The Crates Motel

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A match made in Heaven. The Endgame.

When I made the decision to go 100% In-The-Box as a mastering engineer, I sold all of my outboard gear and relieved myself of the burden of all my equipment. I was free to master, mix and produce anywhere, anytime and any place. This was the original concept of The Crates Motel. I have finally realised this vision with this amazing combination. The Audeze LCD-X are the finest headphones I have had the pleasure of using in over 35+ Years in studios and performing. The detail and clarity they offer over the entire spectrum is unparalleled in my opinion. My RME ADI 2 FS DAC is clean, transparent and offers a feast of functions that provides me with everything I would need in mastering and audio restoration. Finally, my SPL Phonitor 2…what can I say about this incredible box of magic that fully represents just how great it really is? I will try and put it in to words. The difference I discovered when sending my signal through the Phonitor 2 from my RME DAC (or any other DAC I have used) and pairing it with any pair of headphones, was the missing link in my In-The-Box mastering chain. The depth of detail and definition across the entire audio spectrum is incredible. It can drive any pair of headphones you plug in to it. The built in functions are all completely functional with no unnecessary marketing ploys. The stereo/mono, the phase, L+R solo, the VU calibration and of course the SPL Matrix to simulate the subtle crossfeed I would encounter using monitors in a room. It really is amazing. With these three items I have my Mastering In-The-Box endgame. Thank you SPL, RME Audio and Audeze!!