Asparion D700 modular DAW controller: build and grow as you need

Many home studio musicians swear by having a hardware DAW controller featuring faders and rotary controls for their DAW, as it offers an immediately available, tactile experience which just can’t be matched by a screen, mouse or even touchscreen. Most are usually limited to whatever configuration you first buy them in, meaning to change configuration you likely need to buy a different model.

Not so with the Asparion D700 (which my autocorrect keeps wanting to change to “aspirin”). This modular system has three different components which can be combined, giving you anything from eight to 64 faders, enough for most regular projects.

These compact units start with the centrepiece, the D700FT, which has faders, buttons for pan, EQ, send and FX, the ability to connect sustain or expression pedals, plus up to seven units to extend the range.

Every button has a double click function which gives a second function, supported by “push and rotate” to turn a rotary encoder when pushed in, controlling a secondary parameter.

The units are built from aluminium and have anodised laser surfaces to make them highly robust. Silicon caps on the buttons reduce the noise when pushing them.

The D700F unit is an extension module with eight additional faders, four push buttons per fader and an RGB rotary encoder with LED ring. The D700S adds an OLED display which can display track info and metering with clipping.

Everything can be configured using the dedicated configurator software. It connects to a computer or other devices via USB-C for sending MIDI CC as well as compatibility with Mackie and HUI protocols.

D700FT retails for around $1,160 with the D700F at $1,020 and D700S at $150.

Specifications

General

up to 64 faders / 8 extensions

anodized aluminum chassis, laser printed
standardized midi protocol, OSC (Open Sound Control), MQTT
3-year warranty

D700 FT

9 endless rotary encoders with snap and RGB led
8 LED rings with 15 LEDs each and 128 step mode
8 touch-sensitive highly precise 100mm motor faders with a resolution of up to 12bit (4000 steps)

44 programmable LED push buttons
2x 6.35mm sockets for expression and sustain pedal
USB C connector

connector for extension
9V power supply
265 x 265 x 36mm (chassis)

D700 F

8 endless rotary encoders with snap and RGB led
8 LED rings with 15 LEDs each and 128 step mode
8 touch-sensitive highly precise 100mm motor faders with a resolution of up to 12bit (4000 steps)