Weiss ADC2 AD Converter

The Weiss ADC2 AD Converter is a two channel A/D converter designed to deliver stellar sonic quality. Incorporating state of the art A/D chips in Weiss Engineering's proven correlation technique configuration, which lowers converter imperfections and improves the SNR ratio, the ADC2 is perfect for most demanding audio applications.

The Weiss ADC2 AD Converter offers two channel A/D conversion with Line/Mic inputs and AES/EBU/Firewire output. The Weiss ADC2 AD Converter is the successor of the renowned two channel Weiss ADC1-MK2 A/D Converter. It uses state of the art A/D chips in Weiss' proven “correlation technique” configuration, which lowers converter imperfections. The analog input stages are kept balanced from the input connectors throughout to the converter chips. A high quality microphone preamplifier is built in as a standard feature. AES/EBU and optional Firewire outputs work at up to 192 kHz/24 Bits.

Inputs

The Weiss ADC2 sports two separate input sections, one stereo pair for line level signals and one stereo pair for microphone level signals. The microphone input can be high pass filtered to cut off rumble noise. A 48 V phantom power source can be switched to the microphone inputs. After a relay controlled attenuator circuit, which uses 1 dB steps over a range of 42 dB, the signal hits the A/D converters. The analog input stage is kept balanced from the XLR connector to the A/D chips.

Converters

Two converter channels are used per audio channel which enhances the conversion quality. The analog to digital conversion process can run at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4 or 192 kHz. The parameters of the two conversion channels can be set independently, except for the sampling frequency and the POW-R dithering algorithm.

Synchronization

Synchronization can be from an internal crystal oscillator or external through AES/EBU (XLR) or word-sync (BNC) connectors. The AES/EBU synchronization input can also be used as a digital audio input. This allows to use the Weiss ADC2 as a peak limiter and/or POW-R dithering processor for digital audio signals.

Peak Limiter

The built in digital peak limiter allows for setting a generous headroom on the analog inputs and still get a full scale signal at the converter's output. In addition to the peak limiter with a threshold parameter there is a digital gain control.

Outputs

The output word-length can be reduced from 24 to 16 Bits with the built in POW-R dithering. It is possible to have one output running at 24 Bits and another one at 16 Bits. The output formats are AES/EBU in one or two wire technique, S/PDIF in single wire as well as Firewire for a direct connection to computers. The Firewire connection can also be used to feed a signal from the computer to the S/PDIF output of the Weiss ADC2 AD Converter.

Metering

For metering a large bar graph shows the level to the A/D input, the output level, overload conditions and the gain reduction in the aforementioned peak limiter. The peak hold meter with numeric readout can be used to monitor a transfer and check for overloads which may have occurred.

Weiss ADC2 AD Converter Features

• Inputs:
  • Two balanced LINE and two MIC inputs on separate XLR connectors
  • MIC input with switchable phantom power
  • Input sensitivity is settable in each channel
  • independently (or ganged) with two rotary encoders
  • Line Input sensitivity: -16dBu to +26 dBu
  • Mic Input sensitivity: -54dBu to +6dBu
  • Separate AES/EBU input on XLR for synchronization and/or audio input to the DSP, which allows for use of the ADC2 for redithering and limiting of digital signals
• Synchronization:
  • Internal sync selectable 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz
  • External sync from Wordsync Input (BNC) or from AES/EBU input
  • Wordsync output on a BNC connector
• Metering:
  • One input / output level bargraph per channel with short peak hold
  • One gain reduction bargraph per channel
  • Two over LEDs
  • Two numerical displays for peak hold and level settings
  • Reference for level setting can be altered
• Outputs:
  • AES/EBU on XLR in one or two wire format
  • S/PDIF on RCA
  • Firewire (Optional, a kit is available)
• DSP:
  • POW-R dithering to 16 bits, settable to three different algorithms according to the POW-R standard
  • SNR enhancement
  • Level bar graph meter
  • Two segment compressor / peak limiter
  • Double-precision 40bit floating-point processing

Weiss ADC2 AD Converter Specifications

• Analogue Line Inputs:
  • Two channels on two XLR female connectors, pin 2 hot
  • Symmetrical, not earth free
  • Input impedance > 5 kO
  • Analogue Microphone Inputs
  • Two channels on two XLR female connectors, pin 2 hot
  • Symmetrical, not earth free
  • Input impedance > 5 kO
  • 48 V phantom power switchable
• AES/EBU Input:
  • Sampling Frequencies: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz (All sampling frequencies must lie within ±100 ppm of the nominal sampling frequency)
  • Maximum Input Word-Length: 24 Bits
  • Channel Status Data: Input accepts professional or consumer format
  • Connector: XLR female, 110 O (termination switchable on/off)
• AES/EBU Output:
  • Sampling Frequencies: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz
  • Output Word-Length: 16 Bits, 24 Bits
  • Connector: Two times XLR male, 110 O
  • Format: Professional Channel Status Data format
  • Single Wire Format: For sampling frequencies between 44.1 kHz and 192 kHz
  • Double Wire Format: For sampling frequencies of 88.2 kHz or higher (switch selectable)
• S/PDIF Output:
  • Sampling Frequencies: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz
  • Output Word-Length: 16 Bits, 24 Bits
  • Connector: One RCA, 75 O
  • Format: Professional Channel Status Data format
• Word-sync I/O:
  • Sampling frequencies: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz, 176.4 kHz, 192 kHz
  • Connector: BNC, 75 O (termination on input switchable on/off)
  • Level: TTL level
• Firewire: A Firewire I/O kit is available as an option
• Measurements:
  • Low Cut Frequency Response: 1st order high-pass, 3 dB point at 40 Hz
  • Frequency Response:
    • Fs = 44.1 kHz, 20 Hz…20 kHz: ±0.3 dB
    • Fs = 48 kHz, 20 Hz…20 kHz: ±0.3 dB
    • Fs = 88.2 kHz, 20 Hz…30 kHz: ±0.3 dB
    • Fs = 96 kHz, 20 Hz…30 kHz: ±0.3 dB
    • Fs = 176.4 kHz, 20 Hz…40 kHz: ±0.3 dB
    • Fs = 192 kHz, 20 Hz…40 kHz: ±0.3 dB
  • THD+N at 1 kHz: Less than -103 dBFS at -3 dBFS output level, unweighted
  • SNR at -40 dBFS input: Higher than 110 dB unweighted
  • Crosstalk: Less than -120 dB, 0 Hz…20 kHz
  • CMRR:
    • Higher than 90dB at 1 kHz
    • Higher than 80dB at 20 kHz
    • Higher than 60dB at 20 Hz
  • Interchannel Phase Tracking: Better than ±0.3°, 20 Hz…20 kHz
  • Latency:
    • Fs = 44.1 kHz: 2.6 ms
    • Fs = 48 kHz: 2.49 ms
    • Fs = 88.2 kHz: 1.8 ms
    • Fs = 96 kHz: 1.75 ms
    • Fs = 176.4 kHz: 1.4 ms
    • Fs = 192 kHz: 1.38 ms
• Power:
  • Mains Voltage: 115 V or 230 V with voltage selector
  • Fuse Rating: 630 mA slow blow
  • Power Consumption: 60 VA max.
• Size:
  • Depth: 30 cm
  • Width: 43,3 cm (19")
  • Height: 4,4 cm (1HU)

Weiss ADC2 AD Converter Includes

• Weiss ADC2 Unit
• Printed Operation Manual