Under $1K recording system; PCI hardware supports up to 72 tracks

MacWeek, Feb 16, 1998 by John Poultney

Mark of the Unicorn said it will release this quarter the 2408 Hard Disk Recording System, a modular, PCI-based digital audio system that will provide 24 channels of audio per unit.

The 2408 system will include a PCI card and an outboard rackmount interface that will provide myriad I/O options and support up to 24 audio channels. At the heart of the system will be a proprietary very large-scale integration (VLSI) chip for handling I/O; digital signal processing (DSP) functions will be handled by the host system.

The outboard interface will have 16 unbalanced analog RCA jacks (eight each for input and output), three pairs of digital stereo I/O jacks, three connectors for Alesis Corp.'s ADAT digital recorders, and three connectors for recorders from TEAC America Inc.'s Tascam division.

Additionally, the device will offer a FireWire port for connecting as many as three interfaces to the host PCI card. The company said this setup can yield as many as 72 simultaneous inputs and outputs. Although standard connectors will be used, Mark of the Unicorn has developed a proprietary interface protocol to run on the FireWire bus.

The 2408 will ship with 20-bit digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital converters, but it will handle audio internally at 24 bits. Users will be able to select between 16- and 24-bit audio recording at 44 or 48 kHz, the company said. The device will also accept 24-bit audio from other systems.

The 2408 will ship with an as-yet-unnamed sound-editing package that will have many of the features of the company's Digital Performer audio-recording and MIDI sequencing package, including DSP effects but without MIDI functions. However, Mark of the Unicorn said synchronization capabilities will be included for working with MIDI and that the system will be fully compatible with Digital Performer.

The 2408 system will cost $995. Additional outboard interface units will cost $695 each.

Mark of the Unicorn Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., can be reached at (617) 576-2760; fax (617) 576-3609; info@motu.com; www.motu.com.

Mark of the Unicorn's 2408 Hard Disk Recording System, due to ship this quarter, will use FireWire connectors to combine up to three outboard I/O units.