This is the second of 2 DM80-8 Disk Recorders. They were actually part of the same studio where they were linked to create a 16 Track Digital Audio recording setup. This system was one of the most successful by Roland. A completely stand alone product, it was less troublesome than many of the systems (Protools, etc.) which required separate computer systems for their operating platform.
This package consists of the following components:
You will need a DM80-R remote or some other device to control the unit.
There are too many features and specifications to list them all, but here are some selections from the original Roland Brochures:
The DM-80 is a multi-track disk recording workstation offering state of the art performance and features, at a ground-breaking price. The basic
model (DM-80-4) can record and play back any combination of four tracks simultaneously. The expanded DM-80-8 can record and playback any combination of eight tracks simultaneously.
The DM-80 is a full-featured professional system including multiple digital & analog 1/Os, built-in disk drives, real time sample rate conversion, and optical disk support. Utilizing the resources of one of the leaders in digital sound technology, the Roland DM-80 system brings this leading-edge performance and reliability to a new low price point.
Recording time is limited to the amount of hard disk storage. One SCSI bus and disk(s) is required per 4 tracks of audio. The recording format is 16 bits linear; sample rates of 32, 44.1, and 48 kHz may be selected. A 100 megabyte hard disk will allow roughly 18 monophonic minutes of recording time at the CD rate of 44.1 kHz. {When this specification was written, a 1 Gig drive would have provided approximately 180 minutes or 3 hours of recording time. ed.}
A single recording or project maybe spread over multiple hard disks for even longer recording times. On playback, the DM-80 uses a trick borrowed from MIDI sequencers and drum machines, where any one recorded section may be re-used any number of times. A re-used section may have different start, stop, fade in, and fade out times than the original use of the section. Also, when a track is silent, no disk memory is used. Therefore, the total playback time may be much longer than the total recorded time.
FEATURES
16-bit multi-track hard disk recording.
Record and play back any combination of Eight tracks simultaneously
One SCSI bus and disk per 4 tracks of audio.
16 bit linear recording format; sample rates of 32, 44.1, and 48 kHz selectable.
Each 100 megabyte hard disk allows approximately 18 track minutes of recording time at 44.1 kHz.
METER DISPLAY
The LED display on the front panel shows input and output levels for each of the eight inputs and track outputs, plus the stereo outputs of the internal mixer.
The levels shown are either Pre-Fader or Post-Fader, selected by the corresponding display on the Remote Panel or Track Manager software.
The DM-80-8 contains eight analog input channels and two stereo digital input channels. In addition, there are analog and digital mix outputs, plus a direct output for each track (Tracks 5-8, DM-80-8 only).
MIX OUTPUTS
The DM-80 incorporates a built-in 24-bit digital mixer for combining the internal hard disk tracks and four auxiliary inputs to a stereo final mix. This stereo mix is sent to both analog and digital outputs, and is also available as a record input source for bouncing tracks. The analog outputs use 8x oversampling chips and 20-bit D/A converters. The digital output signal goes to either Coaxial pin jacks or AES/EBU XLR connectors.
DIGITAL Input
The DM-80-8 contains two digital inputs. The second digital input (DIGITAL B) is real-time sample rate converted in order to be exactly synchronized to the Project's sample rate.
DIGITAL I/O
The digital inputs and outputs are compatible with both professional and consumer standards. Two audio channels are encoded on a single connector.
XLR Digtal CONNECTORS
The XLR input and output should be used when connecting the DM-80 to professional equipment that utilizes the AES/EBU digital standard, such as professional-level digital tape recorders and samplers.
COAXIAL CONNECTORS
The Coaxial input and output is a standard pin-jack found on consumer oriented digital equipment, such as DAT recorders.
SELECT SWITCH
This selects which I/O connectors will be used: XLR or Coaxial.
ANALOG INPUTS
The analog inputs are balanced or unbalanced, +4 dBm.
64x oversampling delta-sigma A/D converters are used.
DIRECT ANALOG OUTPUTS The DM-80 contains one analog "direct" output per track for connection to an external mixer or effects device.
SAMPLING RATE INDICATORS: These indicators show the current sample rate and sampling clock source.
