Belkin hinted to us about a CES announcement for musicians and here it is: the Belkin TuneStudio. Designed for use with 5G iPods, the four-channel mixer lets you record digital audio directly to your iPod at 16-bit, 44kHz quality.
Basically a portable audio recording studio, the compact unit (I don’t have dimensions, but in comparison to the iPod pictured, it’s fairly small) can handle up to four audio sources (instruments, microphones, etc.), with each getting its own three-band EQ, pan and level controls. There’s also a USB port for moving audio to and from your computer—Windows or Mac.
This is definitely not a toy, with XLR connectors you’d find on professional equipment with phantom power that Belkin claims will provide up to 60dB of microphone gain. And LEDs give you visual feedback for master audio level, power status, peak indication, compressor activity and recording status.
It rolls out in the U.S. this summer at an MSRP of $179.99, with launches in Asia, Europe and Australia to follow.