N-closure2 & N-closure6 / Channel Strips

N-Closure2
& N-Closure6
Channel Strips

N-Trophy is a fully discrete, modular analog in-line console designed to become the heart of a modern analog or hybrid studio, where sound quality and fast, creative work is a key. Where you don’t want to be overwhelmed by increasingly complex technology, but focus on the art itself. That is the way it should be. And all that you will experience with N-Trophy is just that.
And that is exactly what you will experience with N‑closure channel strips.

Back to The Nature of Sound. Carefully handcrafted in Poland.

A beautiful and inspiring classic look is combined with an innovative approach to working on analog console. N‑Trophy is an exceptional console in so many aspects, like never before. It removes digital ’junk’, and brings life, vitality, air, space and depth back to your tracks. It brings back the pleasant feeling of communing with what is close to every human being by nature꞉ the beauty of analogue sound. Truly, the N‑closure channel strips give you a ’Back to The Nature of Sound’ experience.

How did we do it? The secret behind the N‑Trophy

We designed High‑End discrete class A mic preamps, custom audio transformers and discrete opamps, as well as unique six‑band passive EQ, THD Stage, and the Tube Optical Compressor / Limiter with innovative detection and compression circuits that work differently than ones found in other studio equipment. At the same time, we eliminated all points where classic analog consoles used to be weak or overcomplicated. The signal path is also as short as it can be, despite the plenty of N‑Trophy’s and N‑closure’s sound shaping tools.

To complete the N‑Trophy and N‑closure design, we have also taken special care to develop the classic linear power supply with a custom double‑shielded toroidal transformer and the best Linear Technology voltage regulators. The transformer here is acting as a power conditioner, ensuring large headroom and very low noise performance.

N-Closure2

4U

484 mm
width

177.6
depth

314 mm
height

Housing with sockets & knobs

N-Closure6

11U

484 mm
width

488.6
depth

314 mm
height

Housing with sockets & knobs

N‑closure2

N‑closure2 is a 4U device housing a maximum of two N‑Trophy console channel strips mounted horizontally, and N‑closure6 is an 11U

N‑closure6

N-closure6 is the perfect solution if you wish to expand your setup with more than two channel strips and have a console‑like furniture. With channels mounted in a similar way to the N‑Trophy channel strips, you will have a great console‑like experience. You can order N‑closure6 with any number of channel strips installed, and then expand your system as your studio grows. Empty spaces without installed channel strips are filled with blank panels.

Connections and studio integration

On the rear panel of the N‑closure, you will find an AC power socket and balanced XLR and Combo sockets – identical to the sockets on the rear panel of the N‑Trophy channel section. The only difference is the number of connector sections, depending on whether it is the N‑closure2 or the N‑closure6 housing. The sockets are꞉

KEY1,
KEY2꞉

Global line inputs for an external sidechain compressor/limiter circuit. All installed channel strips have a switch to select which KEY input they use.

INS SEND,
INS RET꞉

Line inputs/outputs for each channel’s external insert loop.

DIR OUT꞉

Channel line output. Output point can be selected individually, on each channel strip꞉ after the preamp or after all processing in the channel.

LINE IN꞉

Input for processing line‑level signals. A typical scenario is that you use it when the N‑closure in connected to other analog equipment in the chain.

TAPE IN꞉

Channel’s second line level input. Selectable with a dedicated switch. This input is intended for use as a DAW audio signal input, without the necessity of switching cables between LINE and TAPE inputs.

MIC IN꞉

Mic‑level input to the channel mic preamplifier.

Creative tools you will find in N‑closure channel strips꞉

N‑closure channel strips are taken directly from our N‑Trophy All Discrete Analog Console. Sound quality and all features are identical,
except those related to the N‑Trophy Centre Section꞉ Auxes, signal routing to Groups, Panning and MixB section.

HIGH ‑END DISCRETE CLASS A Mic/Line/Instrument PREAMPS

They are based on legendary Jensen JE990 opamps. It’s a similar topology to the preamps found in our flagship RP‑2 preamp, and in practice one of the best sounds you can get from a mic preamp anywhere꞉ big, vital, pushed forward, full of life and with a lot of details. Perfectly balanced, bringing out the nuances of the sound beautifully, yet not exaggerated in any way. It is equally good for clean, beautiful‑sounding classic recordings, as well as providing a solid foundation for colouring and tweaking the sound with N‑closure tools when working with other musical genres.

CUSTOM MADE BEAUTIFULLY SOUNDING AUDIO TRANSFORMER

It adds class and size to the sound, enriching it, filling the space and giving even more analog taste. The same transformer is used in the N‑Trophy Mastering Console.

THD SATURATION / DISTORTION STAGE

With level knob and plenty of colours and various harmonic additions꞉ German, Silicon (ASYMETRICAL) and Soft, Mid, Hard (SYMETRICAL). Soft mode is especially great for analog tape simulation.

TUBE OPTICAL COMPRESSOR / LIMITER

Our original design of a very creative and extremely effective dynamics section, is equally good for keeping vocals in place and for ’crushing’ drums and even for special effects purposes. It works great on everything, thanks to its continuously adjustable characteristics꞉ from compressor (slower, gluey sound, LA‑2A type) to limiter (fast, FET‑like type 1176). All possible sidechain options are at your disposal, along with a High Pass Filter, external KEY inputs and stereo link for detection circuits. Attack and Release are automatically changed along with the compression level, so the compressor is very quick and intuitive to use, and you will achieve the desired sound in seconds. The ECC88 (6N23P) tube is placed in the Gain Makeup stage, and you have the option to bypass the compressor, but still use the tube to add a beautiful tone to your track.

