Welcome to Carbon Sound and Picture
RecordingComputer AudioDJ/PerformanceStudio AccesoriesStorage

Computer Audio

Digital Signal Processing

Articles


The Digital Age
While analog processing is an important factor in terms of final quality, there is still good reason for investing into purely digital based processors. The application of your computer's power for digital signal processing allows for many advantages over analog processing such as error detection and correction in transmission as well as data compression.




Digital Signal Processors
 
Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo/Laptop
Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo/Laptop (ExpressCard 34)
The UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop is the must-have sonic upgrade for recording and mixing on a laptop. Whether you use Cubase, Nuendo, Logic, Digital Performer or Pro Tools, this simple, ExpressCard-based DSP accelerator puts all of Universal Audio's award-winning Powered Plug-Ins at your fingertips — freeing up your laptop's internal processor for other mixing duties.

With exacting emulations of the most revered studio processors of the past 50 years, the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop is like having a rack full of vintage analog gear in your pocket. It comes with a versatile collection of Universal Audio's most popular Powered Plug-Ins right out of the box, including the famed 1176SE Compressor/Limiter, Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer, RealVerb Pro Room Modeler, and CS-1 Channel Strip.

Better still, the UAD-2 SOLO/Laptop gives you access to UA's full Powered Plug-Ins library online, including authentic emulations from Neve, Roland, SPL, Moog, Harrison, Little Labs, Empirical Labs, and more. These emulations offer a significant step up from run-of-the-mill audio plug-ins, thanks to UA's renowned audio development team.

     Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo PCIe
Universal Audio UAD-2 Solo PCIe
The UAD-2 SOLO DSP Accelerator Card gives producers and engineers a simple, powerful entry point into the award-winning UAD Powered Plug-Ins platform on Mac or PC. This single-processor PCIe card provides access to the world's most authentic analog hardware emulations and audio processing plug-ins — including licensed emulations from Neve, Roland, BOSS, Empirical Labs, EMT, Fairchild, Harrison, Helios, Little Labs, Pultec, SPL, Teletronix and more.

Developed by the industry's finest engineering team, and backed by frequent new software and plug-in releases, the UAD-2 is the platform of choice for many of the world's top musicians, producers and engineers.

     Universal Audio UAD-2 Duo PCIe
Universal Audio UAD-2 Duo PCIe
The UAD-2 DUO DSP Accelerator Card is a workhorse of modern mixing, giving producers and engineers unrestricted access to award-winning UAD Powered Plug-Ins on Mac or PC. This PCIe card features dual Analog Devices SHARC chips to "power" a larger collection of the world's finest analog emulation plug-ins — including classics from Neve, Roland, BOSS, Empirical Labs, EMT, Fairchild, Harrison, Helios, Little Labs, Pultec, SPL, Teletronix and more.

     Universal Audio UAD-2 Quad PCIe
Universal Audio UAD-2 Quad PCIe
The UAD-2 QUAD DSP Accelerator Card is Universal Audio's most powerful and flexible processing hardware, giving producers and engineers full, professional access to award-winning UAD Powered Plug-Ins on Mac or PC. This PCIe card features four Analog Devices SHARC chips to "power" the largest collection of the world's finest analog emulation plug-ins — including classics from Neve, Roland, BOSS, Empirical Labs, EMT, Fairchild, Harrison, Helios, Little Labs, Pultec, SPL, Teletronix and more.

With its four SHARC processors, the UAD-2 QUAD lets you run large professional mixes with ultra high-quality plug-ins, freeing up your Mac or PC's internal processor for other mixing or virtual instrument duties. Whether you use Pro Tools, Logic, Cubase, Nuendo or Performer, a UAD-2 QUAD offers rich, analog sound quality that would be difficult or impossible to achieve with a native Mac- or PC-based system.

Solid State Logic Duende Mini
Solid State Logic Duende Mini
Duende puts the legendary SSL sound within your DAW and Duende Mini makes owning your own slice of SSL sonic magic more affordable and portable than ever. Mini is a stylish little 'one third rack width', all metal construction, desktop box that hooks up to your computer via Firewire. This compact rugged unit is ideal for small studios or laptop based DAW users. Mini makes a stack of DSP processing power available to drive up to 16 mono channels of plug-in processing (at sample rates up to 96kHz) within your host application. Duende Mini is upgradeable to 128 channels of processing power.

Duende is based on the powerful DSP technology behind SSL's acclaimed C-Series digital consoles and Mini ships with the 'EQ and Dynamics Channel', a plug-in developed by SSL to provide an EQ & Dynamics processing solution with all the power and processing flexibility of an SSL console channel.

   Solid State Logic Duende PCIe
Solid State Logic Duende PCIe
Duende is based on the powerful DSP technology behind SSL's acclaimed C-Series digital consoles. Duende PCIe is a high bandwidth, half length, full height slot-in PCIe card that works in both PCs and Macs. This card is ideal for those who work with lots of external firewire equipment, or those who want to integrate their SSL processing and workstation into a single case unit.

