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Hercules 16/12 FW - Firewire Audio/MIDI System

The Hercules 16/12 FW - FireWire Audio interface is a next generation 24-bit/96kHz studio quality audio system, containing everything you need to turn your Windows or Mac Desktop or Laptop PC into a powerful digital audio workstation - at the best price/performance currently available.

The Hercules 16/12 FW - FireWire Audio interface provides 16 inputs and 12 outputs, including 12 channels of pristine 96kHz analogue recording and 8 channels of analogue playback, combined with 4 channels of digital I/O and 2 MIDI I/O (32 channels).

The Hercules 16/12 FW - FireWire Audio interface is ideal to use with all of the latest music and audio applications including: Cakewalk SONAR, SONAR 2, SONAR 3, SONAR 4, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Guitar Tracks Pro, Home Studio, Music Creator Pro, Steinberg Cubase VST, Cubase SX, Cubase SL, Cubase SE, Nuendo, Wavelab, Emagic Logic Audio, Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, Acid, Samplitude, GigaStudio, Propellerheads Reason, Ableton Live, Image Line FL Studio (Fruityloops) and other multitrack music software.

It's very simple to install and use and makes a great choice for you to build your home, project, pro or portable studio around.

 

NON UK CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE:

The 16/12 FW is both large and heavy, and therefore is not covered by our standard international delivery charge. Please email salesdesk@etcetera.co.uk for delivery charges.

PLEASE NOTE: At this time this product is not compatible with Intel Chipset Macs

£
£ ex VAT
Platform:

Works with Mac OS X Tiger

Brodhure pdf (~600kB)
 


front panel


back panel

Detailed overview | Detailed overview pdf

FireWire audio external interface for music lovers

  • 16-in/12-out multitrack record and playback
    • 16 independent inputs:
      • 10 gold-plated, balanced or unbalanced jacks
      • 2 combo connectors (XLR/¼" Jack )
      • 4-channel SPDIF inputs (optical & coaxial)
    • 12 independent outputs:
      • 8 gold-plated, balanced or unbalanced jacks
      • 4-channel SPDIF outputs (optical & coaxial)
  • 24-bit 96KHz audio resolution
    • Sampling rates: 44.1, 48 and 96KHz A/D Converters: 105 dB (A-weighted)
    • D/A Converters: 114 dB (A-Weighted)
  • MIDI In / 2 MIDI out interface
  • Compatible with PC (Microsoft Windows™ 2000 / XP) and Mac (OS X 10.3)

Perfect for Live recording

  • 16 inputs match the number of sources used by a typical band
  • Plugging Hercules 16/12 FW into a laptop PC or a Mac PowerBook makes a great portable live recording solution.
  • 48V phantom power amp for the 2 microphone inputs gives the flexibility
    to record music played on-stage.
  • 2 Hi-Z inputs to record a guitar and a bass.
  • All analogue inputs can record in TRS balanced mode, as required for long
    cables runs used in live on-stage performance

Perfect for studio recording

  • Studio quality 24-bit/96Khz on all channels
  • Word clock in/out synchronizes Hercules 16/12 FW with other
    studio equipment.
  • Hercules 16/12 FW multi-track playback integrates easily
    with studio post-production stage.
  • 48V phantom power on the microphone inputs s
  • The MIDI I/O let you add virtual instruments to analogue instruments.
  • Hercules 16/12 FW comes with brackets for fixing to 19" 1U rack.

Features
The ideal companion for all musicians looking for a digital audio hard disk recording system benefiting from unique FireWire (IEEE1394) technology.

Record on PC and Mac up to 16 simultaneous inputs:

  • 12 analogue inputs
    • 2 mic/line inputs (Neutrik™ combo XLR/¼" Jack) on front
      • Support TRS (balanced, for long cables) and TS (unbalanced) modes
      • On/Off 48-volt phantom power switch to pre-amplify the 2 XLR microphone inputs
      • 2 Hi-Z switches to set a high impedance of 100 Kilo-Ohms on each input to record instruments as a guitar or a bass
      • 2 gain buttons to set the gain level on each input (Up to 50db gain)
    • 10 analogue line inputs (jack ¼ (6.35mm) on rear panel
      • Support TRS (balanced, for long cables) and TS (unbalanced) modes
      • Software-switch to set the input levels at
        • -10dBV (consumer line level)
        • +4dBu (professional line level)

