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No, HORUS/HAPI supports 48V MICs.
Yes, HORUS/HAPI has entirely re-designed Analog as well as DA conversion circuitry. In terms of "sound quality", Line Out specs will be vastly superior with the HORUS/HAPI.
The HORUS/HAPI Line Out circuitry are fully symmetrical, but non-floating. So driving asymmetrical (single-ended) loads is easy and possible and should be wired in such a way to just use one of the symmetric outputs (either Hot or Cold) and Ground. It is not recommended to short the other (unused) output to Ground . This will also reduce the output signal level by 6 dBus compared to the full differential swing of the symmetric output, which is usually too high for usual single-ended loads. Further reduction of the level might be further required to avoid clipping the single-ended receiving side.
(for details, refer to the HORUS/HAPI User Manuals)
The HORUS/HAPI are protected against such a case. It is not recommended but the HORUS/HAPI DA output supports 48V, if driven through 6.8 kOhms resistors, as typically used in Phantom power designs.
All of the Merging DA8 outputs are DC Coupled.
RAVENNA allows for concurrent multiple Sampling rates on the same network, but :
While RAVENNA does indeed provide the possibility to simultaneously convey signals at different sampling rates over the same network, HORUS/HAPI are however designed to operate at a given sample rate and will only accept RAVENNA streams that are presented to it at the proper matching sampling rate. This said if, during this summer, we find out there is some FPGA real-estate left, Merging may add a few channels of real-time SRC in the architecture of the internal HORUS/HAPI router to provide such capability on a limited number of audio channels.
The MassCore Ethernet PCIe Network card is required for performance issues. MassCore has a dedicated driver for this (and only this) NIC. It took several months of engineering to write such a low-level driver for a specific NIC.
This said, RAVENNA (and HORUS/HAPI) will also work well without the need to use this specific card, when operating with ASIO/CoreAudio (VAD) driver.
No, but be aware that in RAVENNA/MassCore only the MassCore PCIe Ethernet card will be enabled, users cannot use their Mykerinos card simultaneously. You must keep the Mykerinos card in your system if your keys are on it and if you want to switch back to Mykerinos/MassCore.
The Network must be Layer 3 compliant and must be a Gigabit network. For additional information please consult the following page and related ones under: http://ravenna.alcnetworx.com
The types of switches and equipment you purchase relates to the size and complexity of the RAVENNA network.
A Managed network switch is required.
The Switch needs to be configured prior to usage.
See all the details in the RAVENNA / AES 67 switches page . For a list of network requirements, please see the RAVENNA webpage.
RAVENNA redundancy is not yet implemented on the MassCore, or Core Audio side, only one ethernet adapter per computer can be used for the moment.
ASIO ST2022-7 redundancy is available since the Merging RAVENNA ASIO driver V13.04 / Merging Audio Device driver v1.0
RAVENNA redundancy is not implemented on the Horus / Hapi, only the first Ethernet port can be used.
The secondary port on Hapi MK II (and Anubis SPS) can be used in redundancy mode (Multi Interface - ST2022-7) or switch mode (to connect a single Merging RAVENNA / AES67 device).
RAVENNA is not designed to transmit audio on Networks without minimum QoS requirements. Typically for now we do not recommend using RAVENNA audio streams over Wireless. However control data has no problem operating over Wireless.
It is important to realize that the MassCore Ethernet PCIe Network card will only be required when using MassCore. An ASIO (PC) and CoreAudio (MAC) driver is provided, allowing the use of HORUS/HAPI with standard PC/MAC Ethernet ports (on laptops as well!).
The NET-MSC-GBEX1 board manufactured by Intel has its firmware reprogrammed by Merging for RAVENNA/MassCore acceleration, so this card must absolutely be supplied by Merging!
100 Meters is the GbE (Gigabit Ethernet) maximum distance specification. For longer distances we recommend either inserting Gigabit Ethernet switches at regular distances less than 100 meters, using them as repeaters or better Copper to Optical (Ethernet to Fiber) adapters at each end (can be used with optical fibers up to roughly 600 meters or 2000 feet on a single hop.). A good reference starting point where this is all explained briefly is: http://techin.oureverydaylife.com/difference-between-normal-ethernet-cables-fiber-optic-2401.html
Customers should refer to the specs of the manufacturers of the CAT5e or CAT6 cables that they deployed or plan to use, as Merging only support those cables.
