SANTA MONICA, CA, USA: high-end professional audio equipment manufacturer Antelope Audio is proud to debut Goliath HD — its brand new ThunderboltTM/USB3.0/HDX Port/MADI pro audio interface flagship with ZERØ-latency FPGA Engine and AFC Clocking Technology — at Musikmesse 2017, April 5-8, Frankfurt am Main, Germany…
Goliath by name, Goliath by nature; Goliath HD features 64 channels of high-quality I/O and powerful upgrades, including new adaptable Accusonic mic preamps, and can capably serve as the powerhouse centrepiece of any studio setup. Stepping up to the plate as Antelope Audio’s pro audio interface flagship so soon after the company’s NAMM Show 2017-debuted Orion32 HD showstopper started shipping is quite an achievement in itself. After all, both units boast best-in-class connectivity flexibility and pristine conversion while bringing Antelope Audio’s advanced approach to audio processing with its comprehensive suite of hardware-based FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) effects — providing hardware models of some of the most desirable vintage effects around with realtime performance — to both Pro Tools | HD and Native DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) systems.
Says Antelope Audio CEO Igor Levin: “With the launch of Goliath HD, even the most sophisticated studios can access the market-leading features and innovations that only Antelope Audio interfaces can provide. Goliath HD, which works seamlessly in Pro Tools environments, is an uncompromising studio tool that improves overall sound quality while vastly expanding overall functionality.”
For starters, connectivity comes naturally to Goliath HD allowing it to instantly interface digitally with both Mac and PC platforms via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0. It also delivers dual MADI connections, compatible with MADI to Dante Bridge products, permitting users to access all audio streams from anywhere within their Dante-enabled facility. Further refining the recording experience for Pro Tools | HD users, Antelope Audio’s proprietary HDX Delay Compensation technology allows any analogue or digital input to arrive at the timeline with sample accuracy. As such, integration of digital sources with Pro Tools | HD software is both refined and unparalleled. Users can even have a Pro Tools | HD and a Native DAW setup simultaneously interface with Goliath HD.
With 64 channels of I/O comfortably accommodated within a modest-sized 2U rack device that is as easy on the eye as it is easy to use with monitor and level indicators alongside a responsive touchscreen, Goliath HD pushes the envelope in pro audio interface design. Duly included are 16 of Antelope Audio’s all-new Accusonic mic preamps with individual push-and-turn-style volume controls, making multitrack recording a breeze by further leveraging the realtime processing capabilities of the company’s FPGA hardware and allowing accurate hardware-powered circuitry to complement any microphone selection — with or without any additional outboard gear. Get this, though: impressive iOS and Android apps allow users to remote adjust those mic preamps and output volumes while freely moving around wherever Goliath HD is installed.
Impressively, Goliath HD’s 32 analogue inputs achieve an accomplished 124dB of dynamic range while its 32 analogue outputs offer up to 129dB. Combine that with mastering-grade monitor outputs that reach the heady heights of 132dB — thanks to new dynamic range-boosting technology like no other — and Goliath HD duly delivers a new level of mix detail, the likes of which has hitherto never before been witnessed in the digital recording world.
While supplying sufficient analogue connectivity through its mic preamps and multiple 25-pin D-SUB connectors, Goliath HD helpfully has several specialised inputs and outputs that do away with necessarily needing excessive amounts of external equipment, including four front panel-positioned guitar DI inputs (G1 through to G4), two transformer-based re-amp outputs (R1 and R2), an inbuilt talkback mic, and two headphone outs (HP1 and HP2), plus a pair of rear-mounted analogue INSERTS. In addition, Goliath HD has an abundance of clock signal distribution connectivity with AES/EBU, MADI, ADAT, S/PDIF, and BNC connectors (for loop sync or standard word clock usage). Ultimate audio experience comes courtesy of Goliath HD’s 10M IN clock input to connect to Antelope Audio’s acclaimed 10M Rubidium Atomic Clock or 10MX Rubidium Atomic Clock for the best clocking in the industry with unparalleled sonic satisfaction.
Speaking of which, Antelope Audio’s new flagship pro audio interface leverages the company’s constantly growing library of meticulously modelled vintage hardware and modern effects via its FPGA-based realtime technology. This brings both colossal cost savings and phenomenal processing power to state-of-the-art recording, requiring no physical rack space.
Still better, the Goliath HD desktop application also facilitates full control of input and output routing, as well as sub-mixes and effects processing. Thanks to Antelope Audio’s recently released Session Presets application, all of that functionality — including specific FPGA effects and HDX compensation settings — is instantaneously recallable and shareable, so this makes Goliath HD a perfect partner for Pro Tools | HD-based studios with multiple rooms or artists working in several environments. Either way, users can simply dial in a particular session and access it at any time or location with the click of a mouse (or trackpad).
But beyond a wealth of features making it more versatile than any other pro audio interface on the market, Goliath HD also sounds quite unlike any other pro audio interface. Indeed, it sports the lowest THD (Total Harmonic Distortion) available in a multi-channel interface across all 64 of its I/O channels. It is powered by the most powerful ESS chips available and — as boldly blazoned across its impressive facia — Antelope Audio’s AFC (Acoustically Focused Clocking) jitter-management technology and nonpareil noise-lowering know-how serve to set a new standard in digital conversion clarity. Concludes Igor Levin: “No other interface on the market is able to serve such a powerful and flexible centrepiece for the modern recording studio. Goliath HD is a ‘must-have’ for both advanced users and prolific recording studios around the world.”
Coming soon, Goliath HD will be available for purchase through Antelope Audio’s growing global network of dealers.
For more in-depth information, please visit the dedicated Goliath HD webpage here: http://en.antelopeaudio.com/products/goliath-hd/
For more information about Antelope Audio’s FPGA effects, including a full library list, please visit the dedicated webpage here: http://antelopeaudio.com/hardware-based-fpga-effects/