Apogee AD-8000 Offers 8-Channels, 24-bit Direct Connection
July 10, 1998
Apogee Electronics Corporation, the leading manufacturer of digital audio conversion systems and media products based in Santa Monica, California, introduced its most comprehensive analog to digital converter system to date, the AD-8000, the system, at the Summer NAMM last year to much critical acclaim.
The AD-8000 offers a comprehensive 8-channel digital audio solution including true 24-bit conversion, optional D/A and interface cards, and Apogee's proprietary Soft Limit® and UV22® processes, at a price point that is inexpensive enough to appeal to the project studio owner as well as the major facility.
The AD-8000 is an elegant self-contained 2U rack-mounting unit with a distinctive purple front panel featuring backlit indicators, and forms the ideal complement to modular digital multitrack systems and digital audio workstations, as well as many other applications.
At the heart of the AD-8000 lie eight channels of true 24-bit A/D conversion, offering superlative audio quality, including a dynamic range better than 114 dB and THD+Noise in excess of -108 dB. Apogee's proprietary signal processing technologies, Soft Limit (which allows maximum level to tape without "overs") and the widely acclaimed UV22® (which flawlessly translates the AD-8000's 24-bit high-resolution output into 16 or 20 bits. The unit features built-in AES/EBU outputs, while up to four optional interface cards may be installed in the AD-8000's AMBus (Apogee Multimedia Bus) rear-panel card bay. Multi-channel format conversions may be carried out between available interfaces. Interface cards now available include AES, Alesis ADAT®, Tascam TDIF® (all with Apogee Bit-Splitting technology for recording 20- and 24-bit signals on multiple 16-bit tracks) and Digidesign's Pro Tools®. In addition, AES/EBU and S/PDIF inputs are provided on board for processing and routing external digital sources, and an S/PDIF output. Optional stereo and 8-channel 24-bit D/A expansion cards are also available, enabling the AD-8000 to be configured as a complete conversion system, while comprehensive source/destination switching provides confidence monitoring, digital track bouncing and overdubbing features. Other interface cards will be released during the coming months.
The AD-8000 features a sophisticated six-mode bar-graph metering system offering simultaneous peak and average ballistics, plus 2-second and infinite peak hold. Digital "overs" are indicated numerically and are user definable. The AD-8000 can synchronize to a wide range of external signals and sample rates, and a video sync card is available with pull up/down facilities. Internal crystal-locked 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates are provided, and external sync signals are re-clocked via the patented Apogee Low Jitter Clock.
The AD-8000 is now shipping in quantity, and carries a recommended retail price of under $6,000. Visit Apogee's web site at www.apogeedigital.com
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