Merging has certified the TP-Link MC200 (NET-TPL-MC200 on pricelist) for Gigabit Multi-Mode Media Converter, and the TP-Link MC210 (NET-TPL-MC210 on pricelist) for Gigabit Single-Mode Media Converter.
Yes, RAVENNA allows sharing of common sources (inputs) between all devices on a Network. Outputs cannot be shared.
No, we recommend to use a dedicated switch for Audio over RAVENNA, separate from any other network.
The two headphone Jacks use a different D/A, so they are not exactly of the same level of quality as the Line Out themselves but still quite decent.
Anubis and Horus/Hapi have two very different Headphone output topologies:
Anubis is designed to provide two individual and totally independent stereo outputs (with different programs and different levels), which are called Headphones 1 and Headphones 2. While Horus and Hapi have also two outputs (6.35mm and 3.5mm stereo jacks), these outputs share a single Headphone Amplifier. It is therefore adequate to decouple each output from each other by a reasonably sized source resistance, so that in the event one was to connect two headphones at the same time to those jacks, there is no mutual influence of one Headphone on the other one. With near zero Ohm output impedance (such as designed in the Anubis) the above relative mutual immunity would be impossible.
Hapi MkII benefits from a significantly lower output resistance (20 Ohms) than its predecessor Hapi (75 Ohms).
Yes, at all PCM sampling rates, including DXD.
For Horus - Hapi :
In DSD64 and DSD128 modes, the headphones works, but the gain slider for level adjustment is not supported.
The headphone jack does not support DSD256.
For Hapi MKII :
The headphone works up to DSD256 (including the gain slider).
Yes.
And control them separately?
With respect to control, the answer is also yes when controlling different portions (channel groups) of a HORUS/HAPI. However when several controlling devices (web pages, control surfaces, etc.) want to address the same channels, some rules will have to be established in terms of access priority and authorization as is typical with any properly managed Network architecture.
YES!
… And at the same time record 64-channels from the MADI-stream (FOH) to the computers/DAWs
YES! Although the possible track count being recorded will depend on the DAW’s ability to record lots of tracks. (We know that Pyramix can do it though)
… While sending to 12 channels HORUS/HAPI D/A from computer 1 and 12 D/A from computer 2?
Yes but note that the HORUS/HAPI modules can be routed (at the moment) in blocks of 8 channels. So you could route 8 channels from DAW1 and 16 from DAW 2 etc.
Please have a look at our Advanced settings guide.
We have decided for the moment to simplify the routing capabilities (Analog - AES - MADI - RAVENNA) by groups of 8 consecutive channels, except for the Headphone monitoring that is just a stereo signal.
Since Pyramix v8 the gain and other parameters can be controlled from within the Pyramix mixer.
See this page for further details about Pyramix and Horus/Hapi firmware versions and compatibilities.
Yes, Any input can go to any combination of outputs.
How Can I set it all? Do I have to do it on the front panel of the HORUS/HAPI unit?
No, Each HORUS/HAPI unit can be configured and controlled by web page access which can be viewed and manipulated using almost any standard web browser (Chrome recommended/Internet Explorer does NOT work)
I'm afraid we may be confusing several functionalities here. In terms of A/D to MADI or MADI to D/A converter, HORUS/HAPI has just a few samples of latency (well under a millisecond) so that should not be a problem.
See Horus or Hapi User manual or Hapi MKII User manual - Modules latencies section for the exact latency values.
The main issue about latency is actually not with the converter itself but with the driver to/from the application. So the latencies noticed will vary greatly between the MassCore and the ASIO based usage of the HORUS/HAPI.
The Latency from live in to live out of a HORUS/HAPI being used with our MassCore engine can go as low as 1.33ms (currently at 5.3ms for standard latency running mode)
As ASIO and CoreAudio are “host-based” processes, the latency when using the HORUS/HAPI with these drivers will increase substantially. This will be similar for any ASIO / CoreAudio solution as it is essentially due to the non-deterministic behavior of the application running under Windows or MAC.
… And what If simply wanting to use it as an AD/DA and take the converted analogue signal out of the MADI or AES outputs?
Then we go back to the original statement, “HORUS/HAPI has just a few samples of latency (so well under a millisecond)”.
