L550 Plus

Like all SSL consoles the secret to the success of the L550 Plus is SSL’s dedication to great sound. Part of the success is attributable to exemplary hardware performance throughout the signal chain: bringing SSL Studio grade mic pre’s to the stage, outstanding audio conversion, 96kHz operation and magnificent summing. There is a sublime transparency, definition and detail in the fundamental sound of the L550 Plus that is difficult to describe but is immediately recognisable as the SSL signature. An equal, perhaps even greater part of the secret of the power of the L550 Plus is the way it enables operators to perform at their very best. 

The deceptively simple ergonomic excellence of the combination of multi-touch screen control with assignable hardware controls, the use of colour coding, the open architecture which lets engineers configure the console layout to suit their own way of working, the arsenal of processing options, the precision and depth of those processing tools… and so much more… it all combines to let the operator get where they can hear they want to be extremely quickly. Like all great creative audio technology, SSL Live consoles are instruments for engineers.

The SSL Live control surface brings decades of design experience to the specific demands of live sound production. The result is an uncluttered design that is intuitive and ergonomically efficient with a collection of unique features to keep the operator in complete control at all times. The system lets you use your own balance of touch screen and hardware control to work the way you want to. A single super bright, high resolution 19" multi-touch screen is the heart of the console and can be used for system & I/O configuration, creating surface layouts using the Layer Manager, the Automation interface, the Effects Rack and two different views of your project; The Channel View and Console Overview.

TaCo APP & external touchscreen 

With the L550 Plus a Tablet can be used to bring additional touch screen control over Channel Processing and Effects Rack processing using the SSL TaCo  tablet control application.

Additional screens connected to external PC's or touchscreen laptops running SOLSA can be arm mounted to the console to bring yet more touchscreen control options.

Architecture

The L550 Plus features SSL's next-generation of Optimal Core Processing (OCP) technology, offering greater DSP resource for allocation and extremely flexible I/O architecture. The console has 1136 inputs and 1136 outputs. It has 288 mix paths at 96kHz. These paths can be assigned as Channels, Stem Groups, Auxes and Masters to suit demands and configured as anything between mono, which use a single path, to 5.1 which use six paths. All 288 paths offer full processing. Insert Effects have their own dedicated processing which is also dynamically allocated.

A 32 x 36 Output Matrix also has its own dedicated processing and can be segmented into four separate smaller matrices if desired. All 36 Matrix Output paths have High and Low Pass Filters, 4 band EQ, 2 seconds of delay and our unique All Pass Filters available. This is in addition to two inserts that can be used with both the internal Effects Rack and external processing.

L550 Local I/O

With any digital console the potential for the highest standards of performance are entirely dependent upon the quality and capability of its I/O. The L550 Plus is equipped with a fully featured collection of Input and Output connectivity with the capacity to serve both front of house, monitor and live stream applications. SSL Live I/O meets the exacting audio benchmark SSL has set with the SuperAnalogue™ range of analogue consoles. It delivers a frequency response that is within 0.05 dB of flat from 20 to 20 KHz (within 1.3dB down to 10Hz) and a THD of 0.005%. Digital to Analogue Conversion is 24bit/96kHz and the console operates at 96kHz. The local and remote I/O mic/line amps use SSL’s patented mic amp technology to deliver the highest quality signal to the console. The circuitry is DC coupled (no electrolytic capacitors in the signal path) and high input impedance. Mic amp gain is controlled extremely precisely in more than 16,000 steps ensuring totally smooth control, very good common mode rejection and extremely low distortion. Listening tests are recommended.

L550 Plus is equipped with a fully featured collection of Input and Output connectivity with the capacity to serve both Front of House and Monitor applications. L550 Plus provides a versatile collection of local I/O built into the control surface so can operate without the use of any Stageboxes if required and has good connectivity for local peripherals when used in a pure FOH role. SSL Live consoles feature auto detection so identify any SSL Live I/O connected within the software routing pages.

Standard L550 Plus local analogue I/O configuration; 32 mic/line inputs, 32 line outputs, 4 Headphone/Monitor outputs. AES/EBU digital I/O configuration: 8 pairs of inputs and 8 pairs of outputs. AES/EBU I/O has fully variable sample rate conversion. Standard MADI port configuration: 6 redundant pairs of coaxial and 2 redundant pairs of optical. If redundancy is not required, these connections can be independent, providing a maximum of sixteen ports. In addition there is a separate optical MADI port (out/in), designed for use as an ‘FX Loop’ for connecting an external FX device such as a system using Waves Multirack or a VST effects host. The standard configuration has no SSL Blacklight II connectors but there is an option to add two redundant pairs. A Dante card option is also available offering 32x32 channels of I/O at 96 kHz (or 64x64 channels at 48kHz) over a redundant Dante connection. An optional redundant pair of SSL X-Light connectors provide 256 bi-directional channels at 96kHz between console and stage using a single cable with ruggedised connectors. The back panel also accommodates connectors for MIDI, LTC, Wordclock and GP I/O. The console has redundant power supplies.