Merging Technoligies Horus AD/DA Convertor

[DGaines]

Using Ravenna technology, Horus brings to the table the possibility to interconnect your entire facility using nothing more than a standard RJ45 connector. Once in Ravenna mode, the Horus box simply becomes a node on a network, one that can be instantly called to be an input, an output, or a combination of both. Whether you are in broadcast, TV and film, CD/SACD mastering, studio or live music recording, live events, theatres, museums, cruise ships, or any industry where you need audio to get from A to B (or A to B and C, or C to A and part of D, E, and F!).

Using standard network connections, switches and connectors, Horus and other Ravenna-enabled devices can be placed on a network and interconnected IN ANY WAY YOU CAN IMAGINE.

"Horus" The Ultimate AD/DA Convertor - YouTube

Merging Technologies

[weelunka]

fantastic news.

[~ufo~]

interesting!

[egoEgo]

go baby go

[Skriabin]

Who did test this good looking interface? How are the AD and DA converters compared to standalone units like Weiss, Prism Dream, Forssell and Lavry Gold?

[imaginaryday]

anyone know the price?

cheers.

[Pr.tiouz]

Does ravena means that you just plug the rj45 to your computer install a driver and bam direct access to the converters in asio and/or core audio form without any more hardware on the computer side ?

[Zoltan]

Originally Posted by Pr.tiouz

Does ravena means that you just plug the rj45 to your computer install a driver and bam direct access to the converters in asio and/or core audio form without any more hardware on the computer side ?

yes it does. Just plug a rj45 in your laptop and there you go.

Kind of thing I am waiting for with Thunderbolt...


I had the chance to see the Horus a year ago when it was still a prototype but couldn't hear it as it was at its early stage of developpement. Anyway, anything from Merging Technologies is very very high quality, so I wouldn't worry about that..

I can't remember what price was announced by Claude as it was a long time ago but I remember there was a possibility to add preamps card and stuff (a bit like the apogee symphony) which will change the price according to the options you choose.

but I would say the horus unit should be about 8000 CHF and the preamps card ~2000 CHF

[bassjam]

That really is AMAZING!

[Googlyman]

Wow, 24 pres and lineIO in one rack via ethernet with AES and MADI... a dream come true

But at what price ? Cant find any price anywhere..

[bassjam]

Originally Posted by Googlyman

Wow, 24 pres and lineIO in one rack via ethernet with AES and MADI... a dream come true

But at what price ? Cant find any price anywhere..

I found a price list but it's in French. I'm pretty sure it's 6000 Swiss francs.

[DGaines]

A fully loaded Horus with 24 analogue I/O with mic pres up to 192kHz is just over $14,000 list. Initial specs are:

Dynamic Range (flat 20Hz-20kHz) better than 123 dB
Dynamic Range (A weighted) typical 126 dB
THD+N, 1 kHz at 0 dBFS better than -114 dB (or 0.0002%)
THD+N, (20Hz-20kHz) at 0 dBFS better than -110 dB
Crosstalk at 1 kHz better than -125 dB

Dennis

[Skriabin]

Originally Posted by DGaines

A fully loaded Horus with 24 analogue I/O with mic pres up to 192kHz is just over $14,000 list. Initial specs are:

Dynamic Range (flat 20Hz-20kHz) better than 123 dB
Dynamic Range (A weighted) typical 126 dB
THD+N, 1 kHz at 0 dBFS better than -114 dB (or 0.0002%)
THD+N, (20Hz-20kHz) at 0 dBFS better than -110 dB
Crosstalk at 1 kHz better than -125 dB

Dennis

How is the quality of the AD and DA conversion compared to Lavry Gold, Weiss, Forssell and Prism Dream? Did you listen to the converters yourself?

[CeretoneAudio]

Im guessing these are DAD converters (digital audio denmark) like all the previous merging stuff

The DAD converters are considered one of the very best converters money can buy

[DGaines]

I have heard some initial recordings and they sounded really good. We'll get our unit mid-march and will have more info then. DAD is in no way involved with Horus. It was in-house designed by Merging Technologies.
Dennis

[Pr.tiouz]

Originally Posted by Zoltan

yes it does. Just plug a rj45 in your laptop and there you go.

i'm still confused on how this could work with common DAW like logic protools cubase... they are talking mass core on the website and no driver or core audio asio compatibility !???

[Googlyman]

What are prices of the base unit and of each of the expansions ?
Does it contain a software mixer allowing creation of monitor sends, cues, submixes etc?
Does it have any FX or saturation effects processing ?

How would it compare to say a setup of 3x the ULN8 ?

