Apogee Announces Yamaha-Compatible A/D & D/A Cards

October 2, 1999 -- Apogee Electronics Corporation has announced the development of two 8-channel digital conversion cards to be compatible with current and future Yamaha professional audio products, including both the 02R digital mixer and Yamaha products incorporating the newer YGDAI (Yamaha General Digital Audio Interface) card slots.

The two Apogee cards are the AP8AD 8-channel A/D conversion card, and the AP8DA 8-channel D/A card, and they conform to the YGDAI format. They are supplied with an extender card which enables them to be used in Yamaha products such as the popular 02R digital mixer, which include slots for the older, longer card types. The only converter cards currently available for the 02R are 20-bit types, and an eight channel card occupies two slots. The Apogee cards occupy only a single slot and thus free up slots for other applications such as interface cards, and make it possible for the 02R to accept up to 56 input sources. In addition they offer Apogee’s conversion quality and features such as Apogee’s proprietary SoftLimit® circuitry.

The extender card can be detached, so that in the event that an 02R owner upgrades to a unit with YGDAI slots, the same cards can be used. Products utilizing the YGDAI card slots or cages include the 01V digital mixer and the recently-released D24 MO recorder, with other products to follow.

The converters on the new cards are based on the popular 24-bit design featured in Apogee’s AD-8000, and include 44.1 and 48 kHz sampling. Provision is made for a future upgrade to include 88.2 and 96 kHz sampling. In addition the A/D features Apogee’s Soft Limit for adding up to 6 dB extra punch to digital recordings without distortion. Soft Limit can be selected on a per-channel basis. Three operating levels are jumper-selectable, including –10 dBV plus –14 and –20 dBFS.

Apogee’s CEO, Betty Bennett, said, “We are very excited about our developing relationship with Yamaha Commercial Audio. Yamaha has an unparalleled product line in our industry, and we are very pleased to have been able to work together on this project.

“This is a very important decision for Apogee,” Bennett went on, “as our conversion technology has not previously been made available for digital consoles. Yamaha is the first console manufacturer to date who will have access to Apogee conversion technology.”

List prices for the cards are to be announced. The cards will be distributed by Apogee.

For more information, visit Apogee on the web at www.apogeedigital.com.