ProAudio Review - October 2008 - (Page 14) STUDIO | REVIEW by Steve Murphy on Windows PCs with XP or Vista. Multiple units can be daisy-chained, with the maximum number of units determined by the desired sample rate (six at 48kHz, one at the Orpheus' max sample rate of 192kHz). Please refer to the company's website for full compatibility and expected performance vs. latency ranges. IN USE Though it walks like a duck and looks like a duck, the single-space Orpheus FireWire interface is head-over-tail-feathers above the flock. Based on my use, and as the bench tests confirmed, the Orpheus is clearly not a product of bandwagon marketing mentality, and is no Prism Lite. The high plane from which Prism typically operates is evident throughout the Orpheus, from its controls, rock-solid rear panel connectors and overall physical implementation to the number of thoughtful and high-end features incorporated under the hood. Prism Sound Orpheus FireWire Interface This prodigious Orpheus has the potential to rescue FireWire audio from an underworld of mediocrity. BENCH TEST | Page 18 Like the harp-wielding Orpheus of Greek mythology – born to the wisest of muses Calliope – the modern-day Orpheus that now sits before me also comes from impressive lineage: high-end converter, preamp and test/measurement product manufacturer Prism Sound. Prism's first foray into FireWire audio interfacing was the high-resolution, very high-end ADA-8 XR 16-channel conversion system ($10–12k). Trailing in the ADA-8 XR's footsteps, the Orpheus puts Prism's revered sonics and conversion integrity into a userfriendly package, with a comparatively accessible price of $5,000. FEATURES The 1U Orpheus follows a common FireWire audio interface I/O configuration eight analog recording inputs and eight monitoring outputs, optical I/O (for TOSLINK S/PDIF or 8-channel or 4-channel SMUX-ed ADAT signals), digital I/O on coax RCA (for S/PDIF or AES3 signals; AES adapters included), MIDI I/O, Word Clock I/O (on BNC) and parallel FireWire 400 con- APPLICATIONS Studio, post-production, broadcast, remote recording FEATURES Multichannel FireWire interface with a maximum capability of 18 concurrent input and output channels plus stereo headphones; 8 analog inputs and outputs, including 4 high-quality mic preamps; optical and coax digital I/O for S/PDIF, AES3, ADAT and SMUX signals; MIDI and Word Clock I/O; real-time S/PDIF sample rate converter; two Hi—Z instrument inputs; 2- to 8- channel monitor level control. PRICE $5,000 CONTACT Prism Sound | ¤ 973-983-9577 | · www.prismsound.com nections. A high-quality real-time sample rate converter is included for use on S/PDIF input or output paths. All line-level inputs and outputs are available on TRS 1/4-inch connectors and the first four recording inputs also accept XLR miclevel inputs (via combo jacks). Inputs 1 & 2 also as double high-impedance instrument inputs on two front-panel 1/4-inch jacks. Also on the front panel are two stereo headphone outputs that share the same monitoring source (user-selectable; more below), but fea- This high plane is also evident where it counts most: Sonic quality. Though it's near impossible to properly A/B FireWire interfaces, there was a noticeable overall improvement in clarity and detail with the Orpheus over an RME Fireface 800, and a fairly dramatic difference over a PreSonus FirePod. Of course, there is a dramatic difference in cost as well – about 3 and 7 times, respectively. The mic preamps, employed on various recordings of acoustic guitars, vocals and a spate of percussion instru- ture independent amplifiers/level controls. Perhaps the most prominent feature of the front panel is the oversized, LED-ringed and stepped rotary encoder, assignable to control the level of any or all of the analog plus digital 1/2 output pairs. This inclusion makes the Orpheus a capable two-to-eight-channel monitoring controller. Finally, a meter panel provides selectable input or output metering of the eight analog channels plus stereo digital, as well as source/locked status and channel 1 – 4 input settings. The Orpheus is supported on Macs with OS X 10.4 or later (PPC or Intel platform) and ments, displayed very good accuracy and low noise performance, plus superb transient handling – perhaps not on the level of the company's knockout Maselec MMA4XR (see PAR review, January 2007), but definitely in a similar class. While the Orpheus control panel won't win any graphic design awards for attractiveness, it is quite robust and intuitive. The panel provides for user settings to be saved and recalled, and current settings can be stored in the flash memory of the hardware unit for standalone duty. The input tab proPRISM continues on page 16 ® 14 | ProAudio Review | October 2008 www.proaudioreview.com http://www.prismsound.com http://www.proaudioreview.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.