It's been more than three years since the release of Novation's Xio controller, which is still alive and still seems to be in good health, but the market has grown and new, much fresher products have arrived. Why is there still so much hype about an object that still keeps almost the same price as three years ago? Does the instrument still live in glory or has it just become a cult object?
Preface
When I decided to examine this product a few months ago, I set myself the problem of focusing on something different because, since the Xio has been on the market for a long time, many reviews have been written and you know almost everything on the instrument in question. I started writing various drafts on my PC, but I was never satisfied with the result. One day looking at an old review of the magazine cm2magazine, I found myself a TEST done a couple of years earlier by a dear old friend of mine: Antonio Campeglia. Knowing him well and knowing that he is always in contact with the latest generation of musical instruments and that he is very critical when he has to give an opinion, I thought the perfect opportunity to ask him to help me better manage this review. A couple of e-mails and a phone call allowed us to reach an agreement: I from Rome with my Xio (Fig.1) and he from Naples with his Xio25 to kick off and work on the project. 
How it looks
Opening the package we find ourselves in front of the object of our test, well protected by polystyrene strips and equipped with an external transformer, a short guide in English for a first approach to the instrument, some advertising brochures of partner products and the cd with driver and some lite version software in bundle. The first impression one gets, looking carefully at the instrument, is its compactness and above all its lightness. Touch response is manageable under the fingers, but does not have the same feel as other Novation instruments (I'm a happy NOVA II owner). Antonio points out that the quality and handling of the keyboard response according to him is far superior not only to many latest generation dynamic masters, but also to many high-end synths. Considering then that the product in question is certainly more oriented to a situation of "portable studio" (bouncer, drink, laptop, Xio and headphones, so to speak), characteristics such as the wide input / output capabilities (microphone, instrument, line) they certainly have priority over the "executive feel".
Controller section
The Xio is a complete control surface with 22 elements between knobs and buttons (doubled to 44 by an A / B button), as well as a freely assignable Touchpad and joystick (Fig 2). All these controls are pre-programmed in 12 of the 16 models on board, so that you can instantly control many software applications such as Logic, Cubase SX3, FishFinder, the most important virtual synths from Native Instruments, Albino 2 and others, as well as obviously V-Station and Bass Station from “mamma Novation”. The other templates are easily customizable via a bundled Editor or downloadable from the Novation website along with other templates and soundbanks (Fig 3).
Synthesizer section
Once plugged into my studio monitors, the Xio begins to show its best side: sound. The timbres are decisive and very impactful, the sound designers who developed the 200 presets of the machine certainly had very clear ideas on how the little one from Novation should look, doing justice to the synthesis engine in Virtual Analog and to the "accessory features. ”Of the machine as, for example, the arpeggiator who greatly enhances the timbres. Equally interesting is the X-Gator function which further characterizes it, giving the arpeggio a more “dancereccio” taste. In fact, most of the machine presets have been developed by internationally renowned artists and producers such as Roots manuva (Fig.4), Rennie Pilgrem, Ferry Corsten, James Zabiela and others. If the preloaded presets are not enough, from the Novation website you can download new ones and import them either individually or in whole banks using the supplied editor or any MIDI utility (for example, MIDIox). 'tweaking we have the 11 rotary controls available (Fig.5) to access the main summary parameters. It should be emphasized that some parameters are difficult to reach as the menus are hidden behind repeated pressing of some buttons; not the best of intuitiveness to tell the truth, especially if we intend to try our hand at synthesis sessions in real time. Antonio points out that in the version he reviewed at the time, some of the sounds had a problem: with the sounds in monophonic / legate mode (especially those with very filtered “Saw” waveforms) a CLICK was heard. Carrying out a specific test, with the system update, now this problem is not noticed if not when modifying some factory presets. This is why I recommend creating new sounds starting from the Init Patch. In my opinion, a very important detail is the need to mix down the audio produced by the synthesis section on a computer via USB. The importance is underlined by the fact that, being the monotimbral machine with 8 polyphony voices, it is necessary to limit oneself to the execution of only one sound at a time: therefore to be able to "finalize" a MIDI track (without intermediate conversions) to move on to the next it is an excellent compromise to work without quality degradation. 
