Yesterday Onkyo, a company that specializes in home audio and video components, introduced a MSE-U33HB Digital Audio Processor and USB Hub for Macs. MacCentral reader Hamlin Krewson said that anyone needing such a product should also check out Yamaha’s AP-U70 CAVIT system.
The Onkyo device provides an interface between a USB-equipped Mac and an external audio system. It has a microphone/line input for those USB Macs that lack audio input jacks and functions as a hub by providing three additional USB ports. The Onkyo solution is targeted to folks who wish to make digital audio recordings from turntables, cassette decks, or other analog audio sources, and for playing music from a CD-ROM drive, internal hard disc, or streaming audio internet connection.
The US$349 Yamaha CAVIT is an external audio soundboard processor. It’s a self contained integrated amplifier that uses “passive” speakers.
The AP-U70 is a 2-channel (with 20 watts of output power per channel) amplifier featuring Virtual DTS and Virtual Dolby Digital decoding that connects to a computer via a USB cable. It’s compatible with such audio formats as MP3, WMA, DVD, computer games, Extended Wave File Multi-Channel sound, and Direct Sound 3D, as well as providing Yamaha’s DSP.
The AP-U70 provides a bridge to record any analog to digital, digital to digital on to your hard drive while at the same time include the DSP effects to your recordings. It features a seven-band equalizer that’s adjustable through 13 steps. The CAVIT includes three computer inputs via USB, digital (coaxial/optical), and analog. Aux 1 provides an analog input and a digital optical input. Aux 2 has an analog input. In addition, the amplifier has analog and digital outputs with subwoofer output and headphone outputs.
Yamaha’s YSS-928 ASIC — Application Specific Integrated Circuit — provides “Silent Cinema surround” for headphones and Virtual Surround. The AP-U70 is compatible with Mac OS 9.1 “or higher,” according to Yamaha.
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