Asparion D700FT

Even though the Asparion D700 is not (yet) perfect, I rate the product 5 stars on all criteria. I like solidly built equipment that is good at what it is supposed to do.

A robust aluminum housing, extremely sensitive faders and the transport buttons that I use are in exactly the right place.

The controller is small and low, making it ideal for the monitor shelf of my desk, under the screens, and above rack hardware and keyboards. Because the D700S screen is upright, the track names are easy to read, even though they are limited to the old protocols that DAWs support (HUI, Mackie, etc). So far the Asparion works with all my DAWs. All functionality works in Ableton, more limited in Protools, but the essence with perfectly working faders and 4-letter track names is sufficient for my workflow. Here and there the usability of the software could be improved, but if it works I am satisfied.

I find it incomprehensible that other fader controllers do not have page buttons at the bottom right like this Asparion. These buttons make it very easy to quickly skip to the next 8 with 8 faders. I think the design of Icon is bad and I don't want to think that it does not work and the service is also bad, I think SSL UF8 has too many functions that I do not use and cannot be expanded modularly. Despite the extra Eucon functionality, I do not find the Avid S1 attractive and too bulkyfor my setup. One-fader controllers have the disadvantage that you cannot quickly or even simultaneously balance between channels. In principle, 8 faders are enough, but the addition of the D700F would be a nice luxury.

Asparion's service is above average, although the manual is concise and does not meet the other quality levels. The team responds to all questions within half a day and is willing to think along and further develop the software based on feedback.

I would recommend this controller to anyone who wants 12-bit quality fader precision, a professional feeling daw mixer, simple but with the right buttons in the right places. If this fits into your workflow and you will already be doing the more complex functions with mouse and keyboard, I would say give it a try.

I was in the market for a good DAW controller with motorised faders. Turns out, it proved way more difficult than I thought to find "the right one" for me: high quality faders, compact, not too many buttons (that is: simple or it defeats the point!), and transport controllers. I stumbled up the Asparion product by chance: I had never heard of the brand.

It's a fantastic product: very well built, very simple yet very powerful thanks to the double click action trick (double click on any button to trigger a secondary function) and the use of colours for the encoders.

At first I was concerned it might miss some features. For instance, in Logic Pro, I use track stacks a lot. With very little setup, I have them working perfectly. It works very well out of the box with Logic, but it is also entirely customisable should you need to.

The manual and FAQ are succinct to say they least (I hope they improve them). But support is incredible. Ask a question by email, you get an answer from what is most likely an engineer on the product (i.e. VERY knowledgable) a few hours later.

It's certainly expensive. It's also a great product backed by excellent service. Comes at a price...