MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
10th January 2020
RSH Audio Ltd have recently released a document detailing a series of audio measurement performed on various Rotary
DJ mixers during an event at the Lion & Lamb venue in London. It would have been common courtesy to contact the
representative manufacturers of the products involved before releasing the document, especially as the tests were
carried out by Justin Greenslade from Isonoe, who is clearly not an impartial third party. The author stresses that the
tests were the same for all mixers, and were checked by RSH engineers, however what they don’t mention is that RSH are
listed on the Isonoe website as an Isonoe Rental and Installation company, so again leaving impartiality open to question.
The figures published are misleading, so in the following pages I will go through each of the tests and compare them to
measurements we obtained using our Prism Sound dScope Series 111.
The MasterSounds Radius 4V tested was a standard unit, taken straight off the production line prior to packing and
shipping to the customer. It was not tweaked or modified in any way.
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
FADER CUT
In professional audio fader cut-off is an important parameter, but -80dB is generally considered acceptable as any
residual signal level will be down in the system noise floor.
Fader cut-off is measured relative to the output level, so a cut-off measurement of -60dB translates to -80dB if the output
signal is +20dB when the fader is at maximum— this is usually stated as “dBr” or dB “relative”.
The fader cut-off on the MasterSounds 4V has been deliberately set at -80dB to provide a smooth fader curve when
mixing. It would just use additional fader rotational travel, going from -100dB to -80dB, which would be inaudible.
This graph shows the MasterSounds Radius 4V channel fader being turned from fully off to fully on, and back to fully off:
Fader cut measured is -85dBr, and is flat from 20Hz to 20kHz
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
CROSSTALK
Low crosstalk is an important parameter and for most applications better than -70dB is acceptable, though to put it into
context, the channel separation of a typical turntable cartridge is less than -25dB!
Again, crosstalk should be measured relative to the signal level and not as an absolute, and will be affected by the gain
structure of the mixer.
CROSSTALK LEFT TO RIGHT <-85dBr at 1kHz
CROSSTALK RIGHT TO LEFT <-81dBr at 1kHz
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
ISOLATOR CUT
Not a lot to say about this other than as with all cut-off tests it’s relative to output level. Anything better than -70dB is
fine.
The Radius 4V Isolator cut is better than -80dB and is flat from 20Hz to 20kHz.
Maximum Input Voltage before 1% Clipping.
Unless the mixer under test doesn’t have an input level trim this test is not particularly relevant .
The Radius 4V has the input level control before the pre-amplifier so it can handle very large signal levels without
issue.
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
Maximum Output Level before 1% clipping
The Isonoe is shown in the document as having a maximum output level of +29dBu, however the Isonoe user manual gives a
figure of +23dBm, which is a measurement of power referenced to a 600 ohm load impedance, typically specified for
products that use output transformers, as opposed to most pro-audio that uses electronically balanced outputs .
The MasterSounds Radius 4V can output a maximum signal level of +27dBu into 100K, with a THD+N of < 1% (top
screenshot)
The lower screenshot shows +25.7dBu into 600R, (equivalent to +25.7dBm), so almost 3dB higher than the Isonoe into this
load.
These figures were obtained with the Master Level control set to maximum (+10dBu).
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
THD + Noise
This is where it gets interesting. The Radius 4V incorporates a dual valve stage per channel. Is this to reduce distortion? No,
clearly not, it is to add the harmonics associate with the “valve sound”, so “lower is better” is not strictly relevant in this
context.
Here’s the graph for the Radius 4V, showing the THD+N full sweep from 20Hz to 20kHz
The test is a replication of what’s stated in the document, i.e. 2V in and 2V out, Line In channel 1, to Master XLR
Out.
Interesting to note that the graph shown for the Isonoe has been cropped at frequencies above 5kHz, and that the
Analogue Generator is set to 5V not 2V.
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
THD + Noise
This is the THD+N for the Radius 4V shown as a percentage with 2V Input to 2V Output, Line in to Master XLR output.
THD+N < 0.01% both channels
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
Frequency Response
This is the frequency response of the Radius 4V, Channel 1 Line in to Master Out:
The response is Flat from 20Hz to 20KHz with a deviation of about 0.2dB…
In my opinion the Isolator controls were not accurately set flat on the one measured in the document.
FFT Response
MasterSounds Radius 4V Lion&Lamb Test
Because the Radius 4V has valves the harmonics will increase according to how hard the mixer is driven.
These FFTs show three different input signal levels of -10dBu, 0dBu and +10dBu. This is what gives it its unique sound
