When I think about the Square One Splitter from Klark Teknik, it reminds of the comedians that parody the kitchen utensil gadgets advertised on TV. “It slices, it dices, it…” is pretty much the same with this splitter, as its engineers were given some liberty to add features beyond a mic-level XLR active splitter.
The Gear
Occupying two rack spaces, the Square One Splitter has eight channels, including a Midas XL8-derived mic preamp for each channel. And “splitter” is not a truly adequate description of the unit, as it has dual inputs (front and rear), preamped dual outputs and a third transformer-isolated set of fixed gain outputs for recording purposes. Then there are the goodies on the preamp section, like a 0 to 40 dB gain control, +48 volt phantom power switch, 30 Hz high-pass filter switching, 4-LED bargraph metering and a solo switch that routes to an onboard headphone amp for local monitoring.
The Square One Splitter front panel is split in half, with 16-XLR connectors on the left side and the eight mic preamps plus the headphone amp on the right. The left side contains two rows of connectors, with eight mic input jacks on the bottom row (XLR-F), and eight transformer-isolated outputs (XLR-M) on the top row. These outputs are electronically buffered on the primary side of the transformers for net -6 dB loss driving 600-ohm or higher output loading. The inputs are directly connected to the rear panel inputs so users can choose where to clutter up the panels with connections.
The eight Midas preamps are worth the cost of a Square One Splitter alone, as they are the same circuits used on the flagship XL8 digital console. After the phantom supply switch, each channel has a 5,000-ohm input impedance that splits off the signal to variable gain preamp and the transformer buffer preamp. The variable-gain preamp is not controlled with potentiometer, but an eight-position switch choosing preamp gains from unity to +40 dB in 5 dB increments. By switching gain increments instead of infinite variability, the preamp provides superior gain accuracy and even better common-mode noise rejection over the other potentiometer implementations.
After the variable gain preamps, the 30 Hz, two-pole (12 dB/octave) high-pass active filters are selectively switched along with the solo switching. Thankfully, no mute switch is implemented or we would have another system tech nightmare to deal with. Just before the dual balanced output line buffers, the 4-LED bar graph signal pickoff is done, with -15, 0, +12 and +21 dB levels over a pair of green, single yellow and single red LEDs, respectively.
On the rear panel, the expected IEC power inlet jack feeds a 25-watt switcher power supply for the Square One Splitter, having a 100 to 240 VAC input voltage range for universal acceptance. The remaining part of the rear panel consists of three rows of eight XLR jacks, with the top two rows being the A and B groups of preamped outputs (XLR-M). The bottom row is the paralleled group of inputs (XLR-F) replicating the front panel inputs.
But there is more! Each output group has recessed ground lift switch for opening pin 1 connections to reduce or eliminate hum sources. And the switches also illuminate a red LED as a warning indication. And the Square One Splitter also doubles at a press box splitter by using another recessed switch near the bottom row of XLR connectors, which takes the channel 8 input and shares its post variable gain preamp output to the other seven channels of outputs, creating a 1 In x 16 Out Media splitter for press conference-type applications.
The Gig
The Klark Teknik Square One Splitter has all kinds of possible uses beyond the applications described above. You could use the Square One Splitter as an on-the-fly mini-mixer to a powered speaker-on-a-stick application, especially if equalization is not a high priority. Obviously, the intent of the unit is to reside onstage near patch-central for receiving sub-snake inputs and dividing up to the front-of-house and monitor snakes, plus an optional transformer isolated split for a recording interface. Another application is to use multiple Square One Splitter units as golden mic preamps in front of a digital mixing console that may have a lesser-quality mic preamp needing substitution.
I put the Square One Splitter out on a couple of gigs, doing the classic FOH/monitor split function, and auditioned the results during the line checks and actual performances. I found the preamps sounded smooth and were without any “flavors” in their usage, both in frequency response and distortions. While I did not need a whole lot of gain in these gigs, I did play with the gain controls and attempted to find audible differences when running hot or at low levels. The fact that I failed to note differences speaks well of the preamp quality.
On the bench, I checked the gains and THD distortions; I found them accurate and within the 0.02% THD specifications, respectively. Overall, the Square One Splitter is well worth its $1,425 street price, and a natural “must-have” for most large sound companies’ gear inventories.
Contact Mark at mark@fohonline.com
What it is: Mic splitter on Steroids
How much: $1,583 MSRP
Pros: High audio quality, much flexibility, fair price.
Cons: None, if you can live with purple cosmetics.
Web site: www.klarkteknik.com
