Cranborne Audio – 500ADAT

500ADAT is the perfect tool to increase the I/O count of any ADAT-equipped audio interface.

It’s an 8-in/8-out ADAT expander that combines a 500 series rack with high-performance AD/DA conversion and ADAT I/O that allows any engineer to integrate the 500 series format into their studio using free ADAT I/O on the back of many popular audio interfaces.

500ADAT features analogue essentials that unite digital and analogue production workflows such as an 8-into-2 analogue summing mixer, Zero-latency artist mixer with 2 reference-quality headphone outputs, and true ADAT & SMUXII/IV transmission to enable operation at sample rates up to 192kHz

The Best Of Analogue Character – Thanks To 500 Series

By capitalising on the vast and ever growing 500 series market, you can configure your 500ADAT to suit your tastes of analogue flavour. By installing your favourite 500 series modules into the 8 available 500 series slots, you can create your ultimate analogue front-end/preamp stage that can be multi-track recorded directly into your DAW.

Fill 500ADAT full of vintage preamps for recording drums. Fill 500ADAT full of clean and pristine preamps for recording strings. Fill 500ADAT full of Preamp, EQ, and Compressor modules to create your own custom, analogue channel strips. The possibilities are endless and every 500ADAT is unique to your sound.

Integrating 500 series modules into your workflow doesn’t stop after the recording. Dedicated module source switches for each 500 series slot allow you to send ADAT outputs from your audio interface, into 500ADAT, through the 8 installed 500 series modules, and back into your audio interface for recording (with that analogue ‘mojo’ applied). Think of 500ADAT as a bank of 8 external Analogue Plug-ins.

For a more hands-on, all-analogue approach to mixing, 500ADAT also features an 8-into-2 high-headroom analogue summing mixer with dedicated level and pan controls that you can use to create your own high-headroom analogue mix before recording it back into your DAW using the dedicated 1/4″ mix output jacks on the rear panel.

Digital Precision

In order to capture every subtle nuance of your analogue signal, 500ADAT features reference-class AD/DA conversion with 121dB (A-wtd) dynamic range and THD+N of <0.00032% (@ -4dBFS, 1kHz, A-wtd), all governed by 500ADAT’s master-reference grade internal clock with <0.5 picoseconds of jitter. You can also slave your audio interface’s clock from 500ADAT’s internal clock to benefit from 500ADAT’s low-jitter design.

The combination of highly-accurate, low-jitter clocking and high-performance digital conversion ensures that every ounce of analogue character is captured with the utmost detail – free of unwanted digital artefacts from the conversion process and with a wide dynamic range thanks to 500ADAT’s high-headroom analogue design and low noise floor.

8-in/8-out ADAT Interface

ADAT is tried, tested, and still one of the most widely available interfacing protocols in the audio industry, however it often remains unused and underutilised by many audio engineers and producers. Almost all major audio interfaces on the market feature a pair of ADAT lightpipe ports – simply connect 500ADAT to those ports and you can enhance and expand the possibilities of your studio.

By containing its own converters and using ADAT to transport audio to and from the 500 series format, 500ADAT removes analogue cabling spaghetti between your rack and interface whilst eliminating the worry of mismatched analogue operating levels between interface inputs and 500 series module outputs. 500ADAT is compatible with any session running from 44.1kHz to 192kHz and can achieve 8 channels of I/O expansion at 44.1kHz to 96kHz or 4 channels of I/O expansion at 176.4/192kHz.

Summing Mixer

Analogue summing can give your mix the final bit of analogue character required to achieve professional and polished sonic results. What makes 500ADAT’s 8-into-2 channel summing mixer so special is that it is positioned after the 8 500 series slots – allowing you to insert saturation or subtle ‘bus-compression’ modules and create a stereo mix using 500ADAT’s dedicated analogue level and pan controls beneath each module. 500ADAT’s summing mixer also has a dedicated line output which can be used to send your stereo mix into your audio interface for recording.

Zero-Latency Artist Mixer

500ADAT moves away from clunky “virtual” software mixers and gets your hands back onto the mix. By using 500R8’s high-headroom analogue summing mixer, you can create zero-latency, all-analogue mixes of live sources that can be blended with the Aux Input and sent directly to the recording musicians via C.A.S.T. or the local headphone outputs.

