Prism Sound ADA-128
L-R: Mark Evans, Jody Thorne
Good things come to those who wait – and for Prism Sound’s customers the wait is finally over because the company is now shipping its new Dream ADA-128 modular audio conversion system. The first units have already been sent to facilities in the UK, Japan, the USA, Germany and France, with other customers expected to take delivery of their systems in coming weeks.
Mark Evans, Prism Sound’s Sales Director, says: “The ADA-128 is aimed at audio professionals across many different disciplines, including music recording, post production, broadcast, installation and, of course, Dolby Atmos and archiving. It builds on everything that is great about Prism Sound conversion but takes it to a new level in terms of power and flexibility.”
Evans also points out that the new ADA-128 is a very cost effective solution, particularly for people who require a high channel count – and because it is fully modular, it is also a great way for businesses to futureproof their audio facilities as any changes and upgrades can be addressed by simply adding new option cards.
“Our flagship ADA-8XR multichannel converter has been a best seller for more than 20 years and that longevity is due to the care and attention to detail Prism Sound put into its original design,” Evans adds. “The same level of care has gone into the design of the new ADA-128 and we are confident that this revolutionary product will be just as well received for many years to come.”
As the latest addition to Prism Sound’s range of Dream A/D and D/A converters, the ADA-128 brings exceptional levels of flexibility, functionality, and cost effectiveness to the professional audio market without any compromise in sound quality. Named after its remarkable ability to provide up to 128 channels of premium Prism Sound 32-bit A/D and D/A conversion in a single 2U rack, the Dream ADA 128 is a modular device that can be configured to a wide range of needs.
Designed as both a conversion system and a high-performance, networkable audio distribution and processing system, the ADA-128 is built around a 2RU mainframe that can be fitted with up to 16 analogue and digital IO modules (each of which nominally provides eight input or output ports, or both).
There are also four Host cards offering various connection options such as Dante, DigiLink and AES. Users can mix and match these, and even route audio between them for maximum flexibility, and because the ADA 128 houses four internal, independent clocks, these systems can all run at different sample rates at the same time.
The unit, which also has a mic/line input module housing eight preamps, can be controlled via the front panel touchscreen or via a browser-based interface. It can also be used as an HDX interface, directly from within Pro Tools.
The inspiration for the ADA-128 originally came from discussions between Prism Sound’s Managing Director Jody Thorne and The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, a faculty of Birmingham City University. The Conservatoire wanted a high channel count conversion system that could be networked across their entire facility. As this didn’t exist, Prism Sound set about designing it and that project formed the basis of the ADA-128.
“When we first came up with the concept for the Dream ADA-128, we wanted to give our customers a product that incorporated new ideas and brought significant improvements to their workflows. We were unwilling to compromise or sacrifice our long-standing reputation for audio quality. As a result, we now have a product that fulfils all our customers’ wishes and we are confident that everyone who purchases the ADA128 will be delighted with it.”
The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, which has been using Prism Sound ADA-8XR converters, will now be switching to the ADA-128. Other early adopters include the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, NHK in Japan, Dean Street Studios for its new Dolby Atmos room, and acclaimed producer Jess Jackson who plans to install ADA-128 in his own studio in the USA.