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Universal Audio has announced the Apollo 16 Thunderbolt-ready audio interface.

Delivering world-class conversion with 16×16 analog I/O, this uncompromising FireWire/Thunderbolt-ready interface combines superior sound and flexible routing with powerful onboard UAD-2 QUAD processing. With its professional DB-25 connectivity and multi-unit cascading for up to 32×32 analog I/O, Apollo 16 sets a new standard in high-resolution recording with classic analog sound.

“Building on the success of the original Apollo interface, the Apollo 16 is our flagship audio converter,” says Bill Putnam Jr., Universal Audio founder and CEO. “Its sound quality and scalability make it ideal for pairing with mixing consoles and outboard preamps, and the ability to track through UAD plug-ins in real time provides powerful sonic options for professional studios.”

Building upon decades of UA hardware expertise, Apollo 16 features meticulous analog circuit design, top-end converters, and DC-coupled outputs — providing the lowest THD and highest dynamic range of any converter in its class. Apollo 16′s deep, wide soundstage and exceptionally open and transparent sound makes it the ideal centerpiece for professional recording facilities.

With its standard UAD-2 QUAD processing onboard, Apollo 16 allows real time processing with UAD Powered Plug-Ins — with as low as sub-2ms latency — so recordists can monitor, audition, and “print” audio through stunning analog emulations from Ampex, Lexicon, Manley, Neve, Roland, SSL, Studer, and more. Apollo 16′s onboard UAD processing is also available during mixing and mastering, so that music producers can employ UAD plug-ins (VST, RTAS, AU) throughout the creative process.

Apollo 16 boasts straightforward 16×16 analog I/O via convenient DB-25 connections. Two Apollo 16 units can be cascaded over MADI for an expanded system with eight UAD processors and 32×32 simultaneous analog I/O, capable of handling large professional mixes. Dedicated XLR monitor outputs and stereo AES-EBU digital I/O round out the Apollo 16′s rear-panel audio connections.

Apollo 16′s routing capabilities include four stereo cue mixes with individually assignable outputs, and a new “Virtual I/O” feature that allows for Realtime UAD Processing of DAW tracks and virtual instruments.

Apollo 16 also offers compatibility with Intel’s high-bandwidth Thunderbolt technology on Macs via a user-installable dual-port Thunderbolt Option Card (sold separately). Thunderbolt provides greater UAD plug-in instances, improved performance at high sample rates, and reduced UAD plug-in latency in the DAW versus Apollo’s standard FireWire connection.

The Apollo 16 is expect to ship in Q2 2013, with an estimated street price of $2,999 USD. Apollo’s Thunderbolt Option Card is now available for an estimated street price of $499 USD.

More information: Universal Audio / Apollo 16

Steinberg has announced the upcoming release of its highly acclaimed audio editing and mastering suite, WaveLab 8, alongside the smaller derivative, WaveLab Elements 8.

WaveLab 8 features a brand-new speaker management system, loudness metering and processing, single-window plug-in management, a master control panel, iZotope’s MBIT+ master dither, Voxengo’s CurveEQ, brickwall limiter and tube compressor, SuperClips, metadata support and over 150 improvements to its user interface and comprehensive tool set.

“The eighth generation of WaveLab clearly shows that we continue to invest in providing the highest level of quality, reflected in the wealth of enhancements to existing features while bringing new, advanced mastering and restoration tools by Steinberg, iZotope, Voxengo and Sonnox to mastering studios around the world,” said Timo Wildenhain, product marketing manager at Steinberg. “I think it’s safe to say that WaveLab is the number-one mastering software for Mac and PC on the market today.”

WaveLab 8 introduces a new speaker management system to its many indispensable features, providing maximum flexibility with up to eight-loudspeaker configurations.

Observing EBU R-128 compliance, WaveLab includes loudness metering for momentary, short-term and integrated values, true peak support and enhanced loudness and batch processing tools that meet EBU standards.

With the MBIT+ master dither developed by the engineers at iZotope, WaveLab now features a sophisticated set of word-length reduction algorithms for dithering and noise shaping. The second plug-in highlight is Voxengo’s linear-phase spline equalizer, CurveEQ, which matches and transfers a spectrum’s shape from one recording to another. More plug-ins newly introduced to WaveLab 8 are Steinberg’s Brickwall Limiter and Tube Compressor for extra punch and rich tone.

