Frontier Design Group Debuts Tango24New 24-bit 8x8 A/D & D/A converter featuring ADAT digital lightpipe I/O January 28, 1999Frontier Design Group has upgraded its successful Tango audio converter system
to full 24-bit digital resolution, improving audio performance without increasing
cost. Dubbed Tango24(TM), the new product features ADAT lightpipe digital
I/Ofor maximum flexibility in the studio. Tango24 connects to lightpipe-equipped
I/O cards in computers, digital mixers, and tape machines. Tango24 also features
balanced +4dBu analog I/O on 1/4" TRS jacks for clean, quiet connections
to other analog equipment.
"Tango24 is what computer-based studio owners are seeking," says
Charlie Hitchcock, co-founder of Frontier Design Group. "They know that
optically-coupled external converters eliminate the computer noises found in
analog soundcards. They want standard interfaces, flexible clocking options,
and a solid design. Tango24 builds on these features of Tango and adds an absolute
requirement for modern equipment ---- 24-bit resolution."
Tango24 shares many features with its popular predecessor. All inputs and outputs
can be individually set to +4dBu (professional) or -10dBV (consumer) signal
levels. Word clock input and output are provided on BNC connections, for synchronizing
multiple units or for locking Tango24's clock system to an external master.
Front panel switches let you set the clock source to the word clock or ADAT
optical input, or to internal crystals for 44.1 and 48kHz operation. Tango24's
front panel also includes eight sets of level meters, switchable to inputs or
outputs. Separate LEDs indicate signal-present, -3dB below full-scale, and clipping
for each channel.
Tango24 is housed in a rugged 1U rackmount enclosure. Since it uses ADAT optical
I/O, it can be located up to 10 meters (33 feet) from the computer. In addition
to its ADAT optical in and out ports, Tango24 has an ADAT Thru port for archiving
audio material to an ADAT MDM without re-cabling optical connections. Tango24
can be connected to any ADAT optical computer interface, including Frontier
Design Group's latest super-integrated PCI card -- Dakota. For more information, visit Frontier Design Group at http://www.frontierdesign.com/ | 
