Nimbus

Chaos Audio frames Nimbus as an answer to gear sprawl: separate amps, pedalboards, loopers, interfaces and mixers that cost money, eat space and take time to set up. According to the maker, Nimbus handles electric and acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards and vocals. It also takes aim at closed systems such as Spark, Katana and Mustang, which the source describes as limited to factory-defined sounds.

Processing and sound

Under the hood is a 1GHz ARM Cortex processor running the Xenomai real-time Linux OS, which the maker says offers roughly 5 times the processing power of the Spark's DSP, with audio latency under 3ms. Storage comes to 512MB of RAM and 64GB onboard, room for amp models, impulse responses and plugins. The speaker system was developed with PowerBass: two 4-inch S-4002 full-range drivers plus a dedicated tweeter, rated at 70W RMS stereo (105W peak) across 20Hz–20kHz, in a front-firing layout.

Connectivity

• Two XLR+1/4-inch combo inputs, one on top and one on the rear, for mic and instrument together
• Two 1/4-inch TS line outs (stereo L/R or dual mono)
• 3.5mm stereo headphone out and 3.5mm stereo AUX in
• USB-C 2-in/2-out audio interface at 24bit/44.1kHz for Mac and Windows DAWs
• USB-A for MIDI controllers and device charging, a second USB-C for software updates, and a 9V center-negative pedal power output
• Bluetooth 5.0 for audio streaming and BLE app control; Wi-Fi hardware is built in but disabled at launch, with activation planned via OTA update

An open platform

On the unit, a multi-knob and seven RGB LEDs handle presets and status. The Chaos Audio mobile app adds a customizable pedalboard for adding, removing and reordering effects, plus Tone Shop, an in-app marketplace for official, third-party and user-made plugins. The maker says purchased plugins sync across other Chaos Audio products, such as the Stratus pedal, and desktop DAWs. Presets can be named and assigned to MIDI footswitches.

Supported third-party developers include ChowDSP, Shnobel Tone and Manic FX, and users can write their own plugins in FAUST or C++. Nimbus stores up to 10 IR files with selectable lengths of 256, 512 or 1024 samples, and loads AI amp captures through the free AIDA-X loader; Neural Amp Modeler (NAM) support is under consideration. Out of the box, the maker lists 20+ effects and 25+ original amp models with matching cab simulations, 45+ items in total.

The cabinet is MDF with a Tolex-style finish, measuring about 14 x 8.5 x 7 inches (W x H x D) and weighing about 12 pounds (approx. 5.4kg). Recessed plastic side handles and a 1/4-20 threaded socket for speaker-stand mounting round out the design.