Workflow improvements see a polished user interface for easy operation, a brand-new master transport panel to expedite navigating through the project, single-window plug-in management that allows users to sort plug-ins by manufacturer, category or preference. Audio Montage now offers a new Master Plug-in Section for local storing of plug-in chains alongside SuperClip capability to combine multiple clips.

WaveLab 8 delivers professional editing tools that facilitate the audio editing in many ways: volume clip handles with raise selection adjust levels of individual selections conveniently, Track Lock to prevent accidental modifications, new trim and split options, auto-replay, improved processing via key commands and much more.

Many other improvements include extensive metadata support for creating and exposing valuable information on audio files, 16-bit floating-point zoom resolution for precise waveform display, refined marker handling and batch processing plus an overhauled in-app help system.

Steinberg will also be releasing WaveLab Elements 8, a smaller version of WaveLab, with its studio-grade Brickwall Limiter, Tube Compressor, a new transport panel, enhanced editing tools and track effects. Quality waveform resolution, an enhanced Audio Montage, metadata support and many other great improvements make WaveLab Elements 8 a powerful, and very affordable, audio editing application.

WaveLab 8 features

• Top-end audio editing and mastering solution, acclaimed by numerous professionals around the globe.
• Innovative workspace concept for utmost flexibility and efficiency.
• Powerful speaker management system: intuitive handling of up to eight different loudspeaker setups.
• Advanced EBU R-128-compliant loudness metering, including a loudness graph, loudness meta normalizing and true peak support.
• iZotope MBIT+ high-end master dither for adding a warm and natural flair to every nuance of your audio files.
• Single-window plug-in management.
• Voxengo CurveEQ, Brickwall Limiter and Tube Compressor for mastering-grade audio quality.
• Master Transport Panel for quick and easy project navigation.
• Enhanced editing workflow with volume clip handles, auto-replay option and single-click audio file processing.
• New SuperClip concept, master plug-in section and drag-and-drop support for files of any sample rate.
• Metadata support for a broad number of file formats.
• 150+ improvements to user interface, editing, batch processing, in-app help system and many others.

WaveLab 8 and WaveLab Elements 8 will be available from May 2013 for a suggested retail price of 549 EUR and 99.99 EUR respectively. Prices including German VAT. WaveLab 8 Trial will be available as download through the Steinberg website and requires the USB-eLicenser.

More information: Steinberg / WaveLab 8

Avid has announced version 11 of Pro Tools, the latest version of the digital audio workstation for Windows and Mac.

The most powerful digital audio workstation just got more powerful.

With an all-new, ultra-efficient audio engine, 64-bit performance, and groundbreaking capabilities, Pro Tools 11 enables you to take on the most complex and demanding music and audio post productions with ease, so you can focus on sounding your best.

Avid’s Pro Tools 11 allows working directly with HD video.

New in Pro Tools 11

• Fully redesigned audio engine and 64-bit architecture
  • New Avid Audio Engine — Delivers multiple times the processing power of Pro Tools 10 on the same hardware configurations.
  • 64-bit architecture — Exponentially increases the number of simultaneous virtual instruments and the performance to handle the most sophisticated sessions.
  • Offline bounce — Delivers mixes up to 150 times faster than real time.
  • Low-latency input buffer — Ensures ultra-low latency record monitoring without sacrificing plug-in performance.
  • Dynamic host processing — Maximizes plug-in count by reallocating processing resources as needed.
• Expanded metering
  • Extended standards support — Features a broad range of built-in metering standards, from peak and average to VU and PPM, to maintain adherence to regional broadcast requirements.
  • Gain reduction — Shows gain reduction for all dynamics plug-ins on each channel.
• Direct HD video workflows
  • Built-in Avid Video Engine — Enables audio post professionals to play and edit a wide range of HD video formats includingAvid DNxHD®, directly in the Pro Tools timeline without transcoding, using the same core engine as in Media Composer®.
  • Video interface support — Enables monitoring of DNxHD and QuickTime media through Avid Nitris® DX, Avid Mojo® DX, and other video interfaces.

Avid is offering an in-depth walkthrough of Pro Tools 11 in its online event and live Q&A on Monday, April 8th, 2013, 6:00 pm PT/9:00 pm ET.

Pro Tools 11 and Pro Tools HD 11 will be available in in Q2 2013.

More information: Avid / Pro Tools 11

SKYLIFE has announced the release of SampleRobot Single-X for Mac OS X.

With SampleRobot Single-X musicians and sound designers can create professional sample sets and transfer their instruments easily to the digital domain. One can also turn virtual instruments into multi-samples for hardware sample players and workstations.

