MERGING HORUS CONVERTERS USED IN iZOTOPE STUDIO
12 November 2015
As posted recently on AT, setting up a new recording facility in the iZotope headquarters in Cambridge, MA was a serious endeavour. To support its purpose as both a testing facility and as a not-for-profit recording and mastering studio, careful equipment choice was paramount — task undertaken by iZotope’s Chief Engineer, Jonathan Wyner and renowned acoustician, Francis Manzella. Critical components in the listening chain are the mic pres and the A/D and D/A converters. The final choice was Merging’s Horus Networked Converters partnered with PMC monitors, Avid S3 EUCON Controllers with an IHSE Draco Tera KVM Matrix, Dangerous Audio compressors and Grace Monitor Controllers.
The inclusion of the Horus units brings RAVENNA/AES67 connectivity to the studio and provides for the easy integration of networked audio products as required. This perfectly fits with the need to adapt the rooms for a variety of uses which include critical listening, product feature testing and DSP research; hosting producers, engineers and customers to examine workflows and gain user feedback; teaching the most effective way to use the iZotope tools plus allowing the staff to complete recording projects and other social events after hours. To complement the stellar acoustics of iZotope Studios, Wyner and his team chose the latest in breakthrough technologies. As an example, several networked systems bring flexibility to studio usage and allow an outside-in view of what’s happening within. The audio network allows users to access audio inputs and outputs from either studio simultaneously and from multiple computers both in and out of the studio, while a KVM network allows users to control rapid switching between every computer connected to the studio system. In addition, an Avid EUCON network allows the chaining of multiple fader controllers to a single computer, or multiple computers to a single fader controller.
With its ability to pivot easily between multiple uses, the facility also aligns with iZotope’s dedication to education. Its spacious layout was specifically designed to support in-house teaching and community events, with infrastructure that permits high-resolution broadcast via the web.
This emphasis on quality is apparent in the choice of equipment throughout and when asked the reason for choosing Horus in the face of intense competition, Jonathan Wyner opined; “We chose the Horus due to the combination of no-compromise, best-in-class performance —
including conversion up to hi-resolution DSD — and the beautiful mic pres. Coupled with that is the remarkable flexibility that RAVENNA and AES-67 offer us. We can see any channel from any room and route them accordingly at the click of a software switch. Horus is fantastic value.”
More info:
Merging Technologies: www.merging.com
Australian Distributor: www.attaudiocontrols.com
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