CAST Equipped

C.A.S.T. stands for Cat 5 Analogue Snake Transport and enables cost effective and organised cable management around your studio. C.A.S.T. repurposes off-the-shelf, shielded Cat5 networking cables to transport 4 channels of balanced analogue audio over a single cable.

500ADAT has 4 C.A.S.T. IN ports that allow you to connect C.A.S.T. enabled breakout boxes (such as the Cranborne Audio N22 and N22H) to 500ADAT and relocate analogue I/O wherever it is needed around the studio.

Connect mic/line sources into the C.A.S.T. breakout box and that signal travels through the Cat 5 cable and directly into the modules installed into 500ADAT. At the same time, the analogue mix created on 500ADAT is sent through the same cable and into the connected breakout box. This allows for seamless analogue audio connectivity between the control room, live room, vocal booth, or the bedroom next door!

C.A.S.T. is 100% analogue and requires no setup in order to operate. It can easily work at distances up to 100m when Cat 6e or Cat 7 cable is used and a complete cat 5 studio cabling infrastructure costs a fraction of what analogue multi core would cost. No setup. No latency. No fuss. And it sounds great.

Designed and Engineered in the UK

To ensure that every product bearing the Cranborne Audio name is worthy of studio environments big or small, all 500ADAT’s are designed and engineered in the UK under the company’s watchful eye. 500ADAT is carefully assembled by a skilled workforce with immense attention to detail and every product is tested thoroughly by a skilled engineer before shipping to destinations around the world.

Key Features

8-in/8-out ADAT expander

– 8-in/8-out @ 44.1kHz – 48kHz

– 8-in/8-out @ 88.2kHz – 96kHz

– 4-in/4-out @ 176.4 – 192kHZ

High-performance A/D conversion

– Dynamic Range: 121dB A-weighted, AES17 method, 20Hz – 20kHz

– Frequency Response: -1dB, 2.2Hz to >80kHz

– THD+N: <0.00032% (-110dB) @ -4dBFS, 20Hz – 40kHz, 1kHz, A-weighted

– Max Input Level: +24dBu

High-performance D/A conversion

– Dynamic Range: 121dB A-weighted, AES17 method, 20Hz – 20kHz

– Frequency Response: -1dB, <1Hz to >61kHz

– THD+N: <0.0003% (-110.5dB) @ -4dBFS, 20Hz – 40kHz, 1kHz, A-weighted

– Max Output Level: +24dBu

Master reference-quality internal clock

– Capable of 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, and 192kHz operation

– <0.5ps of jitter

– Dedicated Word Clock Input and Output via BNC

– External sync options using Word Clock BNC or ADAT

Analogue summing mixer

– 8-into-2 analogue summing mixer with +26.5dBu of headroom and balanced 1/4″ jack outputs

– C.A.S.T. link port for increasing summing mixer to 16-into-2 using Cranborne Audio 500ADAT

Zero-latency artist mixer

– Zero-latency analogue artist mixer with physical level/pan controls per channel and aux input blend controls

– 2 high-power headphone outputs with independent blend and level controls

Reference-Quality Headphone Outputs

– THD+N: <0.0006% (-104.4dB) @ 20dBu, 1kHz, A-weighted, 300ohm load

– Output Wattage (1kHz): 250mW x 2 @ 600 ohms, 650mW x 2 @ 220 ohms, 1.21W x 2 @ 100 ohms, 500mW x 2 @ 32 ohms

– Frequency Response: 1dB, <1Hz to >70kHz

High-current 8-slot 500 series rack

– 250mA current per-slot with 2A total for all slots

– XLR inputs, XLR line outputs, and TRS Inserts (pre-ADC) per 500 series slot

– Module source switching options to send Analogue, USB or external – C.A.S.T. signals through your favourite 500 series modules

– Module bypass switches per-slot allowing 500ADAT to be used without 500 series modules inserted.

C.A.S.T. Compatible

– C.A.S.T. ports per channel for relocating analogue I/O around studio using passive or active C.A.S.T. breakout boxes via standard shielded Cat 5

24v, 5a external locking power supply

– External power supply for improved analogue audio performance and heat dissipation.

Designed and Engineered in the UK

– Each and every 500R8 is extensively tested by a team of dedicated engineers to ensure reliability and consistency.