Studio Technologies AN-2

The Studio Technologies AN-2 is a stereo simulator in the form of a piece of outboard gear. It’s designed for mono signals where you’d want to make them stereo. The connections that it has are a single XLR input and two XLR outputs. It requires standard power and will take up a single space in a traditional rack casing.

UTILIZATION

Using the Studio Technologies AN-2 stereo simulator is overall a pretty simple process. There are only a few parameters to work with here, none of which are hard to figure out in terms of what they will do to the sound. However, since there aren't all that many boxes out there like this one, it did take a little bit of playing around with it to get used to it. The manual is pretty basic and I don't think that it offers up much insight beyond what can be learned from using it.

SOUND QUALITY

The overall sound of the Studio Technologies AN-2 is pretty outstanding. There is a good amount that you can do with it, but it's definitely best suited for mastering and restoration purposes. I've also tried it out for mixing in situations where I'm looking for a little more clarity in terms of a stereo spread. I wouldn't recommend picking this up just for mixing purposes, but it's a nice thing that it is useful on a number of different levels. The AN-2 is a very realistic sounding stereo spreader and exciter.

OVERALL OPINION

The Studio Technologies AN-2 isn't something that you're going to find around in too many different recording studios, as if you do find them it's most likely going to be in a mastering setting. I've never been able to find too much information on the AN-2, so I would also imagine that finding one to buy wouldn't be all that easy. I can't say that I'd recommend the AN-2 for a standard professional or home studio, but if you're putting together a mastering suite, the AN-2 would definitely be a great thing to have.