Audio interface
The sound card of the Xio it is the same one that was mounted when it came out, unfortunately for these products there is a fairly strong obsolescence and after so many years something that could have seemed excellent for that historical period, in reality now could be ridiculous. But let's go in order. To get feedback on the quality, I asked Antonio if he could make me a comparison, since in addition to having a sound card at his disposal RME Fireface (Fig.6), he could easily get hold of even the lowest-end cards to use in the comparison, while for my part, with only one Motu 828 MK2, the comparison would have been unequal. Thanks to Antonio, therefore, the Novation board was tested by comparing it with one Edirol has always been M-Audio USB base and, in reality, what immediately results at first listening is that each of the 3 cards has a different sound characteristic but with equal performance of driver stability and latency. According to Antonio, the card that mounts inside still has all the credentials to be a good "entry-level" to record, without having clip or latency problems with a more than acceptable sound, equal to cards in the 150 range / 200 euros. If we then consider the possibility of being able to find the Xio on the flea market ...
AC: It will not be a RME Fireface, but I can assure you that the sound is very clean and above all balanced and manages to manage sounds well with very fast transients, such as guitars and acoustic basses, without unnaturally mixing the signal. 
Circuitry analysis
Let's now take a look inside our toy, thanks to the investigation and the photographs taken by Antonio. The construction is simple and tidy and the Xio is exhausted in only 3 printed circuits: the card under the keyboard, the card for the user interface (positioned immediately under the top panel) and the main card, fixed on the bottom and anchored to the back with the various connections (Fig.7). As can be deduced at first sight, it is high engineering with a large use of integrated circuits that perform specific tasks (sound generation, processing, etc.), with the few discrete elements that act as completion and interface between the circuits. 
The real core of the system, however, is the Motorola 56367 DSP at 150 Mhz (Fig.8) also used for highly professional machines such as the TC Powercore card, which is the only one responsible for what is “acoustically” produced inside the synthesizer. The more time passes, the more these machines tend to resemble computers (Fig.9). 
The filter is obviously a central element of the Xio synthesis chain and, in fact, it sounds very good, but the little Novation defends itself well even when it is not the filter that characterizes the sound, proving that the raw material that comes out of the oscillators it is already satisfactory. The next three samples testify to just this: the XioSynth manages to express itself very well in many types of synthetic sounds, with the softness that is now the trademark of Novation.
Final houghts
XioSynth provides an excellent synthesis section, flexible in sound and malleable under your hands, a complete audio interface from the point of view of connections and a controller optimized for the most popular VST instruments: all packaged in a few pounds to take wherever you want. Even today, despite its technological age, I still consider it a very valid and functional product with an excellent quality / price ratio. If what you are looking for is a compact keyboard controller for use in a mobile studio, the XioSynth is probably the solution for you.
Pro: Great compactness and lightness; Excellent sound quality with a good sound card.
Against: It would have been advisable, after a long time, to put at least the presets of the new versions of Cubase and Logic in the “template” section.
Rough price: € 300,00 (XioSynth 25)
Info: www.novationmusic.com
Audio Taster
XioSynth01
XioSynth02
XioSynth03
XioSynth04
XioSynth05
XioSynth06
To give you proof of the XioSynth's tonal abilities, I have prepared 6 little “tastings” for your ears which I hope will allow you to get a better idea of it. The first (XioSynth01.mp3) is a classic use of the arpeggiator; the sound takes full advantage of the cleaning of the resonant filter which, when very open, closes quickly to emphasize the brilliance of the attack. As you can see, the arpeggiator is programmable allowing completely personal harmonic-rhythmic evolutions. The second listening (XioSynth02.mp3) allows you to appreciate how the filter sounds almost in all its extension. For the third sound example (XioSynth03.mp3) I chose a simple Lead Synth to highlight the clean sound and the clarity of the filter. The filter is obviously a central element of the Xio synthesis chain and, in fact, it sounds very good, but the little Novation defends itself well even when it is not the filter that characterizes the sound, proving that the raw material that comes out of the oscillators it is already satisfactory. The remaining three samples stand to testify to just that. with soft and dreamy pads (XioSynth04.mp3), evocative synthetic percussion (XioSynth05.mp3) and classic synth bass (XioSynth06.mp3) the XioSynth is able to express itself very well in many types of synthetic sounds, with the softness that is now a trademark at Novation.
Luke Capozzi