SampleRobot Single-X offers a lot of sophisticated sampling and auto-loop features from his award-winning brother SampleRobot Pro. Single-X stands for „Single Export Format“ and is appropriate if using mostly one sampler type and therefore only one export format is needed.

These different export format options are available: Wave, Kontakt and Reason, Alchemy, Soundfont 2, Blofeld, HALion, WusikStation, SFZ / Dimension

For precise audio loop editing and advanced auto processing SampleRobot Single-X can be combined with SKYLIFE WaveRobot as an upgrade.

SampleRobot Single-X now includes installers for Apple OS X (Mountain Lion, Lion & Snow Leopard) as well as Microsoft Windows (8, 7, Vista & XP).

Changes in SampleRobot 4.51

• New SKYLIFE server connection for registration and online content.
• Mac: New installers for OS X fully compatible with OS 10.8, including a new framework with many optimizations and speed advantages, streamlined recording processes and path architecture, combined with enhanced support for various audio interfaces.
• PC: Enhanced support for Windows 8 including a new virtual interface. SampleRobot can be connected to the SKYLIFE SampleRobot Instrument Host which will be released shortly. In conjunction with the SKYLIFE SampleRobot Virtual Cable this virtual interface has the ability to sample virtual instruments and all audio streams that play on the same computer like web radio, music streams and other media data (abiding by relevant copyright laws and license agreements).
  SKYLIFE SampleRobot Virtual Cable + Instrument Host is a discrete product that can be used in conjunction with SampleRobot as well as independently with other applications. The download will be available soon on the SKYLIFE STORE.

SampleRobot Single-X for Windows and Mac is available to purchase for $59 USD / 49 EUR / £39 GBP. A bundle with WaveRobot costs $129 USD / 99 EUR / £85 GBP.

More information: SKYLIFE / SampleRobot Single-X

Muse Research & Development has announced the availability of RECEPTOR TRIO and QU4TTRO, the latest additions to its line of dedicated hardware plug-in players.

The first generation RECEPTOR caught on quickly among touring professionals, and since then, thousands of RECEPTORS have played the stages of the finest venues all over the world, covering all styles of music, operating in all kinds of conditions from the frozen tundras of Canada to the sweltering deserts of Dubai. The world’s biggest bands and most famous performers are using RECEPTOR.

The RECEPTOR TRIO and QU4TTRO take RECEPTOR technology to the next level. These are our most powerful Receptors ever; the easiest-to-use Receptors ever, and they also has the most flexible I/O capability of any Receptor ever.

The Receptor QU4TTRO offers more power & flexibility.

• RECEPTOR TRIO & QU4TTRO have Muse R&D’s proprietary Tetra-Core™ technology — With Tetra-Core processing, your plugins are dynamically balanced between the CPU cores with priority given to making music, not graphics or other less-important tasks.
• All RECEPTORs utilizes Muse R&D’s rack-oriented UI with LIVE MODE — First introduced with RECEPTOR VIP, the new Rack-mode UI and LIVE MODE are far simpler than the older Receptor UI, and are winning acclaim from players and reviewers alike.
• RECEPTOR TRIO & QU4TTRO feature the most flexible I/O of any Receptor — With 8 analog inputs, 8 analog outputs, ADAT digital output, and SPIDF output, I/O flexibility steps up to the next level for the RECEPTOR line.

The Muse Research RECEPTOR product line is available through select music retailers in the US and Canada, as well as through music equipment distributors worldwide.

The Muse Research dealer network from within the United States offers the products at the minimum advertised prices of $1,699 USD (RECEPTOR VIP), $2,499 USD (RECEPTOR TRIO), and $2,999 USD (RECEPTOR QU4TTRO). International distributors set their own pricing for their respective territories. If there is no stocking retailer in your area, a RECEPTOR can be configured to your specifications and purchased via the Plugorama.com website (www.plugorama.com), which also offers virtual instruments and effects packages for use with RECEPTOR starting at $29.99 USD.

More information: Muse Research

Roland Kuit has announced To be ON to be OFF- that’s the SWITCH, an interactive electronic book that covers all you can do with switches in modular synthesis.

From a two switch interfaced instrument to creating high-end sequencers. Pattern design, logic 3-bits words chopping to logic waveshaping. Audio processing and more…

The ebook is available to purchase for 30 EUR. Includes the Clavia NMG2 Demo soft synthesizer.

More information: Roland Kuit / To be ON to be OFF