Lynx Studio Technology Aurora 16-VT

Expanding its line of Aurora 192 kHz AD/DA converters, Lynx Studio Technology has announced the Aurora 16-VT Variable Trim model. Aurora 16-VT allows users to manually set the analog input and output levels within a range of +8.5 dBu to +24 dBu. 32 miniature trim pots are mounted on the primary circuit board to allow the adjustments.

Since 2004, Aurora has established its position as one of leading high end converters for recording studios around the world. Some studios, that wanted to gain the advantage of Aurora’s pristine audio quality and versatility, also required the ability to manually set the levels for optimum performance. The Aurora 16-VT provides this capability, while preserving Aurora’s other features, specifications and signature transparent sound.

One of the Beta testers for the Aurora 16-VT was producer/engineer Fabrice Dumont, a longtime Aurora owner. According to Fab, “After receiving the trimable version of the Aurora I can tell you that I think it's a winner product. I cannot tell a sonic difference between my regular Auroras and the variable trim one. They sound identical to me. Overall, this option makes replacing my old converters truly seamless. It actually feels like a true upgrade since any mix recalled with the Auroras now gain stages the same as my old converters, but sounds noticeably better.”

Bob Muller of Dangerous Music was another Beta Tester. “I think the VT is a great feature, and particularly essential to any facilities that are going to be using Auroras in a mastering setup. A lot of mix rooms are branching out into mastering and like to avail themselves of their mix rig I/O converters for both applications. I was able to calibrate the whole unit to -18dBFS = +4 dBU in under 10 minutes.”

Features:

• Internal manual trim controls on all analog input and analog output channels
• Analog input and output levels can be set between +8.5 dBu and +24 dBu
• 24 bit / 192 kHz mastering quality A/D and D/A conversion
• 192 kHz AES/EBU I/O supporting single and dual wire modes
• Single rack space configuration
• Extensive remote control capability via Lynx AES16, IrDA, FireWire and MIDI
• On-board 32-channel digital mixer provides flexible I/O routing
• Word clock I/O with Lynx SynchroLock™ sample clock technology
• Connectivity via PCI, PCI Express with AES16 cards, ADAT, ProToolsHD, FireWire and MADI (mid 2009)