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Prism Sound Orpheus
2
Introduction to Orpheus
Orpheus is a FireWire multi-channel audio interface for Windows PC and Mac. As well as eight
analogue line inputs and outputs, Orpheus provides four high-quality microphone preamplifiers, two
high-impedance instrument inputs, a MIDI interface as well as a host of advanced synchronization
and monitoring facilities.
In short, Orpheus is intended to provide 'studio in a box' functionality for the digital audio workstation
(DAW) user. That's not so unusual - there are many other interfaces on the market which provide
similar functionality. However, Orpheus is unique among them in providing Prism Sound's unique
pedigree of conversion, analogue, clocking and signal processing to the DAW user for the first time in
an integrated package, with the plug-and-play convenience of an ordinary sound card.
For a more detailed summary of the features and capabilities of Orpheus, continue to the
section.
For directions for getting started quickly, see the
For detailed hardware and software installation procedures, see the
For full details of the hardware controls and connections, as well as a block diagram, look at the
Hardware
section.
To learn about the control software, see the
2.1
Features
Orpheus provides eight line input channels and eight line output channels, which can be operated in
balanced or unbalanced mode, and each of which can be used with professional ('+4dBu') or
consumer ('-10dBV') signal levels. Four of the input channels have selectable microphone
preamplifiers, and two of these also have high-impedance, unbalanced instrument input jacks. 24-bit
conversion is used throughout, and sample rates up to 192kHz are supported.
Stereo digital I/O is provided in both S/PDIF and optical (TOSLINK) formats. The S/PDIF input can
also accept professional AES3 signals, and the S/PDIF output can be switched to AES3 mode if
required. The optical connectors can alternatively carry eight channels of ADAT I/O at 44.1k or
48kHz sample rates, or four channels at 88.2kHz or 96kHz.
Orpheus has a dedicated stereo analogue headphone output, with two stereo headphone jacks each
with its own level control. MIDI input and output are also provided.
Under Windows, Orpheus can be accessed by any software applications with WDM (Windows) or
ASIO capability. Under Apple OS X, Orpheus appears as a Core Audio device. Multiple Orpheus
units can be cascaded in both PC and Mac setups by daisy-chaining the FireWire connections.
To deal with low-latency requirements in live sound and over-dubbing, Orpheus has its own
fully-featured mixer for each output channel pair (including digital and headphones). When selected,
each mixer allows a low-latency mix of any input channels (as well as the output's associated
workstation feeds) to be sent to the required outputs.
A front-panel volume control can be assigned to any desired analogue or digital outputs, primarily for
© 2008 Prism Media Products Ltd
Operation Manual
Quick start
guides.
Orpheus Control Panel
Revision 1.05
Features
Installation
procedures.
section.
1.6
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