SIX ‑BAND PASSIVE EQ WITH WIDE SLOPES AND LPF/HPF FILTERS

Our original design of an amazingly musical‑sounding mastering grade equalizer. We have spent a great deal of time on the perfect selection of frequencies and how the bands overlap. The idea behind the equalizer is to find the right balance of your sound quickly and creatively. Once you start using it, you’ll see how fast and intuitive it is, and how beautifully it brings out the ’life’ and three‑dimensional space of your recordings. N‑closure equalizer uses rotary switches just like all mastering equalizers. Its phase and characteristics are perfectly matched, so you can use it with confidence on multiple channels with the same settings, achieving identical sound.

ROUTING WITH VARIABLE ORDER OF BLOCKS꞉ INSERT, COMPRESSOR, EQ

All audio signal routing is lossless, passive, based on relays with gold‑plated contacts.

HIGH ‑END DISCRETE CLASS A Mic/Line/Instrument PREAMPS

TUBE OPTICAL COMPRESSOR / LIMITER

CUSTOM MADE BEAUTIFULLY SOUNDING AUDIO TRANSFORMER

SIX ‑BAND PASSIVE EQ WITH WIDE SLOPES AND LPF/HPF FILTERS

THD SATURATION / DISTORTION STAGE

ROUTING WITH VARIABLE ORDER OF BLOCKS꞉ INSERT, COMPRESSOR, EQ

Recall sheet

N-closure folder

N-closure User Manual

Detailed descriptions of
N‑Strip’s features꞉

Top quality VU Meters with excellent ballistics.

PREAMP GAIN (db): Gain switch for the selected signal input.
+48 V: Phantom power switch for condenser mics.
TAPE GAIN: 0/+6/+12dB switch for TAPE IN input signal.
PRE SRC: Input source for the preamp꞉ Mic/Off/Line.
PRE PH / TAPE PH: Phase reverse switches for Mic/Line/Instr inputs and TAPE IN (line level) signals.

Preamp + Channel / Tape + Channel: Select channel’s physical input.
X-FORMER: Switch for the interstage audio transformer located after the mic preamp.
THD LVL / THD TYPE: Select type and level of saturation.
DIR SRC: Select the audio output point for DIR OUT꞉
– Preamp ‑ after the preamp, before processing
– ChOut ‑ after all sound processing in the channel
TRIM: Pot for additional trim level of DIR OUT (direct output) signal, with on/off switch.
INSERT / BLEND: Insert switch and insert dry/wet blend pot with switch. When the BLEND switch is set to off, the channel insert point signal is 100% wet.
ORDER: Select processig order꞉C (Compressor), E (EQ + filters), I (Insert).
METER: Select the metering point for the VU Meter. G.R. ‑ Gain Reduction of the Compressor.

S.C. MODE: Compressor sidechain mode꞉ Internal, L/R Link (stereo link), Key for external key inputs.
KEY SRC: Select KEY1 of KEY2 for sidechain inputs
S.C. FILTER: The cutoff frequency for detection circuit in Internal sidechain mode.
Comp: Switch in OPTO COMPRESSOR. In Byp mode the compressor is bypassed, but the tube is still active.
TYPE: Select compressor characteristics, from Comp (slow) to Lim (fast).
THRESHOLD: Compression depth. Attack and release depends on the gain reduction depth.
BLEND: dry/wet mix balance of compressed and uncompressed signal.
MAKEUP (db): Gain Makeup ‑ signal level boost after compression. Tube circuit.
LPF (Hz): Low pass filter, frequency selection with stepped rotary switch. 6dB/oct slope.
HPF (Hz): High pass filter, frequency selection with stepped rotary switch. 6dB/oct slope.

HF: High‑frequency passive EQ, independently selectable frequencies for BOOST and CUT. Equipped with stepped rotary switches. Gently overlapping (6dB/oct).
BOOST (dB): Amount of boost (dB) for HF band.
CUT (dB): Amount of cut (dB) for HF band.
Shelf/Peak switches for BOOST an CUT.

MF: Mid‑frequency passive EQ, independently selectable frequencies for BOOST and CUT.
Equipped with stepped rotary switches. Gently overlapping (6dB/oct).
Amount of boost (dB) for MF band.
Amount of cut (dB) for MF band.

LF: Low‑frequency passive EQ, independently selectable frequencies for BOOST and CUT.
Equipped with stepped rotary switches. Gently overlapping (6dB/oct).
Amount of boost (dB) for HF band.
Amount of cut (dB) for HF band.
Shelf/Peak switches for BOOST an CUT.

EQ: On/Off switch for the channel EQ circuits.

Specifications

Measured with the Prism D‑Scope III Audio Analyzer.

Phase L/R Matching꞉ max 0.8 deg (10Hz ‑ 30kHz)

CMRR꞉ ‑65dB
Max Input Level꞉ +22dBV
Max Output Level꞉ +28dBV

Input XLR (LINE, TAPE, INS SEND): balanced, impedance 10k Ohm
Output XLR (DIR OUT, INS RET): balanced, impedance 75 Ohm
Mic Input: balanced, impedance 3.5k Ohm

AC Powering: internally switchable 240V/120V ‑ 50/60Hz
Power Consumption꞉ max. 35 Watt (N‑closure2), max. 90 Watt (N‑closure6)

Feel free and inspired, as a true Unhindered Maker!

Create your next masterpiece without compromise, with vital and full‑of‑life sound. Together with your new N‑closure channel strips.

Your hard work deserves that.

Your HUM Audio Devices team.