Core 256 may not take up much space, but the power you can squeeze out of this little box might just make your jaw drop to the floor. With tons of channels, a wide palette of digital connectivity, built-in SPQ processing, Eucon control compatibility, internal summing engine and drivers for macOS and Windows 10, it is a pristine digital audio interface by any measure and for just about any application.
However, there is one application that should be emphasized in particular: Core 256 is simply the perfect Dante and MADI interface for Dolby Atmos RMU.
The size and shape of Core 256 fits nicely for sharing a 1U rack shelf with a Mac Mini running Dolby Atmos Renderer, Dolby Atmos Production Suite or Dolby Atmosr Mastering Suite. For immersive audio post production facilities, this solution will represent the missing link that streamlines and optimizes the multichannel workflows seamlessly.
The Thunder|Core Audio interface is controlled via the DADman software. DADman can connect to the Thunder|Core interface either via Ethernet or via a communication channel in the Thunderbolt connection.
More units can be daisy chained via the Thunderbolt ports, and each unit will appear in DADman control software.
Using control over Ethernet the two RJ45 connectors acts as a switch for connection to more units. The Dante /AES67 audio is also passed on the two RJ45 connectors.
The DAD Thunder |Core Technology provides a Thunderbolt 3 connection with near-zero latency for interfacing between audio applications on macOS or Windows computers and the Thunder|Core audio hardware.
The interface provides a fast Thunderbolt 3/PCIe connection and data transfer with 2 samples latency on the connection and a total of 9 samples in the digital interface, as total also includes EQ and summing processing within the unit.
The channel capacity is up to 256 audio channels at 48 and 96 kHz, and the latency at 96kHz is 95 microseconds. The total round-trip latency with an audio software application will depend on the buffer size set for the application. With a buffer size of 32 samples, the latency is 670 microseconds at 96 kHz