z-8.8r, z-16.16r, z-32.32r and z-64.64r
Digital Detangler Pro

The Z-Systems Digital Detangler pro series is based on the same technology as the z-8.8 digital detangler, without the optical format capability (they're AES/EBU or S/PDIF only), but with the added convenience of remote/computer control.

If you have more than a couple of pieces of digital audio gear, you've probably found that getting them all hooked up and talking to each other is no simple task. Furthermore, you've probably found that re-configuring your set-up for different users or different modes of operation can be a real nightmare. If the z-8.8 is not large enough for you or if you need the added convenience of a remote control or a Mac or Windows control interface, the digital detangler pro is the way to seamlessly integrate and re-configure your digital audio workplace.

For example, let's say you have many A/D and D/A converters, several DAT machines, CD transports, digital audio workstations, and outboard effects processors. There are conceivably many different ways you would want to hook these devices together, depending on which source might need to feed which DAT machine, workstation, or D/A converter. Furthermore, if a single source needs to feed multiple destinations at the same time (e.g., an A/D converter feeding several DAT machines, a workstation, and a D/A converter for monitoring), daisy-chaining these destination devices is an unsafe and unreliable way to go.

The digital detangler pro series offers a solution to all of these problems. Unlike the z-8.8, however, the digital detangler pros use multi-pin breakout cables for their AES/EBU connections. This is because of the high density of interconnect needed to establish up to 64 source and destination connections. The breakout cables are identical in pinout to those used by TASCAM for the DA88 eight-track DAT recorder. We supply the pinout so you can make your own cables, or we can supply you with extremely high-quality AES/EBU breakout cables.

Hook up all of your digital audio sources and destinations to the digital detangler pro's rear panel. The connection pattern is then simply established by the touch of a few buttons on the unit's remote control or a couple of keystrokes on the computer. Furthermore, both the remote control and the computer interfaces allow the creation of multiple presets, or "salvos" which can later be recalled for instant reconfiguration on the fly.

As with the z-8.8, the detangler pros are fully asynchronous, which allows them to handle multiple sample rates at the same time. For the real do-it-yourselfer, we also supply the control protocol so you can build your own control interface (software or hardware). Other manufacturers have written their own control interfaces for the digital detangler pro so it can be used with their products. See, for example, Sonic Science.

"Thanks to the Z-Systems 16.16, my digital workstation is complete. I am impressed with the ease in which the system works both with the remote and the control software."
Chic Ciccolini, III, Hastings Sound Editorial

"The sound effects creation for our latest Cincinnati Pops album (Symphonic Star Trek - Telarc CD-80383) required us to set up a special surround sound control room from scratch. We had three DAWs, two 8-tracks, a sampler, a digital console, and numerous special effects. The 16.16 tied it all together and saved us many trips behind the racks to repatch our gear. We were constantly altering our configuration, and the 16.16 and its companion software made that almost effortless."
Scott Burgess, Telarc Digital

"Trying to integrate three separate digital audio workstations into a shared arrangement with one digital multitrack was posing a huge problem until Z- Systems came along. Now we have four channels of digital ouputs from each of 2 Sonic Solutions DAWs, plus analog feeds from Synclaviers and PostPros going through Apogee A/Ds - all sharing the same hub. It really is an elegant set-up."
Ron Bochar, C5, Inc.

"The Z-Systems units give our facility flexible digital switching interfaces in compact, affordable packages."
Jim Austin, Saul Zaentz Company Film Center

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