Published 4/8/08
Future Proofing Mobile I/Os
When Metric Halo launched their Mobile I/O Firewire audio interfaces in the early 2000s, they promised the range would remain “future proof”, thanks to a “field-upgradeable, programmable audio engine”. And they seem to be keeping to their word. The latest releases from the company are upgrades that bring to the Mobile I/O devices (some of which are now up to seven years old) a number of new features that give them functionality to rival modern interfaces. The upgrades are compatible with all currently available Metric Halo interfaces: the 2882, the 2882+DSP, the ULN2, and the ULN2+DSP.
Right now, you may be thinking that these updates involve a firmware download, to ‘tune’ some settings inside the hardware’s brain. But you’d be wrong. If you want to upgrade, you’ll be sent a whole new circuit board (called the 2D card), plus a screwdriver. All you have to do is slot the board in the chassis of your old interface, and connect up some cables, and off you go!
Major benefits of the new cards include a five-fold increase in DSP power, a more stable clock, and a new plug-in called Character, which runs on the on-board DSP and can be inserted on the hardware’s inputs and outputs using a software interface. There’s also new ADAT implementation, which may surprise ULN2 users, since there is no ADAT connectivity on existing ULN interfaces; upgrading with the 2D card gives the ULN2 interfaces an extra eight inputs and outputs! With 2D-expanded 2882-based interfaces, which did previously feature ADAT connections, users will now have the ability to transmit and receive S/PDIF data over the optical Toslink connections.
Aside from the hardware update, there’s a new version of the MIO console software that comes bundled with the Mobile I/O interfaces. Version five of the software has a fresh new look, and is, according to Metric Halo, easier to use than the previous version of the software.
Metric Halo also claim that, with the v5 software, users can achieve internal round-trip latency figures as low as 0.7ms (measured when sampling at 96kHz), meaning input signals go into the interface, through any DSP, and back out of the interface, in the same time as it takes sound to travel less than a foot through the air. Monitoring through a DAW host incurs slightly more delay (2.6ms, according to the manufacturers), although this will be indistinguishable by the human ear.
The 2D card can be purchased from Metric Halo’s web site, but also from dealers around the world. In the UK, the 2D card for the 2882 interfaces cost £269, while an upgrade for a ULN2 will set you back £375. ‘Expanded’ versions of the Mobile I/O interfaces, which have been factory fitted with the 2D card, are also available.
SCV London +44 (0)208 418 1470
www.scvlondon.co.uk
www.mhlabs.com
When Metric Halo launched their Mobile I/O Firewire audio interfaces in the early 2000s, they promised the range would remain “future proof”, thanks to a “field-upgradeable, programmable audio engine”. And they seem to be keeping to their word. The latest releases from the company are upgrades that bring to the Mobile I/O devices (some of which are now up to seven years old) a number of new features that give them functionality to rival modern interfaces. The upgrades are compatible with all currently available Metric Halo interfaces: the 2882, the 2882+DSP, the ULN2, and the ULN2+DSP.
Right now, you may be thinking that these updates involve a firmware download, to ‘tune’ some settings inside the hardware’s brain. But you’d be wrong. If you want to upgrade, you’ll be sent a whole new circuit board (called the 2D card), plus a screwdriver. All you have to do is slot the board in the chassis of your old interface, and connect up some cables, and off you go!
Major benefits of the new cards include a five-fold increase in DSP power, a more stable clock, and a new plug-in called Character, which runs on the on-board DSP and can be inserted on the hardware’s inputs and outputs using a software interface. There’s also new ADAT implementation, which may surprise ULN2 users, since there is no ADAT connectivity on existing ULN interfaces; upgrading with the 2D card gives the ULN2 interfaces an extra eight inputs and outputs! With 2D-expanded 2882-based interfaces, which did previously feature ADAT connections, users will now have the ability to transmit and receive S/PDIF data over the optical Toslink connections.
Aside from the hardware update, there’s a new version of the MIO console software that comes bundled with the Mobile I/O interfaces. Version five of the software has a fresh new look, and is, according to Metric Halo, easier to use than the previous version of the software.
Metric Halo also claim that, with the v5 software, users can achieve internal round-trip latency figures as low as 0.7ms (measured when sampling at 96kHz), meaning input signals go into the interface, through any DSP, and back out of the interface, in the same time as it takes sound to travel less than a foot through the air. Monitoring through a DAW host incurs slightly more delay (2.6ms, according to the manufacturers), although this will be indistinguishable by the human ear.
The 2D card can be purchased from Metric Halo’s web site, but also from dealers around the world. In the UK, the 2D card for the 2882 interfaces cost £269, while an upgrade for a ULN2 will set you back £375. ‘Expanded’ versions of the Mobile I/O interfaces, which have been factory fitted with the 2D card, are also available.
SCV London +44 (0)208 418 1470
www.scvlondon.co.uk
www.mhlabs.com