FireWire Audio Interface
for MAC & PC

24-bit/96kHz

16-In / 12-Out

1 Optical Digital I/O
1 Coaxial Digital I/O

2 Mic/Guitar Preamps
with 48V Phantom Power

2 MIDI I/O Ports

Word Clock I/O

Full Music Package
ASIO drivers
  • 4-channel SPDIF inputs to record audio from DAT or MiniDisc players
    • 2-channel stereo S/PDIF coaxial
    • 2-channel stereo S/PDIF optical
  • 4 clock modes to synchronize digital recording:
    • Internal clock (Hercules 16/12 FW internal clock)
    • Word clock input (BNC connector)
    • Coaxial SPDIF clock (for slave mode)
    • Optical S/PDIF clock (for slave mode)
  • 16 indicator lights show the status of the audio input:
    • Green: data/signal input detected
    • Orange: data/signal input reaching –3dB
    • Red: saturation of the data/signal input (0 dB or higher)
  • Hardware monitoring of 2 inputs (selected among the 16 possible inputs) on outputs 1 & 2 with no latency.
    • 1 & 2 outputs on the rear panel
    • Headphones stereo output on the front panel

Multitrack playback: Plays on 12 outputs simultaneously on PC and Mac

  • 8 analogue line outputs (jack ¼ on rear panel)
    • Support TRS (balanced, for long cables) and TS (unbalanced) modes
    • Software-switch to set the input levels at
      • -10dBV (consumer line level)
      • +4dBu (professional line level)
  • 4-channel S/PDIF output to transfer audio to DAT or MiniDisc
  • Coaxial stereo S/PDIF
  • Optical stereo S/PDIF
  • 12 indicator lights show the status of the audio output:
    • Green: data/signal output detected Orange: data/signal output reaching –3dB
    • Red: saturation of the data/signal output (0 dB or higher)

MIDI 32-channel interface on 2 MIDI I/O (4 MIDI connectors)

  • Connect a MIDI keyboard, sound module and/or a control surface, and you are ready to go. The FireWire cable carries both MIDI and audio so you don't need to connect an additional MIDI interface.

Wordclock Input/Output

Stereo headphone output with front-panel volume control

Rack mountable

Compatible with all major audio software applications:

  • Including: Cakewalk SONAR, SONAR 2, SONAR 3, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Guitar Tracks Pro, Home Studio, Steinberg Cubase VST, Cubase SX, Cubase SL, Cubase SE, Nuendo, Wavelab, Emagic Logic Audio, Sonic Foundry Sound Forge, Acid, Samplitude, GigaStudio, Propellerheads Reason, Ableton Live, Image Line FL Studio (Fruityloops) and other multitrack music software.
  • Full drivers package for Macintosh OS X and Windows. (ASIO 2.0, GSIF, WAV, DirectSound, DirectMusic…) with Ultra low latency to play software instruments in realtime.

Full Music package with:

  • Live Special Edition (from Ableton™)
    Live is an audio sequencer that you can play like an instrument. On its own or with other musicians or DJs, live on stage or when remixing in the studio. For Windows and in Mac OS X
  • Cubase LE (from Steinberg™) Cubase LE is a powerful multi-track audio recording production software. A reference in music production, Cubase LE let you edit your audio recording track by track, and also add to your audio tracks the virtual instruments of VST. For Windows and in Mac OS X

Input/Output Summary

Input
Output
Analogue 24-Bit/96kHz on balanced or unbalanced Jacks (TRS)
switchable between +4dB and -10dB*
10
8
High-quality mic/instrument pre-amplifiers with switchable
48-volt phantom power via Neutrik™ combo (XLR/TRS) connectors)*
2
S/PDIF optical*
stereo
stereo
S/PDIF coaxial*
stereo
stereo
Headphone output
stereo
MIDI 2 (32 channels) 2 (32 channels)
Wordclock
1
1


*These audio inputs and outputs are discrete. In other words, using a mic preamp input does not 'steal' an input from the TRS analogue Inputs.

System Requirements

  • PC
    Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP1a)
    Intel PentiumT III/AMD Athlon 800MHz and higher or compatible·
    128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended )
    FireWire port·
    CD ROM or DVD-ROM Drive·
    10 GB of hard disk space
  • Macintosh
    Mac OS X 10.3 or higher including Mac OS X Tiger
    G4/1GHz Power Macintosh or faster equipped with a FireWire port·
    256 MB RAM·
    CD ROM or DVD-ROM Drive·
    10 GB of hard disk space

Warranty

  • The product is guaranteed for 2 years

Package Includes

  • Hercules 16/12 FW audio rack
  • FireWire connector cable (6-pin to 6-pin format with 4-pin to 6-pin adapter) ~4Metres
  • 2 brackets for rack mount
  • 4 rubber foot-pads for extra stability and 6 screws to attach the rack's brackets
  • Power adapter
  • CD-ROMs including drivers, electronic documentation and software suite
  • User Manual
 

 

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