The Redbox range of audio interfaces from Sonifex has been enhanced with the addition of two new products which target the need for selecting, switching & mixing audio sources in small radio stations. The RB-DSS10 is a 10 way digital audio source select unit and the RB-SS10 is a 10 way analogue audio source select/mixing unit and they will both be on display on booth number C5236 in Central Hall C2 at NAB 2004.
The RB-DSS10 Digital Source Selector is a 1U rack-mount which produces an AES/EBU and S/PDIF level digital audio output from 10 selectable stereo AES/EBU or S/PDIF digital input signals. There are 10 illuminated front panel push buttons, which select and indicate the current channel selection. The selection and indication is also available through a remote connector on the rear panel. To stop accidental front panel selection there is a remote input to inhibit the front panel buttons.
The digital receivers in this unit are fully 24 bit, 96kHz capable. When an input is selected from the front panel, or remotely, the unit will attempt to capture the incoming signal on either the AES/EBU or the S/PDIF signal inputs, with priority given to the AES/EBU input. If the AES/EBU signal becomes locked while the S/PDIF signal is routed, the unit will automatically switch to the incoming AES/EBU signal.
Once the receiver has successfully locked to a digital input, the LED illuminates, the tally will be made, and the audio will be routed simultaneously to both the digital audio outputs and converted to analogue audio for monitoring on the front panel headphone socket. If the incoming audio signal is not present, the push button LED and remote tally flash to indicate that the incoming digital signal is missing. The headphone output has its own volume control, which is independent of the level adjustment for the main outputs, and has a maximum output level of +12dBu.
As well as routing the selected audio signal, the unit will also route a remote signal input through the remote connector to the selected input source, for starting external audio equipment such as a CD player. There is a designation strip on the front panel, useful for labelling the buttons with a useful description. The LED on the front panel is used to indicate that power is present on the unit. However, it also has a secondary role to indicate whether the selected channel is routing the AES/EBU (red LED) or S/PDIF input (amber LED).
The RB-SS10 has all the features of the RB-DSS10 but operates in the analogue audio domain instead of digital, allowing 10 stereo balanced or unbalanced audio signals to be switched to a stereo output. Additionally, by altering an internal jumper setting, any of the audio inputs can be mixed to the stereo output audio.