• EQ & Dynamics Channel and Stereo Bus Compressor Plug-ins
• Legendary sound of SSL for your digital audio workstation
• 32 channels of console-grade SSL EQ and Dynamics processing
• Very high bandwidth internal PCIe card format
• Relieves the plug-in processing burden on your computer's CPU
• Powerful DSP engine based on SSL's award-winning C Series mixing consoles

   TC Electronic PowerCore Express
TC Electronic PowerCore Express
The PowerCore Express fits into a PCI Express slot and comes with the same amount of plug-ins as PowerCore FireWire and PowerCore X8 and is a potent combination of 14 state-of-the-art processing plug-ins and 4 x 150 mHz DSPs. The plug-in bundle that comes with the Express card, consists of the 14 plug-ins known from PowerCore FireWire and PowerCore X8, leaving you with a bunch of versatile and professional tools, and it sports the same performance as the rack-based PowerCore FireWire. Pick'n' choose your favorite plug-ins.

Watch the PowerCore Concept Video

TC Electronic PowerCore FireWire
TC Electronic PowerCore FireWire
PowerCore FireWire provides a significant amount of power, with fast DSPs and oodles of RAM. It is ideal for high-end production environments where the uppermost quality and processing capabilities is required. Designed for serious studios and professional applications, the PowerCore FireWire is sure to deliver, and it will take care of even the most demanding tasks and requirements. PowerCore FireWire comes with 14 included plug-ins, among them, the renowned Dynamic EQ plug-in as well as the DeNoise plug-in from the acclaimed Restoration Suite package.

TC Electronic PowerCore X8
TC Electronic PowerCore X8
PowerCore X8 provides a massive amount of power, with 8 fast DSPs and oodles of RAM. It is ideal for high-end production environments where unsurpassed quality and processing capabilities are required. Designed for serious studios and professional applications, the PowerCore X8 is sure to deliver, and it will meet even the most demanding tasks and requirements. PowerCore X8 comes with 14 included plug-ins, among them, the renowned Dynamic EQ plug-in as well as the DeNoise plug-in from the acclaimed Restoration Suite package.

TC Electronic PowerCore 6000
TC Electronic PowerCore 6000
With TCE's most powerful PowerCore yet, PowerCore 6000 makes the same award-winning System 6000 algorithms used by high-end mastering studios and Oscar-winning sound designers available for your DAW. PowerCore 6000 includes world-renowned classic reverb, vintage emulations and source-based reverb and you have full access to MD3 multiband dynamics for no-compromise mastering, precision brickwall limiting and unsurpassed stereo to 5.1 conversion.

Designed for serious studios and professional applications, the PowerCore 6000 is sure to deliver, and it will meet even the most demanding tasks and requirements. Even complex mixes are possible with just a laptop and the PowerCore 6000.

PowerCore 6000 uses the same DSPs you will find in System 6000. The unique combination of a floating-point Power PC with 8 Freescale DSPs ensures tight integration into the native world while at the same time maintaining all of the advantages that DSPs offer for pristine signal processing. This ensures the same high quality of processing as you're used to from the hardware world.

PowerCore 6000 features an SRAM based memory design that supports high performance reverbs like the VSS3 Stereo Source Reverb, DVR2 Digital Vintage Reverb and NonLin2 Stereo Effects Reverb.

Focusrite Liquid
Focusrite Liquid Mix
Each of Liquid Mix's 32 channels provides Compressor and EQ emulations selected from a huge pool of high-quality vintage and modern day classics. 40 Compressors and 20 EQs are available straight out of the box, with an expanding library online. Furthermore, a totally unique hybrid 7-band 'super EQ' can be built out of separate classic EQ sections in every one of the 32 channels. Each channel appears as a separate VST/AU/RTAS effect within the sequencer and will work within all major applications, including Pro Tools.

Liquid Mix uses the same patented Dynamic Convolution process as Focusrite's Liquid Channel. Unlike standard convolution techniques, Dynamic Convolution utilizes vast processing power to sample the effect of a classic processor on a series of audio pulses, at many different gain settings and frequencies. In Liquid Mix, all this processing is done using onboard DSP, so the processing has almost no effect on your computer's own CPU.

Focusrite Liquid Mix 16
Focusrite Liquid Mix 16
Liquid Mix 16 is the latest product in Focusrite's award-winning Liquid range, bringing the power of Liquid Mix to an even wider audience. Combining the same pool of classic EQ and Compressor emulations with a killer control surface, Liquid Mix 16 brings the sound of the obsolete, the priceless and the historically significant, within reach of even the most modest studio owner.

Each of the sixteen mono channels provides Compressor and EQ emulations selectable from a huge pool of high-quality vintage and modern day classics. Forty Compressors and twenty EQs are available straight out of the box, with some additional emulations available for free online. As with the original Liquid Mix, a hybrid seven-band 'super EQ' is available in every instance, built out of separate classic EQ sections. Liquid Mix 16 also offers a 'free' mode for the compressor. Original compressors with limited or absent controls suddenly become fully featured - yours to use as you choose. Each channel appears as a separate VST/AU/RTAS effect within the sequencer and will work within all major applications, including Pro Tools.

Articles