Welcome To Black Lion Audio
There is an obvious need for affordable, yet good-quality converters within the professional and project studio world. Certainly there are great two-channel systems available, but they are prohibitively expensive. Those that are within reach of the project studio’s budget usually suffer from the poor sonic qualities that plague mass-produced studio equipment. We have made it our mission to develop superior-quality, boutique audio equipment but at very “un-boutique,” affordable prices.
The long wait is over, and it was worth it. The Sparrow DAC is now available in two different versions!! Order yours today!
Gearwire Interviews
Gearwire stopped by our shop and interviewed BLA owner and designer Matt Newport. Click on the links below to view the videos. They feature several cameo appearances by our cat, Arkansas.
Intro
Digi 002R modification part 1
Digi 002R modification part 2
Clean Your Clock's Signal
Micro Clock Clocks The Competition
Black Lion Audio Conserves Waste To Keep The Earth Clean
Future Mods And Products
Selecting Gear To Modify
Black Lion Audio Sparrow Gets Dissected
The next available date for scheduling a BLA mod is June 14, 2012. Modifications can also be booked beyond this date as well, but all previous dates have been filled.
BLA NEWS:
Alison Krauss and Union Station's album Paper Airplanes was awarded the 2011 Grammy for "Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical". Congrats to AKUS, Mike Shipley, Neil Cappellino, and Brad Blackwood, and thanks from all of us at BLA. We appreciate the fact that you took a chance on us; a small group of music industry outsiders here in Chicago.
Grammy and Emmy award-winning composer Mark Isham is currently mixing the score for the new ABC drama, “Once Upon A Time…” on his two BLA modified 96 I/O’s. The show is a contemporary story inspired by classic fairy tales, and is sure to be adorned with an amazing score to provide the ideal aesthetic framework for the film (as Mark’s projects always do)!
The new album by Tyler Ramsey (of Band of Horses' fame) has been released on Fat Possum Records, and is entitled "The Valley Wind." It was tracked and mixed by Bill Reynolds (also of Band of Horses). The record was done on Bill's Digi 003R Signature Series mod and modified Behringer ADA 8000, and sounds it absolutely beautiful! Give it a listen RIGHT HERE.
Several tracks on the new Lady Gaga album were mixed by Tony Maserati and crew on our FM192. Look for the single "You and I" which features Brian May of Queen on guitar.
The new Beyonce record, entitled "4" was mixed by Tony Maserati using our FM192 converters.
The new album by Alison Krauss & Union Station, "Paper Airplane" is now available! This record was tracked and mixed by Mike Shipley on the Black Lion Audio FM 192. In our opinion it sounds UNBELIEVABLE!! Alison now refuses to record on anything other than BLA converters! Read the interview with Mike Shipley in the July issue of Sound On Sound.
Our 2-channel D/A design is almost finished, and we're also working on a "big brother" to our Micro Clock mk2! It'll be housed in a 1U 1/2 rack, and feature AES, spdif, & optical outputs, six BNC word clock outputs, BNC word clock input, frequency display, and selectable frequency output of 44.1kHz-384kHz.
Grammy nominee Jay Ruston has recently completed mixing the new "Big 4 Live DVD," a live concert featuring METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, and ANTHRAX. He dropped us a line to let us know he proudly used our "Micro Clock mk2," for mixing the DVD audio!
Maroon 5's new single, "Misery," from their album "Hands All Over" was produced by Mutt Lange and mixed by Mike Shipley using our acclaimed FM 192!
Check out the song on Facebook, Myspace, and iTunes, and compare it to their previously recorded material; the FM 192 sounds absolutely amazing, even at low res!
We are proud to announce the arrival of our new Audio Precision SYS-2722. Audio Precision is an industry leader in audio testing technology, and we're happy to employ their flagship system for testing and development here at Black Lion Audio.
The April 2010 issue of Mix Magazine contains an absolutely stellar review by Grammy Award-winner Erik Zobler of our very own FM 192! They even have us listed right on the front cover.... (pretty cool!!) Be sure to check it out!
"The first time I used the Black Lion Auteur Mic Pre was recording Peter Asher (Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor) playing his mid-sixties Gibson J200 acoustic. The tone was incredible, with crystal clear highs, and a nice defined bottom end that wasn't muddy at all. The mid range was smooth, and we didn't need a bit of compression. I love my Auteur Mic Pre."
--Jay Ruston
(The Donnas, Anthrax, Leonard Cohen, Matisyahu, Cold War Kids, Morrissey, Diana Ross, Brian Wilson, Jars of Clay, American Idol)