DSP24 MK II

The DSP24 MK II is the extended new hardware version of our sucessful DSP24 card. The DSP24 MK II is no longer available and has been replaced by the more advanced ESI Juli@.

- enlarged -

The main difference between the original DSP24 card and the MK II is that the new card comes with balanced XLR analog I/O connecters on the card itself. This is ideal for users who need 2 channels analog fully balanced 24bit/96kHz high quality recording, without connecting to an optional external rackmount interface. Of course all compatible external interface rackmount units are supported and can still be connected at a later stage when required.

The DSP24 MK II consists of a 24bit/96kHz PCI audio card and digital I/O bracket. The digital I/O bracket supports optical and coaxial S/PDIF as well as AES/EBU I/O. There is even an internal input for CD-ROM drives with digital output. This bracket allows you to create bitidentical 1:1 copies from DAT-recorders, digital mixers, min-disc's etc.

Excellent driver support is available including Windows 9x/Me, 2000/XP, ASIO 2.0 and multiclient-GSIF. This allows you to use the card with all the latest audio and MIDI applications for music production. An additional output for system sounds (Internal Mixer) with DirectSound support takes the function of a standard soundcard and can be used for software synthesizer. The card contains a special I/O-chip which allows to record & playback with very low CPU usage. This is extremely important with today's cpu intensive software applications.

Everyone speaks about latancy these days: the included ASIO 2.0 drivers of the DSP24 card support 2ms latency at 96kHz and 5ms at 44.1kHz with recomended buffer sizes (or even lower values under Windows 2000/XP on fast systems). This means for users of modern software synthesizers (such as GigaStudio or VST-/DXi-Plugins) that you can play your sounds now in realtime, even using realtime effects (like DirectX- or VST-plugins).

You can be assured the DSP24 MK II is compatible with all today's latest applications including Logic Audio, Cubase VST, Cubase SX, Nuendo, Cakewalk SONAR, Samplitude, Cool Edit, Acid, Vegas, etc. The card is simple to install and makes a great choice for you to build a home studio around.

Because of the expandable options of the DSP24 MKII, it can be used as the foundation for multiple studio design configurations. Up to 10 channels of pristine non-compressed real-time 24bit/96kHz digital audio can be delivered to and from your PC via either digital or analog I/O on a single card. FOUR individual cards can be installed in a single computer expanding your possible I/O a total of 40 channel I/O.

The DSP24 MK II becomes extremely powerful when connected to the available external rackmount (19 inch standard format) interface units. These interface units provide additional I/O in the form of multi-channel ADC & DAC conversion, ADAT & T/DIF connections, and simultaneous multiple sample rate digital input connectivity. Systems can thus be configured to your requirements.

As you can see, with the DSP24 MKII, you can start small and expand on your system as required.

Specifications

Features: 10 x 10 24-bit/96kHz 100% Full-Duplex recording path support (H-BUS interface card) 2 x balanced XLR input 2 x balanced XLR output 2 x internal cd or aux input coaxial and optical & AES/EBU I/O connections as standard stereo line output (monitor- / sytemsound-out), 1/8" mini-jack up to four PCI cards can be sample accurate sync linked (40 channel I/O) internal or external sync supported (external can be set via the S/PDIF input) 44pin H-BUS interface connector available 22kHz~99kHz frequency rates supported direct monitoring for input signals (zero latency, by hardware) internal mixing, routing and monitoring software provided Logic Soundtrack 24 (24bit/96kHz powerful recording software from Emagic) drivers for Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP, ASIO 2.0 (typical latency can be lowered to 2ms or lower), multiclient-GSIF (GigaSampler/-Studio) Controller Chip & Converters: DSP24 MK II host card uses the IC Ensemble Envy24 I/O controller chip (ICE1712) AKM 24bit/96kHz Codec for balanced analog in- and outputs DSP24 internal I/O for standard windows system sounds (mini-jack on card) uses SigmaTel STAC97xx 18bit AC-97 Codec (ADC & DAC) 95dB output S/N ratio (a-weighted)

Additional Options

ADC III, 8ch (24bit/96kHz ADC, rackmountable, 8ch XLR balanced analog inputs, 8 mic-preamps, phantom power, S/PDIF 8ch outputs, 120dB dynamic range) DAC III, 8ch (24bit/96kHz DAC, rackmountable, 8ch XLR balanced analog outputs) ADC&DAC2000 (24bit/96kHz ADC and DAC unit, rackmountable, 8 unbalanced inputs, 8 unbalanced outputs, 2 mic-preamps, phantom power, etc.) DM III, 8ch (8kHz ~ 100KHz 24bit/120dB modulation, 4 S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs, rackmountable) DS2000 (ADAT- & TDIF-I/O interface, rackmountable)

Reviews

The dutch magazine Interface (august/september 2001) had a look on the DSP24 MK II together with the DS2000. Their comments: "The Audio DSP24 MKII is a advantageous soundcard of excelent quality. You can make any possible connection with the DS2000." Keys & Audio, the dutch magazine, reviewed the DSP24 MK II combined with the DS2000 in their first issue 2001: "At the moment Hoontech has the best price/quality ratio." / "Very good sound quality." / "Especially the DS2000 is a pleasure to work with.."