Union Audio is a Cornwall-based audio studio in southwest England, founded in 2014 by Andy Rigby-Jones. The company name means little to those who aren't familiar with DJ booths, but the founder's name means much more. Rigby-Jones joined Allen & Heath in the early 1990s, starting in assembly, and spent fourteen years leading the Xone series: he designed the prototype that gave rise to the Xone:62 and worked on the Xone:92, a mixer that has since been found in clubs around the world. Before that, he was a DJ, with a permanent club residency since 1979.
In the early years, Union Audio worked primarily for other brands: Rigby-Jones collaborated with Richie Hawtin on the PLAYdifferently Model 1 mixer, released in 2016, and made significant contributions to MasterSounds' rotary mixers. The first Union Audio-branded mixer arrived in 2022: the Orbit.6, a six-channel analog rackmount rotary mixer. In 2024, marking the company's tenth anniversary, a gold-plated edition of just ten units was produced. Today, more than six thousand mixers and accessories have emerged from the laboratory.
The founder himself explains the philosophy: design what others aren't doing, rather than chasing a trend. The result is hand-built mixers, more in tune with high fidelity than stage gear: analog circuitry, machined aluminum front panels, and, in the Valve series, tube stages for those seeking a warmer, fuller sound.
Da Audiocostruzioni You'll find the catalog's three families. The Orbit LE series rotary mixers, the two- and four-channel Orbit.2 LE and Orbit.4 LE, are for those who mix records the old-fashioned way, with knobs instead of faders; the FX versions add an onboard effects unit. The Two.Valve brings tubes to a two-channel rotary mixer. The Elara series uses linear faders: the four-channel Elara.4 MK2 and the Elara.6, also designed for fixed installation in clubs and also available in a rotary version.
When choosing, it's best to start with how you'll use it. In a home system or a listening room where you play entire records, a two-channel rotary like the Orbit.2 LE or the Two.Valve is often all you need. If you work with multiple sources, turntables, and CD players at the same time, or want effects at your fingertips, the Orbit.4 LE FX and the Elara series are interesting. All the models listed here have phono inputs on the channels, so turntables can be connected directly, without external preamps.
Audiocostruzioni It's a shop with two souls: the showroom with a listening room in Carpi and the online store, which ships directly to your home. If you're unsure which mixer is right for you, send us an email with your system and how you plan to use it: we'll help you find the right model.
