Antelope Audio has released Zen Studio+ portable professional audio interface. Incorporating key features from the Zen Studio interface, the new model offers 12 studio-quality microphone preamps and extensive I/O, and adds Thunderbolt connectivity and FPGA-based effects processing.
The hardware supports a pair of dedicated re-amp outputs, headphone outputs and monitor outputs, while 12 preamps (including hi-Z and line inputs) plus an additional eight inputs and outputs on standard 25-pin D-Sub connectors address multi-mic recording as well as being extendable via Adat or SPDIF. A customisable routing matrix makes signal flow management simple, incorporating outboard hardware and the onboard effects.
Hardware-based effects allow near-zero-latency audio processing of emulations of classic EQs, compressors and guitar amplifiers without drawing on the host computer’s CPU resources. Antelope Audio’s 64-bit AFC (Acoustically Focused Clocking) technology ensures precision analogue-to-digital conversion and sonic imaging. The word clock input and output enable Zen Studio+ to integrate with other studio gear, and an atomic input is available for interfacing with, and upgrading to, Antelope’s 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock.
Zen Studio+ is controlled via a desktop application for OS-X or Windows, allowing access to a fully-customisable signal routing matrix and up to four independent mixes for monitoring, as well as full control of real-time effects. While front panel-controllable talkback is built into the Zen Studio+ hardware, iOS and Android apps add further flexibility with talkback also available through the hosting smartphone’s inbuilt microphone.
‘When Antelope released the original Zen Studio, the company redefined what was possible with a portable interface in terms of both audio quality and I/O count,’ says Antelope Audio CEO, Igor Levin. ‘Zen Studio+ takes things to a new realm by adding Thunderbolt and incorporating Antelope’s FPGA hardware effects modelling. These things make Zen Studio+ the ultimate next-generation tool for recording anywhere that sound carries you.’
More: www.antelopeaudio.com