We've deployed RAVENNA under MassCore with an equivalent capacity of 384 x 24-bit channels equivalent at 1 FS (ie 44.1 or 48 kHz) and this bi-directionally. That corresponds to 48 channels at DXD or 384 kHz rates. Refer to our recommended RAVENNA configurations. Detailed Computer installation guides are also available for the validated configurations, contact support@merging.com.
Yes, it is only our own MassCore implementation that will require a dedicated Gigabit adapter card for the best performance.
A dedicated network card is still recommended for better performances.
However, recent Mac devices show problems when it comes to usingthe built in port. For more information, contact support@merging.com
This ASIO driver is expected to allow up to 128 bidirectional I/O channels of 24-bit (at 1FS). It will of course not allow lowest latency operation as with MassCore implementation but for many applications, this will be fine. The number of channels will also depend on the system performances.
Yes! These drivers were specifically designed to make sure that regardless of the tools you use you will be able to incorporate HORUS/HAPI into your workflow!
Yes, you can record a HORUS/HAPI stream from several ASIO driver.
There will be a fan, capable of turning itself on gradually whenever the internally sensed temperature exceeds pre-set limits. We do not want our customers to have their HORUS audio characteristics degrade or even fail above certain temperature!
Fortunately, Merging has spent enormous time carefully engineering each and every component of HORUS/HAPI to be drawing as little power as technologically possible these days, without compromising the sound at any time.
We therefore expect our users to enjoy their HORUS as an essentially "fan-less" device since the fan will in many (if not most circumstances) never switch on. So the fact that we still planned a fan is to be more seen as an "emergency" fan that :
Designing a 2 U unit which offers, in such a compact space, up to 4 MADI ports, 24 channels of AES I/O and 24 channels of MIC preamplifiers along with ultra high-quality A/D and up to 24 channel of D/A conversion, not even mentioning RAVENNA, a backlit TFT touchscreen and an optional Redundant Power supply with no decent "heat-control" would just have been ludicrous. As a matter of fact, we expect a fully loaded HORUS to still not consume more than 50-Watt to maximum of 60-Watt total.
Starting with Pyramix V8, there is no need for a Mykerinos card.
RAVENNA can be connected either :
No, HORUS/HAPI provides a low latency router, which may be used for direct monitoring in certain circumstances.
Internally, the HORUS/HAPI actually processes and moves the DSD signal in a 352.8kHz / 32bit stream. It is not converted to actual PCM, rather the raw DSD data is just transported in this manner.
All of these DSD stream types are actually multiples of 352.8, itself being a multiple of 44.1 kHz.
Therefore, for the HORUS/HAPI mainboard there’s no real difference between all these 4 formats. That’s only the AD and DA that are configured automatically and transparently according to the streams they are receiving audio from or sending audio to.
In fact as far as only playback or DA is concerned, you can set your HORUS/HAPI unit to DSD or DXD, that’ll make no difference. It’s only the way the Pyramix projects are configured that will define if audio is sent directly as DSD (when using DSD projects) or converted to DXD (when using DXD projects)
DoP means DSD Over PCM; the goal of this "standard" is to carry DSD signal over regular PCM link;
Horus/Hapi can carry DoP over all of its digital links (AES, MADI, …), as the device is transparent.
But, as Horus/Hapi doesn't know what DoP is, it cannot decode it before sending it to the DAC.
In summary, Horus/Hapi is not a DoP DAC (nor DoP ADC) but it can carry DoP over its digital interfaces.
The computer driver is also implied to answer such question:
Note: depending on the flavor of DSD (64, 128, 256, 512), DoP can use several combinations of sample rate and number of channels (https://dsd-guide.com/dop-open-standard#.W5Xh_ej7Tuo).
The AES ports connect the AES-EBU I/O using DB25 D-SUB connections (Tascam Digital). This means that AES cables that came with your Mykerinos cables are not compatible with the HORUS/HAPI. You can order those cables directly from our sales partners.
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As the Hapi DC input is supplying, among other things, two integrated circuits which are specified to tolerate a maximum voltage of 14V, we definitely cannot recommend batteries with such high nominal voltages.
If you plan to use battery packs delivering higher than 14V DC, we recommend contacting Merging’s service which may apply a suitable modification to your Hapi to tolerate a 14.4V DC Input.