LIO-8 front panel. Click for a larger image.

MUNICH, GERMANY: Today, Metric Halo announced the immediate availability of the new LIO-8 multichannel A/D/A converter, processor and interface. Based on Metric Halo’s ULN-8 technology platform, the LIO-8 is perfect for the audio professional that needs archival quality conversion, processing and interfacing. Equally at home in a mastering suite, mix suite or in a recording studio with external preamps, the LIO-8 provides conversion performance that is as stunning as that provided by the ULN-8.

According to Joe Buchalter, President of Metric Halo, “After we introduced the ULN-8, we got a lot of feedback from the professional audio community: It sounds fantastic, it’s incredibly powerful, it’s a great value and I wish I could get it without the mic pres! – For a variety of reasons, many folks do not need the preamps that we built into the ULN-8, but wanted to take advantage of the exceptional conversion and interfacing. For example, some engineers already have a collection of great preamps or a great console, and other engineers have no need for preamps at all in their mastering and edit suites. So we built the LIO-8 for these folks – a product that provides the exceptional ULN-8 conversion, mixing and interfacing without the expense and power requirements of the preamp section – increasing the value proposition for those who don’t need built-in pres.”

Everything You Need, Nothing You Don’t

The LIO-8 includes Metric Halo’s 2d Signal Processing bundle of essential signal processing plug-ins as a standard feature; the full +DSP plug-in suite can be added at any time via a software license (or as with all Metric Halo products, can temporarily acquire a +DSP license while being used in a larger system with any other +DSP licensed unit). The LIO-8 is not just built on the same platform as the ULN-8 — it can become one. Following in Metric Halo’s longstanding commitment to Future-Proof products, users can add ULN-R mic preamps to the LIO-8 after purchase in either 4 or 8 channels blocks. The LIO-8 can also be ordered with 4 or 8 ULN-R preamps at the time of initial purchase.

Suite Solution

With everything you need to record, mix, process, and master audio (just add your DAW of choice, transducers and, if needed, preamps), the LIO-8 is your one-stop solution for editing, mixing and mastering suites. Even if you are using a DAW or recording system that does not support the LIO-8 FireWire interface, the unit's standalone operation and standard AES and analog interfaces allow you to use it as the Audio Front End and Monitor Controller for Pro Tools, standalone and PC-based recording systems.

LIO-8 FEATURES INCLUDE

• Eight channels of archival quality, zero-phase distortion DC-coupled, calibrated 192k A/D
• Ten channels of archival quality, zero-phase distortion DC-coupled, calibrated 192k D/A
• Two channels of exceptional ultra high-Z direct input for instruments
• 8in/8out 192k AES interface
• Full-featured front panel tactile control surface for standalone and connected operation
• Eight channels of analog domain send (active split before conversion)
• Metric Halo's exclusive per-channel selectable Character
• Word clock in and out
• Digitally-controlled analog domain monitor control
• Full-featured fifteen segment precision metering
• SMPTE I/O channels
• MIDI I/O for direct connect of Mackie control protocol control surface
• Integrated mixing and deep instantiable DSP processing w/basic plug-in bundle
• Rock-solid stability - mature, real-world-tested firmware, & time-tested fifth-generation Mac OS software and drivers
• FireWire interfacing with ultra-stable, ultra low-latency drivers (FW400 & FW800 supported)
• Exceptional power performance (only 25 watts - DC powerable)
• Low mass (5.7 lbs. / 2.6 kg.)
• Extremely compact (everything in 1 RU)
• Rack-mountable

Jack-Of-All-Trades And Master Of Them All

LIO-8 back panel. Click for a larger image.

The LIO-8 is a modern conversion system. Combining world-class conversion and interfacing, the LIO-8 provides mastering room, archival quality conversion at multichannel prices. From a quality perspective, the LIO-8 provides a complete mastering toolkit - ready to drive a mastering suite. With transparent converters (A/D/A conversion is inaudible) and transparent reciprocal processing, the LIO-8 provides a load-in, monitoring and processing interface for any mastering suite. Eight channels of conversion and AES interfacing allow for multiple analog and digital processing signal chains as well as monitoring and processing in surround. If more analog processing chains are required, additional LIO-8s may be added. The LIO-8 can also be combined with ULN-8, 2882 and ULN-2 units in a complete recording system.

The integrated mixer in the LIO-8 is not a mere cue mixer. It is a complete digital console with mono to 7.1 bus support, monitor control section, instantiable delay-compensated processing with full delay-compensated send and return support in the mixer. Not only can you mix monitor mixes for performers with essentially zero latency, you can also mix the show live for an immediate stereo reference.

At mix down time, utilize the acclaimed mixing and processing engine in the LIO-8 as your ultra-high-quality digital outboard summing system. Or, if you are an analog-summing aficionado, you can use the exceptional converters in the LIO-8 to drive your analog summing bus and capture the results. The LIO-8 A/D/A is penalty free. But as many engineers have discovered, the exceptional mix-bus quality of the 2d Mix engine coupled with MH's exclusive Character processing may leave you wondering why you would go to the trouble to use an analog summing bus, as it is already in the LIO-8.

Best Performance, Best Price

Simply put, the LIO-8 represents the best value in pro audio today. The combination of quality, features and price puts the LIO-8 in a class of its own. The LIO-8 has an MSRP of US $3,995, and is available immediately from Metric Halo and its world-wide distribution channel.