Prism Sound Orpheus - Audio Media

PRISM>indicator here to show when the SRC (SampleRate Converter) is in use. This function can onlybe used on the input or the output, but not at thesame time.Just to the right of this meter panel is theassignable level control. This large soft rotary controlcan be assigned to any of the Orpheus' outputs.Prism Sound intends this control to act as a mastermonitor volume control for either stereo or surroundapplications, configured by the user.Finally, on the Orpheus front panel are twoStereo TRS output sockets for headphone use.Each of the two outputs has an independentassociated volume control.Familiar FeaturesThose of you who have used the Prism SoundADA-8XR will be familiar with a few of the featuresthat the Orpheus has inherited. The Overkillerprogressive limiter, for example, which protectsthe converters from clipping at high levels.Also Prism Sound's SNS (Super Noise Shaping)and Dithering processes to 16-bit outputare found on the Orpheus. The Prism Soundwebsite and Orpheus operationmanual (as well as the review of theADA-8XR) explains these featuresin great detail and I suggestyou have a read through to fullyunderstand them.Orpheus SoftwareFull control over the Orpheus isachieved through the use of the control softwaresupplied. Both Windows XP and Vista installers,Mac Intel and PowerPC versions, are here.Once installed and the Orpheus connected throughthe FireWire port, you can fire up the software.The unit can interface directly with your host systemthrough ASIO and WDM drivers for Windows, andCore Audio for Mac. How much control you havewill depend on the host application.You are presented with the main control panel,which contains unit and global settings at the top,then a series of tabs to select more specific aspectsof the Orpheus for signal control including input,output, and various mixers.At the top we start with the unit settings.First you select which unit you want to apply thesettings to. As with all the settings in this part ofthe screen, an arrow to the right of the box allowsaccess to the options. You can daisy-chain Orpheusunits through FireWire; how many depends on thesample rates used. The FireWire bus bandwidthlimitation sees to this, so up to six units using 44.1or 48kHz, three with 88.2 and 96kHz, and just oneup to 192kHz.Sync Source lets you select the synchronisationsource for each unit in the chain. FP Meters selectswhat you see on the front panel meters, and ClockOut controls what is produced from the WordclockBNC output.The ADAT box lets you activate either ADATinput or outputs, or both. Finally SRC (Sample RateConversion) can be enabled on either the S/PDIFtwo-channel input or output path as required.The Global Settings section applies settings toall Orpheus units in the chain. Sample rate andFP settings appear here, and if you were using aMac then that would be it. With a Windows setup,controls for Buffer Time and Latency let you increasetime through the audio path to minimise audibleglitches. OS X deals with this on the Mac.The main body of the window is where we getcontrol over input and output setup issues. The InputSetup tab shows both the eight analogue and digitalinput options. There is digital selection betweenRCA and TOSLINK, with an ASNC (asynchronous)indicator that lights up if the incoming signal isnot locked to the Orpheus main sync source.These inputs, like all other inputs and outputsthroughout the system, have high-resolution peakmetering with an overload that kicks in 0.05dBbelow clipping.Analogue inputs 5-8 are line only, and areindividually switchable between +4/-10 and havean Overkiller enable button. Inputs 1-4 come up asyou have connected them (auto sensing). Mic givesyou phantom power, phase reverse, and highpassfilter along with an Overkiller enable button.>The Oxford SuprEsser plug-in from Sonnox .A new definition in de-essing.• Transparently controls aggressive frequencies• Linear Phase Dynamic EQ• Automatic Level Tracking• Graphic Display (FFT) for increased accuracy• Full spectrum operation• Easy to use & advanced mode for ultimate controlTime limited introductory price offer.OxfordPluginswww.sonnoxplugins.com36AUDIO MEDIA MAY 2008