DSP2000 C-Port

10 input/10 output 24-bit/96kHz Expandable
Audio System

To integrate a PC into your recording environment you need as many inputs and outputs as possible at the very highest quality. The DSP2000 System gives you 10 inputs, 10 outputs all at 24-bit/96kHz with a solid rack-mountable breakout box - all for an unprecedented price. The ultimate in affordable studio gear.

The low latency - multiclient drivers makes the DSP2000 System the ideal solution for delivering the best from your music and audio applications including: SONAR, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Guitar Tracks Pro, Cubase VST/SX/SL, Nuendo, Logic Audio, Cool Edit Pro, Cool Edit Pro 2, Sound Forge, Acid, Wavelab, Samplitude, GigaStudio, Reason, Live and many more.

• Features
• Additional Options
• Press Comments
• System Requirements
• Upgrades and Accessories

The DSP2000 C-Port package consists of a high quality 24-bit/96kHz PCI host card (DSP24), the XG-DB I digital expansion daughter board bracket, the ADC&DAC2000 external converter unit (19 inch standard format), and a powerful recording software application developed by Emagic (Logic SoundTrack 24).

By housing all converters externally in the full size rackmountable chassis, your recordings are captured with absolute pristine transparency. Full 24-bit/96kHz bandwidth with full duplex operation is available over 10 simultaneous inputs and outputs.

The kit comes packed with all the I/O options you need right out of the box - 8 analogue inputs, 8 analogue outputs, 2 digital S/PDIF (optical & RCA connectors) and AES/EBU I/O channels at 24-bit resolution. It also comes with a 1 in 2 out (32 channels) MIDI interface and a headphone output with separate volume control. 2 of the 8 analogue inputs on the ADC&DAC2000 include XLR balanced connectors and feature independant quality microphone pre-amplifiers with gain controls and switchable phantom power. This eliminates the need to incorporate a separate mixer in many situations. You can plug in an instrument or microphone, set the gain levels and start recording immediately! This makes the package a completely self-contained, fully featured hardware interface for all aspects of home studio recording. With the included Logic SoundTrack 24 software package from Emagic, this solution is the perfect place to begin building your studio.

Excellent driver support is available including Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP, ASIO 2.0, WDM and GSIF. The included ASIO 2.0 drivers of the DSP24 card support 2ms latency at 96kHz and 5/6ms at 44.1/48kHz. This means for users of modern software synthesizers (such as GigaSampler, GigaStudio, VST Plugins and DXi Plugins) you can play your sounds in near realtime, even using realtime effects (like DirectX or VST plugins).

The DSP2000 C-Port System is compatible with all of the latest music and audio applications including: SONAR, Cakewalk Pro Audio, Guitar Tracks Pro, Cubase VST/SX/SL, Nuendo, Logic Audio, Cool Edit Pro, Cool Edit Pro 2, Sound Forge, Acid, Wavelab, Samplitude, GigaStudio, Reason, Live and many more. It's very simple to install and use and makes a great choice for you to build a home studio around.

The main PCI host card (DSP24) can be connected to multiple external interface boxes simultaneously allowing other options for ADC & DAC conversion, ADAT & T/DIF connections, or multiple input digital connectivity. In addition to all this flexability, up to three additional DSP24 PCI host cards (4 in total) can be installed in the same system! This allows for an amazing 40 channel I/O!

As you can see, unlike other systems, this package is extremely flexible and can expand to meet just about any of your future PC music and audio needs .

