Radial Nuance Select — A Mix Real-World Review

Leave it to good old Radial (and veteran designer Hutch Hutchinson) to build the new Nuance Select monitor controller like a tank and help streamline workflow (both as “per the usual” for Radial). However, with this device, the company incorporates a new concept, the Clarity Circuit, to achieve incredible sonics.

Nuance Select is a desktop monitor controller providing straightforward input switching, monitor selection, volume control and headphone facilities. Two balanced pairs of stereo inputs are provided on ¼-inch TRS, while two pairs of balanced monitor outputs (and a mono subwoofer out) are also on TRS.

Two discrete headphone amps are provided (on front-panel ¼-inch jacks) with muting, independent input sourcing and level. Mono, Mute and Dim switches aid fast workflow, as well as an Auxiliary output on unbalanced stereo TRS that allows either input to conveniently feed an external device (likely a headphone amp or foldback monitors).

This is all controlled with a proper 21-position stepped attenuator (volume control) that provides accurate left-to-right balance within 0.1 dB at any volume, via resistors and DC servos, not capacitors (caps don’t always age well, drift in value over time and can introduce noise).

The Clarity Circuit is Class-A and exceptionally clean, with barely measurable THD of -0.00001%, crosstalk of -125 dB, A-weighted signal-to-noise of 127 dB, and frequency response from 7 Hz to 20 kHz.

This is all contained in a steel enclosure, with a polished aluminum 10 x 5-inch faceplate, backlit silent switches, and chrome control knobs (especially attractive is the huge, 2-inch attenuator), powered by an external supply connected with a locking 4-pin XLR at the end of a sturdy 12-foot cable. Thanks for getting the details right, Radial!

An initial listening test of recent mixes with my assistant was immediately conclusive and it held up after weeks of daily work: The Nuance Select is exceptionally clean and absent of distortion to a degree you’ve likely not heard before. The difference is more clarifying than shocking, more transparent than unique, more revealing than introductory. There is no warmth generated by the unit, there is no added cohesion or gelling, dynamics are untouched, there is no emphasis of frequency, there is no (de)emphasis of placement, panning or soundstage. There is simply stark truth, linearity and confidence.

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My assistant noticed the NS difference, but only some of my clients did, as the differences are major to my ears but apparently subtle to those of lay-persons. Nonetheless, I quickly got dependent on such pristine sound quality and was therefore disappointed to find that I could not employ Nuance Select in my studio!

I track bands and use analog summing (no console). My setup requires a feature-rich controller with numerous inputs, multiple-input-blending for my headphone/cue mixes, and a talkback mic, too. For what it’s worth, I would prefer XLR connections and multi-color(ed) switches for even more ease of use.

Nonetheless, for those of you with nice, normal, modern, all-digital workflows, the Nuance Select comes highly recommended. A three-year warranty backs up typical Radial reliability, a retail price of $699 makes for only a moderate investment, and I can promise you’ll appreciate the sound quality at whatever level you dial-up on that big and delightfully clicky stepped attenuator.