SADiE, the UK based digital workstation specialists announced several new products at last weekend’s AES Convention including a new 8 Channel DSD Mastering and Authoring System that allows the editing and mastering of DSD material while remaining in the DSD domain. The new system is part of SADiE’s new Version 5 Hardware and Software product line.
SADiE System 5 Hardware and Software
SADiE’s new System 5 systems will replace the current System 4 SADiE product line. Included in the new product line are 4 channel and 8 channel PCM workstations (the PCM4 and PCM8) as well as 2 channel and 8 channel DSD workstations (the DSD2 and DSD8).
According to officials at SADiE, the previous SADiE user interface has undergone a number of enhancements including some major changes to the appearance of the mixer and playlist. These changes reflect the revised styling of the new Series 5 systems. Users who have experience with SADiE System 4 can select the prior SADiE look and feel as an option.
Two Mastering and Authoring Systems for DSD
In March, SADiE introduced a 2 Channel DSD Editing System as part of their Version 4 digital workstation series. This 2 Channel DSD Editing System has been in use at several sites for the last several months. With the introduction of SADiE Version 5, the 2 Channel DSD Editing System will go into full release laster this month as part of the SADiE Version 5 product release.
The SADiE DSD2 is the entry-level model of the SADiE Series 5 DSD Mastering and Authoring System products. It is capable of full editing and mastering of stereo 64fs DSD signals. The DSD2 also incorporates full authoring facilities for the Super Audio CD format to produce both Scarlet Book cutting masters for SACD and Red Book masters for CD mastering.
SADiE officials stated that the integrity of the 64fs DSD signal is fully maintained throughout editing operations performed on the DSD2 workstation. Multiband Annex D&E metering of DSD signals is fully integrated for accurate visual monitoring of the DSD signals.
The new SADiE DSD8 is an 8 Channel DSD mastering and authoring system. It also serves as a powerful 8-channel PCM/CD mastering editor in addition to its DSD functionality.
As with the DSD2 stereo editing system, the DSD8 is capable of full editing and mastering of 64fs DSD signals. The DSD8 also incorporates full Super Audio CD (SACD) authoring facilities to produce both Scarlet Book cutting masters for SACD and Red Book masters for CD. DST compression tools, necessary for the production of multi-channel SACD masters, are fully integrated and up to 8 channels of DSD material may be handled simultaneously.
The DSD8 will incorporate the new base hardware platform and extended capabilities of the DSD2 stereo version, but will be capable of simultaneous recording of 8 tracks plus replay of 8 edited tracks (16 streams) of DSD material, alongside the PCM streams required for control of DSD processing. The integrity of the 64fs DSD signal is fully maintained throughout the editing and signal processing operation.
Multi-band Annex D&E metering of the DSD signals is completely integrated for accurate visual monitoring of the DSD signals.
Basic mixer functions in the DSD8 will provide the equivalent of a four-band EQ per strip, plus control of Dynamics, Level, and panning.
Other features of the DSD8 include full DST encoding, 8 channels of aux send/return for external processing, optional additional 64fs processing modules, PCM operation at rates up to 24 bit/192kHz, down conversion to 16 bit PCM for Hybrid CD layer and up conversion of PCM material to DSD for remastering of back catalog recordings.
The SADiE DSD8 Multichannel DSD Mastering Editor is aimed at high-end mastering applications with high-throughput requirements for the production of CD and Super Audio CD releases. The editor will be supplied as a complete turnkey system with an optional AIT drive and Adaptec SCSI bus. Purchasers of the DSD2 will be offered an attractive upgrade path to the DSD8 workstation.
SADiE managing director Joe Bull noted,
“The customer reaction to the original SADiE Stereo Super Audio CD Mastering Editor has exceeded all of our expectations. We already have several systems in the field with key customers producing masters for this exciting new format. With the introduction of the DSD8 multi-channel version, we have responded to industry demand for a comprehensive 64fs DSD editor that encompasses all of the tools necessary for creating both surround and stereo masters for the SACD format, under the control of the mastering engineer. By including full PCM editing capability supporting up to eight channels of 192kHz I/O, this is surely the ultimate mastering tool offering total system solutions to mastering facilities across the world.”
Availability
As noted above, the new SADiE System 5, DSD2 2 Channel DSD Mastering and Authoring System will be available later this month.
The new SADiE System 5, DSD8 Multichannel DSD Mastering and Authoring System is scheduled for release in February 2003.