• 10 x 10 24-bit/96kHz 100% Full-Duplex recording path support
  
• 2 x balanced (XLR) inputs with built in pre-amps (-24dB to +50dB) & switchable phantom power (48V)
  
• 2 x balanced (XLR) outputs
  
• 8 x ¼" unbalanced inputs
  
• 8 x ¼" unbalanced outputs
  
• Digital S/PDIF (coaxial(RCA) & optical) & AES/EBU I/O connections as standard
  
• stereo headphone output with volume control (¼" connector)
  
• 2 x 16 channel (32 channels) MIDI interface ports provided (2 outputs, 1 input)
  
• Peak LED for channel 1&2
  
• Up to four PCI cards can be sample accurate sync linked (40 channel I/O)
  
• Internal or external sync supported (external can be set via the S/PDIF input)
  
• 44pin H-BUS interface connector available
  
• 22kHz~99kHz frequency rates supported
  
• Direct monitoring for input signals (zero latency, by hardware)
  
• Internal mixing, routing and monitoring software provided
  
• Logic Soundtrack 24 (24-bit/96kHz powerful recording software from Emagic (Apple))
  
• Drivers for Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP, support for ASIO 2.0 (latency can be lowered to 2ms), multiclient-GSIF (GigaStudio) and WDM (SONAR etc) available

Controller Chip & Converters:

• ADC&DAC2000 external rack uses AKM AK4524 ADC/DAC (24-bit/96kHz, 100dB S/N ratio a-weighted) converters on all stereo inputs and outputs
  
• DSP24 host card uses the IC Ensemble Envy24 I/O controller chip (ICE1712)
  
• DSP24 internal I/O for standard windows system sounds (mini-jacks on card) uses SigmaTel 18bit AC-97 Codec.
  

The DAC III is a high-end 24-bit/96kHz 8 channel digital to analogue conversion unit. designed for connection with the DSP24 or DSP24 MK II PCI recording cards or for stand alone use.

The DAC III is housed in a full size rack-mountable chassis and provides 8 analogue output channels via 8 balanced XLR outputs and 4 unbalanced stereo TRS connectors. Each channel pair can be used independent from a connected DSP24 card via one of the four digital inputs on the front (optical and coaxial S/PDIF and AES/EBU).

5 Metre H-BUS cable - 44pin D-SUB to 44pin D-SUB to replace the default packaged cable
or
2 Metre H-BUS cable - 44pin D-SUB to 44pin D-SUB to replace the default packaged cable

System Requirements

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• Pentium II or higher
• PCI 2.1
• Win 95/98/ME/2000/XP
• Uses ASIO 2, DirectSound, GSIF, WDM Drivers
• 128 MB RAM

Number of simultaneous audio tracks are system and application software dependant including Hard Disk performance.

CD-ROM required for installation.

The well known Electronic Musician magazine has published the first ST Audio DSP2000 C-Port review in a US print magazine (june 2002): "The C-Port is certainly one of the best digital-audio interface values today." / "Sound quality is superb: quiet, with clear highs and quick transients (...) " / "I wouldn't be surprised to see this product quickly become one of the most popular audio systems in the Windows music world." - you can read the complete article here. The unit received 4.5 out of 5 points in the final result.

In early 2001, Shannon O'neil reviewed the ST Audio DSP2000 C-Port in the australian Next Music magazine: "The C-Port is by far the best value for money sound card I've yet seen. " / "I'm so impressed with C-Port that I'm planning to buy one." - you can check the text here. The unit was rated with 95% (Overall Rating).

In july 2001, the british Sound On Sound magazine (John Walden) reviewed the ST Audio DSP2000 C-Port: "There is no doubt that Hoontech's Soundtrack Audio DSP 24 and ADC/DAC2000 system provides a very flexible range of I/O configurations. The drivers appear to be very suitable for use with software synths and samplers."

The german c't magazine writes about our DSP2000 C-Port system in their issue 11/2002: "With a Signal-to-Noise-Ratio of -110dB and a dynamic range of -99.6dB, the combination of the DSP24 and the ADC&DAC2000 is the leader in these areas."

The international online magazine pcrecording.com has tested the ST Audio DSP2000 C-Port: "Hoontech has put together a winning combination with the AudioDSP24 and the ADC/DAC 2000" - you can read the complete article here. Please note that a new revised manual is available in the meantime - also the knobs used for tightening the D-SUB cable connectors have been improved.

The DSP2000 C-Port was rated as best card in the test (soundcards over 300 DM) in issue 10 / 2001 of germany largest and most popular computer two-weekly magazine ComputerBILD. The huge number of special features of the products outweighted all other cards in the test.