Well, since i've got a couple days off due to a cold, might as well get back on the horse, as it were. I got this little fella last year, in a package deal with a pair of M-Audio BX5 monitors, and they've become the living room audio setup
As the smallest member of the lineup, and as opposed to its bigger siblings, it only has one mic input (as opposed to mic/line on a combo socket), and one line/instrument input, and the direct monitoring is strictly an "on/off" deal, where the computer audio gets dimmed by a few dB. And as a member of the gen3, it also has the switchable "air" feature, which ramps up the top end of the mic signal.
Can't get much more bare-bones than this on the back side - USB-C, 1/4" jack outputs (as opposed to the RCA's in previous Solos), and a Kensington lock for theft prevention. But this is stuff you'll see in any review, and the manual, for that matter, and that's not what this is about...
Despite the diminutive size of this, it's pretty tightly packed. Or rather, because of its size. Interestingly enough, both the front and rear panel have the cosmetic layer glued on top of the structural panel the jacks & pots are mounted to. I didn't have much reason to rip those off "just because", so there we are.
Everything didn't quite fit on the top of the board, so there's a bunch of stuff on the bottom side as well - not all that much though, considering...
Whoever did the board design, took the chance to have a tiny bit of fun though, making that piece of ground plane look a bit like a snake.
The main processor is, as should be no surprise by now, Xmos again - they've pretty much got the market cornered, as far as small-to-mid-size reasonably-affordable USB audio interfaces are concerned. Sadly though, there's not even a cryptic "XFR002C" or anything on it. Given the size, probably a reasonably safe bet it's an XU208-128-TQ64, as small as they come? Clocking is once again handled by a Cirrus Logic CS2100CP.
Firmware is stored inside a Macronix MX25L8006E flash chip.
Conversion provides further deja-vu - Cirrus Logic CS4272 codec.
Focusrite staying loyal to Nisshinbo (ex-JRC/NJR) on the opamp side - NJM2122's for the preamps, and NJM8065's otherwise.
A new detail is the headphone amplifier circuitry - this time, revolving around a... chip i couldn't for the life of me track down. The package is some 2x2mm QFN-12 or so, but the "7G" marking is of no help either.
Moving on to the power supplies - the analog circuitry is powered by a Monolithic Power Systems MP1542D boost-converter, with some clever trickery to also produce a -6V rail, in addition to the positive +6V rail. Had to get creative with a flashlight and manual focusing, to be able to get a clear-ish shot of this little chip, hidden away under the front panel PCB's.
On that note, perhaps even more than previously, i've noticed even more detailed markings for the various test points. Not only the various supply voltages, but even DAC inputs & outputs, preamp outputs, monitor outputs etc.
An MPS MP3425 boost-converter handles the +48V phantom power.
An MPS MP2181 is in charge of the +1V rail for the Xmos core.
An MPS MP2141 handles the supplying of 3.3V to the digital circuitry.
And that about wraps it up for this one. Stand by for more stuff, just... well... Don't hold your breath, ok?
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