Mackie Digital 8 Bus Owner's Manual page 11

digital is to preserve the absolute accuracy of
the signal throughout the tracking and mixing
process. The Digital 8•Bus's internal 32-bit
digital processing provides an extremely high
degree of precision for processing audio
signals. (For a more in-depth discussion of the
digital world, see Appendix B, Digital Basics.)
recording (digital-to-digital), it is identical to
the original. No hiss, no signal loss. It is a
perfect clone, and that means there is no
degradation of the signal when bouncing tracks
and mixing down. Your final master mix will be
as clear and noise-free as the first take on the
first track.
domain just after the mic preamps (post-
insert). The resulting signal stays digital for
the remainder of the recording session — from
tracking to overdubs to mixdown.
low-noise mic preamps, which prepare the
signal for conversion into the digital domain by
way of high-precision 24-bit 64X oversampling
A/D (analog-to-digital) converters. Any changes
Figure 1-1. How to fit 96 Channels into 38 inches.
1-2
Introduction
Accuracy
Perhaps the most important reason to go
Basically, when you make a copy of a digital
Purely Mathematical
The analog signal is converted to the digital
Audio passes through Mackie's high-quality,
Fader Bank 1
Fader Bank 2
Bank 1
Mic/Line Inputs
Channels 1-24 Channels 25-48
to the signal (for example equalization, reverb,
or compression) are all done mathematically.
Remember, the signal is just a series of ones and
zeroes at this point. Noise, crosstalk, and
distortion are virtually eliminated.
Finally, the digital signal is converted back
to analog using high-quality 24-bit 64X
oversampling D/A converters. The analog
signal is output at the L-R XLR and TRS
MASTER OUTPUTs.
You can keep the signal in the digital
domain by going direct from the Digital 8•Bus
to a digital 2-track recorder via the AES/EBU
or S/PDIF digital outputs. And with the
optional Digital Tape I/O cards installed, you
can do all your tracking and mixdown in the
digital domain as well, direct to ADAT optical
or Tascam TDIF. With the D8B's built-in
Apogee UV22 Super CD encoding, the digital
signal can be brought down to 16 bits for
mastering to digital media. This process has
proven superior to noise-shaping and bit-
mapping systems, and creates a lower, more
transparent noise floor that actually allows the
audio signal greater dynamic range.
Going digital offers a wealth of benefits to the
sound and recording engineer – making your life
easier, and giving you the tools to be more
creative and more productive at what you do.
Fader Bank 3
Bank 2 Bank 3
Tape Inputs FX Return 1-16; ALT Return 1-8
Channels 49-72
®
Fader Bank 4
Bank 4
Groups 1-8; MIDI 1-8; Bus 1-8
Channels 73-96