Many new toys. Right from the get go we have the BCG Monosynth, an acid bassline PC (vst) softsynth. Designed by Fat-Ass plug-ins (and their, *ahem*, highly sofisticated .tk web site and copy), the BCG looks a bit too simple for my taste. I only see a couple of envelope controls and the absolute minimum in filter parameters. Someone please download the demo and let me know if it's any good.

Next we see Lexicon desperately trying to make a dent in the audio interface market. Isn't it obvious to them that people don't associate their brand with audio interfaces? The Omega site makes the thing appear very sub-Extigy. Looking like an overweight M-Box, the Omega features eight inputs, two of which are phantom powered mic-preamps with inserts, a high-z input on the front panel and MIDI and digital i/o. I have no doubt this thing sounds and functions really well. Like the long line of forgotten Lexicon interfaces that came before it.

Finally, we have PreSonus's audio distribution box, the Central Station. Ultra simple, yet exactly what any little digital studio needs. S/PDIF and toslink inputs with plenty of resolution make this thing valuable as a converter, but it does much, much more. Starting with three pairs of speaker outputs, three stereo pairs of analog inputs, two headphone outputs, built-in talkback (the mic's right there on the front panel) and controls for all these cool features. There's even an optional remote control for talkback, one of the nicest pro-studio amenities, in my opinion... hit the talkback button from the sofa!