Lynx Studio Technology Inc. has introduced the AES16, a new audio card aimed at musicians and a/v professionals looking to integrate digital consoles, multichannel A/D and D/A converters, hard disk recorders, digital audio workstations and other digital audio equipment. The half-sized PCI card is compatible with Macs and Windows PCs.
The card ships with a hardware-based 32-channel digital mixer that comes with its own software application. The software included with the card is native to Mac OS X and leverage’s Mac OS X’s CoreAudio technology to function.
AES16 features “SynchroLock,” a proprietary technology developed by Lynx designed to output low jitter digital audio from severely degraded signals. The net result, according to the company, is bit-perfect digital transmission and low distortion in converted analog signals. Company co-founder Bob Bauman describes SynchroLock as “a jitter killer on steroids.”
The AES16 can also act as a format converter with its LStream expansion port. The port accepts Lynx’s LS-ADAT 16-channel ADAT LStream card, which can route signals through the AES16’s AES/EBU interface. Up to four AES16 cards can be combined in a single Mac for 64 inputs and 64 outputs.
The OS X-native mixer software enables Mac users to set and monitor all the parameters on the computer, route signals and manage input and output level control. The 32-channel mixer can save and recall an unlimited number of mixer scenes, as well.
The AES16 ships in two flavors: An XLR-equipped version that ships with two six-foot XLR/BNC-equipped cables, for US$795. The AES16 ships without cables, for $695.