In this video I review the Cranbourne Audio Carnaby HE2 with my honest take on unit. What to be aware of if you are buying one and what I find it best useful for. I have always spoken very highly of the Cranbourne Audio Carnaby HE2 and my views on this unit have not changed.
Below you can listen to full quality audio examples. We specifically chose oldskool drum breaks for the audio examples as it shows of how the high band can be used to breathe life into drums and a full rich low end.
Drum Break 1
Drum Break 2
Drum Break 3
Full Mix 1
Full Mix 2
The Cranborne Audio Carnaby HE2 is a 2U, 19-inch rackmount digitally-controlled Stereo, dual-mono & mid/side 3-band HarmonicEQ® with an additional 2-band shaping EQ, designed to elevate your audio processing to a professional level.
The Cranborne Audio is an evolutionary successor to the renowned Carnaby 500, bringing a unique and revolutionary EQ concept to your professional audio toolkit, utilising harmonic saturation to sculpt and refine your audio content with precision.
ENHANCED HARMONIC SATURATION FOR IMPECCABLE SOUND
Unlock the true potential of your audio sources, stems, and mixes by infusing them with genuine analogue harmonic saturation. The Carnaby HE2 offers you the tactile familiarity and control of a traditional equaliser while harnessing the power of harmonic content manipulation. This innovative approach furthers the sonic possibilities, delivering a distinctive sonic signature to your projects.
3-BAND PARAMETRIC EQ WITH UNPARALLELED VERSATILITY
Whether you’re working on Stereo, Dual Mono, or Mid-Side processing, the Carnaby HE2 boasts three bypassable, interactive HarmonicEQ® bands per channel. Each band features 10dB of boost/cut and provides individual sweepable, overlapping frequency controls. Like its predecessor, the Carnaby 500, the Carnaby HE2 imbues each band with a unique harmonic blend tailored to its frequency range, ensuring an unmatched level of musicality.
High-Frequency Enhancement: The HI band extends from 5kHz to an impressive 25kHz, employing smooth saturation to naturally expand high frequencies, creating an ethereal sense of air and breath ideal for vocals and acoustic instruments.
Low-End Depth: The LO band covers frequencies from 420Hz down to 20Hz, using hard-clipping saturation to extend sub-harmonic frequencies into the audible low-end. Whether you seek subtle warmth or extreme sub-harmonic saturation, the LO band delivers.
Midrange Brilliance: The MID band acts as a peaking filter with a fixed Q and a wide sweepable frequency range from 200Hz to 6.2kHz. It infuses harmonic emphasis throughout the frequency spectrum, elevating your audio source.
DYNAMIC RESPONSE FOR ARTISTIC FREEDOM
Unlike conventional EQs, the Carnaby HE2 exhibits a dynamic response, intensifying total boost/cut and harmonics as you drive the circuits harder. Each band includes Input and Output level controls, offering a ±20dB level adjustment range. This flexibility enables you to push the Carnaby HE2 for enhanced saturation and distortion effects or dial it back for pristine EQ adjustments.
SEAMLESS DIGITAL CONTROL WITH USB AND NETWORK CONNECTIVITY
The Carnaby HE2 redefines control with remote operation capabilities via USB or an Ethernet network. Our intuitive control plugin seamlessly integrates with the Carnaby HE2 hardware through the USB or NET ports, providing direct, effortless, real-time control and recall from your DAW. It streamlines the process of saving and loading presets, enhancing your workflow efficiency.
Achieve precise tonal sculpting by independently bypassing each of the three frequency bands. This feature empowers you to audition and fine-tune your settings with unparalleled accuracy.
FINE-TUNE WITH EXTENDED HF & LF SHAPING
The Carnaby HE2 offers precise HF, and LF cut controls with individual bypass options for further sound refinement. These controls enable you to tame and shape your audio with precision.
MASTERFUL MID/SIDE PROCESSING
Especially valuable for mastering, mixing, and sound design applications, the Carnaby HE2 introduces Mid/Side processing capabilities. It enables you to apply HarmonicEQ® separately to the mid (centre) and side (stereo width) components of your stereo signal, all without the need for additional hardware. The Carnaby HE2 seamlessly handles encoding and decoding, offering unprecedented control.
SEAMLESS INTEGRATION FOR OUTBOARD HARDWARE
The Carnaby HE2 incorporates bypassable TRS Inserts on each of its two channels. These inserts are post-M/S encoding and pre-M/S decoding, allowing seamless outboard hardware integration before your signal enters the HarmonicEQ® processing chain, giving you total control over your audio.