[Skriabin]

And how would the Horus compare to the Prism Orpheus in terms of converter quality?

[Silver Sonya]

The most intriguing thing about this for me is DSD multitrack.

- c

[sonicdefault]

^
I concur

My tests with DSD have been substantial evidence, that a DSD converter with a quality analog section is certainly worth considering.


-SD

[DGaines]

There will be a ASIO and Core Audio to Ravenna driver for use with other DAWs than Pyramix. The base unit is $6800, AD cards are $1500 a piece and DA is $1000 a piece up to 192kHz. Horus is just a convertor with no FX or mix capabilities. You would need to Connect a DAW for that. But, it is a router that can send any input to any output in blocks of 8.
Dennis

[Skriabin]

Is there anyone who tried the Horus converters/preamps? I would like to know about the quality. Is it comparable to Prism Orpheus, Metric Halo ULN8, Apogee Symphony and Forssell?

[Skriabin]

Here it is: the full specs and info brochure of the Merging Horus !!!!

http://www.merging.com/uploads/asset...20-%202012.pdf

[LX3]

I'm still unsure how you get of 24 channels of A-D and 24 channels of mic preamps all in a 2U box, and still maintain the quality.

Grace, Millenia, Focusrite, etc need a 2U box just to do an 8-channel preamp. And most 8-channel in 1U preamps get red hot.

Have I missed some amazing change in technology somewhere?...

I'm not saying it can't be done - look at the stage racks for Digico and Midas systems - but can it be done with mic pre quality that's the equivalent of Grace, Millenia, etc?

[Skriabin]

Here is the Horus AD card with 8 AD channels and 8 preamps.

[Skriabin]

Here is an overview of the Horus AD and DA cards.

Merging Technologies

[LX3]

I guess it's a chip-based preamp then? How do these kind of preamps tend to compare to the big name high-end, presumably discrete component preamps?

[LX3]

I did a little research, and if the mic preamp is based on the newest THAT chip (no evidence for that, just a guess), it seems to have the potential for very respectable audio.

And I've got to admit, I'd rather haul 6U of kit onto the stage than my current, er... 24U or so.

Only other thing I'm wondering is how the MADI works. Is there any way of daisy-chaining units to produce one MADI stream? Don't think Ravenna is going to work for me sadly.

[paulo m]

Only other thing I'm wondering is how the MADI works. Is there any way of daisy-chaining units to produce one MADI stream?

As far as I know, yes, you can daisy chain the units through MADI. Meaning that MADI channels that are not converted pass via MADI out to the second unit MADI in, in the chain and so forth.

Even if Ravenna doesn´t suit your setup, using the device as a high end I/O converter is still an option as Horus can be used stand alone. The fact that it has AES, MADI and analogue I/O means most of the possibilities are there for most setups. If your DAW is MADI based, you can convert to AES and analogue and vice versa. If your DAW has AES interfacing, you´re covered too.

For people that have Pyramix or any other devices that accept the Ravenna protocol is even easier, you just connect Horus using a simple CAT6 cable and you´re on.

The fact that you have all those mic preamps built in, doesn´t mean they are not up to the task, considering the price. Comparing that to other high end manufacturers that for the same price or more have only 8 preamps per unit is not a great comparison IMO. Don´t forget that it´s not only the preamp circuits that need to be considered, there´s the power supplies, the chassis, the interface connectors, the knobs etc that build the price of a unit. Somehow Merging got to integrate the preamps in the design and still keep the price at a competitive level. It´s nothing new anyway, if you take a look at the Sphynx2 converter, build under Merging´s specs by DAD, or if you even consider the DAD´s AX24, which is basically the same unit with a diferent colour panel, the 8 preamps are an option for a fraction of the price of the base unit. I got mine´s around 1000 euros, while the converter itself costed in the region of 10000 euros.
The pre amps in these units are considered one of the most transparent in the market. I can agree on that, as I have a unit. They are not everybody´s preamps though. If you want sonic colouration, you better go somewhere else. This preamps are meant to be transparent and faithfull to the source.
So, coming from where it comes, I don´t think Merging would settle for less, the same being said for the converter quality.

[DAW PLUS]

Originally Posted by LX3

Only other thing I'm wondering is how the MADI works. Is there any way of daisy-chaining units to produce one MADI stream? Don't think Ravenna is going to work for me sadly.

Originally Posted by paulo m

As far as I know, yes, you can daisy chain the units through MADI. Meaning that MADI channels that are not converted pass via MADI out to the second unit MADI in, in the chain and so forth.

Correct.