DIGIDESIGN AUDIO MEDIA III

BY J. ARIF VERNER

New from Digidesign is Audiomedia III. When combined with Digidesign audio applications or other compatible software, this card turns your computer into a hard disk recording system. A maximum of four tracks can be recorded at once. Playback can handle up to eight tracks. Supported sample rates include 11.025 kHz, 22.05 kHz, 44.1 kHz and 48 kHz. Internal DSP is 24 bits.

This card can be used with any PCI­based computer-Power Macintosh or Windows operating systems. However, you'll need a clock speed of 75 MHz or better. Installation is a standard process with a 7" card slot. Digital UO supports only S/PDIF connectors and the analog UO are ­10dBV unbalanced RCA. At the heart of the board is a Motorola 56002 DSP chip.

Configuring the Audiomedia III is a bit simpler on the Mac than on the PC. For PC users, the application software will determine which drivers to install (or rather what drivers are available). For example, Cakewalk Pro Audio does not support Digidesign's real­time audio operating system (DAE). And until an upgrade addresses this issue, Cakewalk users will need to install the Digidesign Wave driver. Unfortunately, this limits the playback functions during recording and overdubbing. Wave driver along with several other PC files are included on a supplemental disk. On the plus side, the PC manages memory better, therefore less RAM is needed. Specifically, PC users can get by with 8 MB with 16 MB preferred. The Mac needs 16 MB while 24 MB is preferred. Windows 95 users will be glad to know that the Audiomedia III is a Plug and Play device.

My test system consisted of a Power Mac 7500 at 100 MHz with 16 MB of RAM. Mark of the Unicorn's Digital Performer 1.7 was the audio application software. And to my surprise, it didn't work! As it turns out, there wasn't enough RAM. Apparently Mac's System 7.5.3 is a heavy duty RAM guzzler. I purchased another 16 MB for about $100 (yes, prices have really dropped). This gave me a total of 32 MB-and everyone was happy.

Connections to a studio environment are straightforward (no pun intended). The simplest configuration would be digital ins and outs to a DAT recorder while the left and right analog connectors go to the mixing board. You'll probably need RCA to 1/4" cables to the mixer. Larger project studios will opt for an audio patch bay for their connections. This allows for a greater degree of routing control with a more complex equipment setup.

In the past, the Audiomedia cards have not enjoyed a reputation for high­end AIDIA conversion. With release III, there is a 1­bit Delta­Sigma at 128x oversampling with an 18­bit output. The general consensus is that the new cards sound a lot better than the older ones. However, we did not have an older card to A­B the difference.

Another way to get around the conversion process is to use your own converters. This can be as simple as routing the signal through your favorite DAT or sampler before going into the Audiomedia III card. Aficionados will more than likely use their own dedicated converters anyway. In my own studio tests, I dubbed a CD through the analog outs via the Audiomedia III into Digital Performer. I bypassed the board entirely. To my surprise, the sound quality was excellent - I was really blown away. It was very difficult to tell the difference between the source material and the dub!

Digidesign’s own application programs include Session Software for Mac and PC and their flagship Mac application, Pro Tools. Other audio sequencers that integrate with Audiomedia III include Emagic’s Logic Audio, Opcode’s Studio Vision Pro and Steinberg’s CuBase Audio. Depending upon the application program, Audiomedia III also provides digital mixing features like dynamic automation of gain, pan and parametric equalization. I found that Digital Performer had no trouble handling these chores.

On the down side, Audiomedia III can’t lock to SMPTE or Video Slave Drivers. However, it can lock to MIDI Time Code. In addition, there are no balanced AES/EBU connectors and it doesn’t support TDM plug-ins. If any of these concerns are a priority, forget the Audiomedia III and look at Digidesign’s 882 or 888 hardware interfaces. They are a step up in quality and price. However, if your studio needs are in the $795 price range, you can’t go wrong with the Audiomedia III. It sounds great. Just make sure your hardware and software configurations are properly matched.