The Lexicon M300 occupies an interesting place in the company’s lineage. Its name has often caused confusion, leading many engineers to assume it is simply a reduced version of the iconic 480L or a variant of the 300L. In practice, the Lexicon M300 is a distinct processor designed to deliver the core Lexicon spatial character within a compact, efficient, and technically refined architecture. When examined closely, its qualities reveal a device that carries forward much of the sonic heritage of the 480L while introducing meaningful improvements in conversion, stability, algorithmic behaviour, and operational speed.
Although demonstrations at trade shows offered only a limited impression of its capabilities, proper studio use quickly revealed that the Lexicon M300 stands firmly within the family of high-end Lexicon reverberation systems. It was designed to be configured before use, which involved selecting the desired input format and operating sample rate. Once set to operate at 48 kHz through its analogue inputs, the Lexicon M300 presented a streamlined user experience. This approach differed from earlier Lexicon processors which tended to operate immediately upon power up, but the additional step was required to support the expanded I/O and internal digital routing that defined the M300’s architecture.
Conversion And Digital Architecture
The signal path of the Lexicon M300 incorporates several technological refinements that were advanced for its time. The A to D section employs 64 times oversampling Delta Sigma conversion, which allows warmer sounding filters to be utilised rather than the steep brick wall filtering common in early digital devices. The D to A section operates with 8 times oversampling. Together, these choices contribute to reverberation tails that remain smooth and free from low level graininess or digital harshness. The system also uses one bit converters, reflecting Lexicon’s research into new digital acquisition methods, and these play a role in the unit’s low noise performance and overall clarity.
Algorithms And Processing Structure
Algorithmically, the Lexicon M300 derives considerable influence from updated 480L software. It offers four major categories of processing: reverb, ambience, pitch shift, and stereo adjust. The reverbs and ambience programs include additional parameters that allow dynamic control over room size, decay behaviour, and position within the simulated space. Lexicon introduced new Spin and Wander controls which randomise the processed signal in subtle ways to produce a more natural decay profile.
These parameters are central to the perceived smoothness that distinguishes the Lexicon M300 from earlier algorithms and from many competitors of the period. Some algorithms feature dynamic-size parameters, allowing acoustic characteristics to be changed in real time. This capability was particularly useful for complex productions where spatial effects needed to evolve throughout a passage. A stereo pitch shifting algorithm is included as well, suitable for harmonising and chorus applications, and a dedicated mastering algorithm provides EQ and precise level and balance controls.
Operation And Workflow
Operational speed is one of the Lexicon M300’s defining advantages. The front panel layout includes dedicated function keys, a numerical keypad, soft keys, soft buttons, and a large display readable from various angles. These controls provide immediate access to parameters without requiring fader nulling or deep menu diving. Parameter changes are performed quickly and accurately.
In run mode, presets can be loaded directly via the keypad or browsed using the soft knob. The instrument provides eight preset system setups and sixty four registers for user created configurations. It also contains seventy five factory effect presets, each fully modifiable and storable in user registers. Because the Lexicon M300 uses MIDI for data storage, preset dumps and system exclusive transfers do not require RAM cards. This contributes to a more modern workflow even today, especially in hybrid studios.
Connectivity And I/O
On the rear panel, the unit includes both analogue and digital connectivity in a range of formats. Balanced XLR audio inputs and outputs are present, and the time code input is also balanced, which is unusual among processors of this class. The manual notes that AES or EBU digital outputs should ideally use high quality cable such as Belden 9860 to ensure reliability.
A serial communication port and MIDI are included for programme management and future expansion. Digital I/O options include XLR, RCA, and optical connectors, with the SPDIF ports offering straightforward compatibility with DAT machines. The unit can mix digital and analogue signals simultaneously, opening creative possibilities such as making digital safety copies during final mixing. Digital format conversion is also possible, as the machine syncs automatically to incoming sample rates.
Time Code And Real-Time Control
Internally, the Lexicon M300 is capable of significant real time control. Dynamic parameter changes governed by time code expand its usefulness in post production, sound design, and complex music applications. A built in time code reader enables instant preset changes using SMPTE time code. Up to fifty event changes can be recalled, forming a cue list that allows detailed and repeatable transitions between algorithms within a programme. These capabilities are rarely found in devices of comparable size and cost.
Sonic Performance
From a sonic standpoint, the Lexicon M300 demonstrates several characteristics associated with high end Lexicon processors. Reverb presets such as Large Hall exhibit a warm, smooth, and realistic decay structure without metallic residue or low level noise. The frequency response extends fully, with energy maintained down to 10 Hz. Noise levels are exceptionally low, even when the outputs are monitored directly on full range studio monitors. This makes the unit suitable for virtually any material including vocals, orchestral sources, acoustic instruments, and dense multitrack arrangements.
Plates, reverse gated textures, and acoustic simulations such as Dance Hall and Lecture Hall retain the expected Lexicon depth and movement. Many presets produce wide stereo fields, with some offering dramatic panning possibilities in ambience and spatial effects. The gated options perform well on drums, while the AMS-influenced reverse gated effects offer punchy and distinctive results.
Pitch Effects
Pitch shifting, while functional and musically useful, reflects Lexicon’s known limitations in this domain. The algorithms introduce a faint high frequency modulation under certain conditions. This is described by Lexicon as a noise modulation characteristic of the pitch change process. Equalisation is clean and precise, with some presets delivering a character that may be more neutral than analogue algorithms of the past. Flanging algorithms present in the Lexicon M300 do not emulate PCM70 behaviour exactly, reflecting the linear phase design philosophy that Lexicon followed during this generation.
Expansion possibilities include the use of MIDI system exclusive software for editing and library management. Additional algorithms may be added via ROM chips, and the communication port offers further development paths. A remote control was not initially available, and the unit does not interface with the LARC system, but the MRC controller serves as a lower cost and compatible option using MIDI.
Thermal output is modest, and the large LED metering provides approximately 50 dB of display range. Input and output trim controls allow up to ±10 dB of adjustment, and a rear panel switch can introduce an additional 16 dB of gain for applications requiring higher operating levels.
Although often described historically as half of a 480, detailed listening and analysis reveal that the Lexicon M300 is a different device rather than a simplified one. Many of its algorithms share the depth and smoothness of 480 family reverbs, but the converter design, operational speed, dynamic parameter capabilities, and digital I/O architecture give it its own identity. For studios requiring high quality ambience without the complexity of a full LARC based system, the Lexicon M300 provides an efficient, modern sounding alternative. Its very low noise floor and extensive digital processing options make it highly suited to audio post work as well.