Cranborne Audio 500R8 USB Audio Interface and 500 Series Rack

The 500R8 combines a 28-in/30-out USB audio interface with an 8-slot 500 series rack, an analogue summing mixer and a monitor controller in one 4U unit. It is designed as the hub of a studio built around 500 series modules.

Each of the eight slots has XLR in and out plus a TRS insert between the module and the A-D converter, and the XLRs can be used as line I/O when a slot is empty. Slots supply up to 250mA, so power-hungry modules are not a problem. Two ADAT ports add up to 16 channels each way at 44.1/48kHz, and S/PDIF is included.

The analogue summing mixer can take each channel from a slot, from USB or from C.A.S.T., and the mix bus can be recorded back over USB. Five C.A.S.T. ports let you run analogue audio over Cat 5e/6/7 cable to breakout boxes such as the N22 and N22H, or link to a 500ADAT for 16-channel summing.

Key features

• USB 2.0, 28 inputs and 30 outputs, Mac and Windows
• 8 x 500 series slots, 250mA per slot, with TRS inserts
• Analogue summing mixer with per-channel source selection
• ADAT (16 x 16 at 44.1/48kHz, 8 x 8 at 88.2/96kHz) and S/PDIF
• Two headphone outputs and a zero-latency artist mixer
• Monitor control with speaker A/B, mono, dim, mute and talkback
• C.A.S.T. I/O over Cat 5e/6/7, up to 100m
• External 24V 5A locking power supply