xxxWorld's Finest FireWire DAC / Preamp
Product Review from 10 Audio.com
The Prism Orpheus resides in a class by itself. It is a reference level DAC, preamp,
headphone amplifier, RIAA phono section and word clock all in a single chassis. A true legend - precision built in England. Why not listen through the interface your music was recorded on?
Type: 8 channel Firewire DAC/Preamp
Inputs: • Firewire digital input from Mac computer
xxxxxxxx• 4 stereo line level analog inputs- Balanced TRS
xxxxxxxx• SPDIF and Optical Digital inputs
Outputs: 4 stereo outputs - Balanced TRS
Sample Rate: 192kHz
Build Location: England
Orpheus in Brief
- No-compromise, full Prism Sound audio quality
- Dedicated FireWire interface
- Directly compatible with CORE AUDIO on Mac OS X 10.4+ (Intel & PPC)
- Eight "Prism Sound" premium-quality AD and DA channels
- Concurrent operation of ADAT and switchable S/PDIF or AES3 ports
- Four high-end integrated mic preamps (typ.-130dBu EIN), switchable phantom
- MS Matrix processing on mic inputs
- RIAA Equalization on inputs 1 & 2
- Prism Sound "Overkillers" on every analogue channel to control transient overloads
- Fully-floating (isolated) balanced architecture for optimum noise rejection
- Mono or stereo input configurations
- Outputs selectable between workstation bus or Orpheus mixer
- Low-latency "console-quality" digital mixer for foldback monitoring
- Fader, pan, cut, solo on every mixer channel
- Dual headphone outputs each with its own front-panel volume control
- Front-panel master volume control, assignable to selected channels
- Configurable for stereo, 5.1 or 7.1 or surround monitoring
- Built-in sample rate conversion (SRC) on S/PDIF Inputs and Outputs
- Prism Sound 4-curve SNS noise shaping on digital outputs
- State-of-the-art clock generation with proprietary hybrid 2-stage DPLL
- MIDI in/out ports
Orpheus is a FireWire multi-track audio interface for personal recording and sound production, for professional musicians, songwriters, engineers and producers as well as recording studios, post production facilities and scoring stages. Orpheus is ideal for music and sound recording, multitracking, overdubbing, stem-based mastering, analogue summing and critical listening applications.
Orpheus provides Prism Sound's renowned performance, sound quality and state-of-the-art clock technology in a dedicated FireWire unit compatible with MAC OS X 10.4.11 and later (Intel & PPC). Once configured with a computer, Orpheus can also operate stand-alone using its S/PDIF or AES3 I/O.
Orpheus has line, microphone and instrument inputs, selectable RIAA Equalization for turntables, a built-in premium-quality monitoring mixer for each output providing for performer foldback and surround monitoring, concurrent ADAT and switchable S/PDIF or AES3 digital I/O plus support for outboard MIDI devices. Microphone inputs include MS matrix processing. High-performance digital sampling-rate conversion (SRC) is available for digital inputs or outputs. Dual headphone outputs are provided each with its own volume control, both monitoring the same headphone feed.
Signal path
Eight analogue input channels and up to 10 digital input channels are available as inputs for your audio workstation software through the host computer's audio driver. Similarly, eight analogue output channels, up to 10 digital output channels and stereo headphone outputs can play 20 different channels. For low-latency foldback or monitoring to headphones or main outputs, each output pair (1-2, 3-4 etc or the headphone output) can optionally be driven from the built-in DSP mixer with an individual local mix of any selection of inputs through the controller applet. All analogue inputs are electronically balanced with automatic unbalanced operation. Analogue outputs are electronically balanced with 'bootstrapping', i.e. level is maintained if one leg is grounded.
No-compromise, full Prism Sound audio quality
Orpheus makes no compromises on audio quality. It is the result of years of research and development into digital audio conversion and extensive dialogue with Prism Sound's customers.
The Orpheus design brief was: Get Prism Sound quality conversion and mic preamps into a 1U box at a more accessible price point. Sound quality just wasn't negotiable. Orpheus has the same no-compromise analogue front and back ends, with the same fully-balanced-throughout architecture, the same isolation barriers protecting the analogue from digital and computer interference.
Orpheus draws on Prism Sound's years of experience in developing digital audio products, including its range of audio test equipment, adopted by a wide variety of clients across the audio industry from pro-audio to consumer electronics. This experience means that Orpheus is well-behaved both as a computer peripheral and an audio processor.
Reliability is vitally important in professional recording. Prism Sound has always made extensive use of precise software calibration techniques in its converters - pots and tweaks are always unreliable, so there are none.
The design team has gone to great lengths to minimise noise and interference, in particular hum. All of the analogue circuits have galvanic isolation, while the unit's electronically balanced I/O allows it to handle common mode interference sources as well as enabling trouble-free connection to unbalanced equipment.
