Internationally renowned manufacturer Prism Sound is bringing its high performance audio technology to an even wider audience with the launch of Lyra, a brand new family of interfaces aimed at musicians, composers, project studio owners, DJs, re-mixers and other audio content producers such as radio and podcasting. It is also anticipated that high-end home audio enthusiasts will find the USB interface and stereo configuration with digital volume control an attractive package.
Lyra, which will make its debut at the 2012 AES Convention in San Francisco, is based on the award-winning and critically acclaimed Orpheus interface. With Lyra, music recording professionals can access the power and sophistication of the Orpheus audio path and clock circuitry, but in a smaller package and at a much improved price point.
“Lyra connects seamlessly with both Macs and PCs via a simple USB interface,” says Graham Boswell, Sales and Marketing Director for Prism Sound. “For recording professionals who don’t need eight channels of analogue I/O, Lyra is the perfect interface because it allows them to access Prism Sound quality in a convenient package and at an affordable price."
Prism Sound, which plans to launch a number of different variants of Lyra, has started the ball rolling with Lyra 1 and Lyra 2. Both incorporate new ARM Cortex-based ‘Xcore’ processor design offering class-compliant USB interfacing, plus DSP and a low latency ‘console-quality’ digital mixer for foldback monitoring. Both products also have optical SPDIF capability and Lyra 2 also supports ADAT.
Lyra 1, which retails at £1,349 plus VAT, will be of particular interest to the musician and project studio market. This unit offers two analogue input channels – one for instrument/line and one for mic/line – plus two DA output channels and optical-only digital I/O. With Lyra 1, musicians can connect a guitar and a microphone through the input channels, plug into their software mixer via a simple USB connection and start laying down basic tracks in a matter of minutes.
Lyra 2, which retails at £1,849 plus VAT, takes the concept a little further by offering two AD input channels with switchable microphone, instrument or line input modes and four DA output channels. Both optical-only digital I/O and copper S/PDIF are available on this version of Lyra, which also offers wordclock
In/Out enabling synchronization with other digital devices.
Both products are ergonomically designed to look as good as they sound. The front panel has a master volume control assignable to selected output channels, while the unit’s small size – just 11 inches wide – makes it very easy to transport for musicians, producers and DJs on the road. For studio use, Prism Sound can supply dedicated rack mounts as an extra.
“We know there is a market for Lyra because our customers have been demanding this product ever since we launched Orpheus,” Graham Boswell adds. “However, we are very protective of our reputation for delivering the highest possible audio quality so we were not going to bring any product to market until we were 100% convinced that it could live up to our exacting specifications. Lyra does just that, and we are very proud to introduce it.”
Lyra will start shipping in November 2012 and will be fully supported by Prism Sound’s acclaimed technical and after-sales service staff.
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About Prism Sound
Founded in 1987, Prism Sound manufacture high-quality professional digital audio equipment for the International broadcast, film, music production, manufacturing and telecommunications sectors. The company's product range includes the Prism ADA-8XR precision 8-channel converter unit, which is
regularly used for music and film soundtrack projects by clients such as EMI Abbey Road, BBC, Sony, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney. Prism Sound also manufactures a range of audio test and measurement products, including the de facto standard DSA-1 handheld digital audio generator/analyser and the dScope Series III audio analyser system. For more information:www.prismsound.com
