The ne8800S from Ashly is a network-enabled DSP processor that offers easy setup and control using standard 10/100 Ethernet protocol and Protea ne software. The unit features eight analog inputs and eight analog outputs, along with eight channels of AES3 output, with the digital card filling one of the four option bays that provide expanded functionality.
The DSP signal processing library is extensive and utilizes multiple SHARC 32-bit processors with sample rates of either 48 or 96 kHz. Processing blocks include a 8 x 8 matrix mixer, a full array of graphic, parametric and all-pass equalization, crossover filters including 8th-order Butterworth, Bessel, Linkwitz-Riley and notched Linkwitz-Riley.
The Protea Software Suite also includes an automatic feedback suppressor, gain sharing automatic microphone mixing, ambient noise sensing and level adjustment, autolevelers, compressors, matrix duckers, limiters, frequency-keyed noise gates, signal delay up to 1365 ms on every channel and a choice of sinewave, pink or white noise generators.
All programming is accomplished using standard 10/100 Ethernet or RS-232 protocol and Protea ne software on a PC platform. Hot-plug software control allows for plugging any function into any channel block, even when running live audio with recompiling necessary. Automatic DHCP network IP configuration reduces network set up time. Multi-level software security with password access provides a tamper-proof audio system.
