q4 2013.  As a modular system, S6 is available at a variety of prices, with M10 configurations starting at $21,995 and M40 configurations starting at $43,480.