It is often said that THD+N figures do not always correlate well with the perception of sound quality and this is true - partly because the traditional measures of THD+N or SINAD expressed as RMS figures are rather a broad measure. With this in mind, we have taken great care to make sure that not only is the Orpheus noise and distortion spectrum beyond reproach, but the RMS distortion result measures up to the state of the art.
Standards compliant FireWire interface
Increasing standardization is leading to more choice for those wishing to "mix and match" editing and production software with various audio interfaces. Prism Sound has taken on board the increasing importance of native processing power for professional users and the fact that software products for standard PC and Mac platforms have been greatly enhanced in recent years.
Prism Sound is probably best known for A/D and D/A converters, not least the ADA-8XR, which already provides a solution for those needing a FireWire interface. However, the flexibility and versatility of the ADA-8XR comes with a higher price tag, reflecting the fact that no other interface provides such exceptional audio performance or can work directly into Pro Tools Core/Processing cards, as well as running a concurrent DSD processor or FireWire interface.
Flexible Inputs and Outputs
Our customers told us that, along with FireWire connectivity, many professional users wanted a highly integrated solution with instrument and microphone inputs, and line outputs that could be used for stereo or multi-channel monitoring and/or foldback to performers. Orpheus offers eight analogue recording channels, eight monitoring outputs, stereo digital input and output on a phono connector plus concurrent optical digital I/O ports that can interface to S/PDIF or ADAT data formats, giving Orpheus a maximum capability of 18 concurrent input and output channels plus stereo headphones.
Orpheus' eight analogue inputs support various capabilities. Orpheus has four really good mic amps with software-controlled gain in 1dB steps, individually-switchable phantom power - and very low noise and distortion. These inputs are auto-sensing, and support microphone and line input, with digitally-controlled mic gain in excess of 60dB. Two of these inputs also support direct injection (DI) instrument connections with quarter-inch jacks on the front panel. RIAA Equalization can be selected in the controller applet on channels 1 & 2 so that turntables can be connected for archiving or sampling applications. By selecting the input type (Mic or DI) , low- or high-impedance cartridges can be loaded with suitable termination impedances. All analogue inputs have individually-selectable Prism Sound "Overkillers" built in, just as on the higher-priced ADA-8XR, to catch those fast transients. The Overkiller threshold automatically follows the operating line-up level selection (+4dBu or -10dBV). Overkillers are ideal for percussive sounds, particularly drums, where headroom can be a problem.
The co-axial digital I/O port can be switched in the Orpheus controller applet between S/PDIF and AES3 formats. This control changes the operating voltage and the Channel Status format and is complemented by two in-line adaptor leads that provide external XLR connections for AES3 devices. Other connections include MIDI in and out and wordclock sync I/O.
Orpheus can also operate in a stand-alone mode using its ADAT or co-axial digital I/O connections. Once set up using the Orpheus controller applet, the unit can be disconnected from the host computer and used independently. Orpheus will retain its settings when powered down so even if it is switched off, Orpheus can be re-powered and stand-alone operation can continue with the automatically-stored settings.
Flexible Monitoring
Professional users demand more sophisticated monitoring capabilities and are getting used to surround sound with HDTV and DVD, so it is becoming important to support surround monitoring setups.
As well as wanting great analogue recording channels, the DAW user also needs top-quality monitoring. The eight analogue outputs on Orpheus allow monitor setups from multi-stereo up to 7.1 surround. Orpheus has a real volume knob which can be assigned to any or all of the analogue or digital outputs for use as a control room monitor control. There are two headphone amps, suitable for all types of headphones, each with its own independent volume control. As well as having its own workstation feed and mixer, the headphones can also be quickly switched across the other output pairs, which is handy for setting up.
Sample Rate Conversion and Noise Shaping
The digital output is equipped with the four Prism Sound SNS noise-shaping curves and includes Prism Sound's renowned synchronous sample-rate conversion, allowing outputs to various external devices at other sampling rates. The sample-rate converter can be used at the outputs as well as the inputs, so as well as dealing with unsynchronised or wrong-rate digital inputs, Orpheus can also generate, say, a live 44.1kHz output from a 96kHz session. Since Orpheus also includes the full suite of the famous Prism Sound 'SNS' noise shapers, you can also reduce to 16-bits at mastering-house quality.
Unsurpassed Jitter Rejection
In the 1990s Prism Sound pioneered testing of sampling and interface jitter and as a result our digital audio products deliver unsurpassed jitter rejection. Prism Sound digital audio products lock up fast and re-generate ultra-stable clock outputs. Another aspect of the traditional Prism Sound converter that is retained was the clocking - it's just as important as analogue-path considerations sound-wise. So whether it's providing a high-quality master clock for the rest of the room, or dealing with a jittery clock from outside, Orpheus is as rock-steady as its forbears.
Support
Over the years, Prism Sound's reputation for audio quality has been matched by its reputation for after-sales support and technical advice. Orpheus has the benefit of that support and customers have access to one of the best technical teams in the business.
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