Ensoniq Ships SCSI-II Interface for ASR-XENSONIQ makes loading and saving samples to the ASR-X a breeze with new SCSI-II interface. September 24, 1997
ENSONIQ Corp announced this week that it has started
shipping the SP-5 SCSI-II interface for the ASR-X.
The SP-5 interface is a user installable SCSI-II interface for the
popular ASR-X. It is easy to install and easy to use. It allows for
the loading and saving of samples, sequences, sessions and system setup
files to and from DOS-formatted SCSI disks.
The SP-5 SCSI interface will ship with version 2 software, which will
allows the ASR-X to Import ASR-10/88, Roland S-770 and Akai S-1000
samples from SCSI devices such as CD-ROM drives. Once loaded, these
sounds behave just like other standard ASR-X sounds: they can be played,
edited or saved to disk. Another version 2 feature lets the user save
custom quantization templates to disk as part of a SYSTEMSETUP file,
allowing the user to always have their favorite quantization setups
available.
The ASR-X is a SCSI-II device, which is a faster, second-generation
version of the original SCSI protocol. The SP-5 SCSI option takes
advantage of the ASR-X SCSI-II protocol, increasing load times to 2000%
over floppy disks. The SP-5 also makes saving big files much easier.
With an SP-5 SCSI interface installed, the ASR-X can be connected to a
large array of SCSI devices, and a mechanism is provided that allows
users to select the particular device they want to use during any
disk-related activities. Specifically; specifying a load device from
which data can be loaded, a save device to which data can be saved, and
a device from where the subject of disk utility operations occur. This
spares the user from having to constantly re-select devices when they
want to load a file from one device and save it to another.
The ASR-X with SP-5 allows users to create folders from which data can
be saved and organized to any connected writable SCSI disk. In
addition, the ASR-X creates a set of folders into which the various
ASR-X file types are automatically saved, including: BANKS, SESSION,
WAVES, SEQUENCE & SOUNDS.
The ASR-X's disk utilities have been expanded to include new
SCSI-related commands that allows users to format writable SCSI disks,
reset a confused SCSI bus and invoke write-protection for SCSI devices
that support this feature, such as Iomega's Zip and Jaz drives. This
allows the user to set a software parameter that will prevent the
accidental writing of data to the selected disk. Additional
improvements included user selectable SCSI ID numbers and auto polling
of the SCSI bus.
The SP-5 is also compatible with a wide variety of drives including the
Zip, Jaz, EZ 230 and Syjet, and just like the ASR-X floppy, the disk
format is DOS, making it compatible with Mac or PC computers.
The SP-5 has a U.S. Suggested Retail Price of $229.00 (US)
Headquartered outside of Philadelphia, PA, ENSONIQ Corp. is a leader in
designing and
manufacturing innovative sound products based on its advanced, custom
microchip technology.
It is one of only 100 companies worldwide with the ability to design
fully-custom microchips in-house. ENSONIQ provides consumers with
genuine breakthrough technology at affordable prices for products
including professional recording, musical instruments, signal
processors, and multimedia hardware. For more information, visit their web site at www.ensoniq.com. | 
