TC Electronic Announces BMC-2 High Def DAC and Monitor Control

Mar 27, 2009

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TC Electronic will be launching BMC-2 at the 2009 Frankfurt Musikmesse, a dedicated Digital-to-Analog Converter and high quality Monitor Control that's suited for use with digital and analog speakers.

Predictable speaker and headphone control is an important part of the production process, and with BMC-2 such luxury is always available—regardless of the state of the computer.

BMC-2 is a self-contained desktop unit and can be operated without a Mac or PC, putting instant control of sound levels within easy reach—no matter what. As well as controlling the listening level, BMC-2 can also switch between three digital input sources—S/PDIF, AES3, TOS and ADAT, and confirm if inputs are synchronous or not.

BMC-2 drives one set of analog speakers, one set of digital speakers and a set of headphones. Calibrated listening is available with both sets of speakers and the headphone output.

But it's not all about DAC and Level Control—BMC-2 also puts user-definable reference levels at your fingertips. Simply hit the REF button and BMC-2 will attenuate the output to a user-defined sound pressure level, so reference level monitoring is always just a button-press away.

BMC-2 precision re-clocks all inputs, and features high performance jitter rejection based on TC's patented JET technology that was originally developed for TC Electronic's flagship System 6000. Get the benefits of optical interfacing without the problems: Asymmetries are corrected, and jitter is completely removed from the equation.

Analog output offers wide dynamic range on XLR connectors. Peak level metering and Integrity Check—or 'iCheck'—is also available on the selected input. iCheck reveals if the signal is spatially compromised, e.g. because of data reduction, such as MP3 or AAC encoded at too low a bit rate.

BMC-2 is self-contained and works right out of the box with no need for a computer for setup. It interfaces directly with all new Macs and most PCs used for audio production—just attach the supplied 12V DC power adaptor.

Specs:

Inputs: Connect the inputs you wish to use. The S/PDIF input also handles AES3 and AES3-id format. Simply press one of the three INPUT SELECT keys to select the input you wish to listen to.

Outputs: Analog speakers connect to the XLRs, digital speakers to the S/PDIF output. The S/PDIF output is really an AES 3-id output, so can drive AES inputs, even over long cable runs.

Level Control: The big level knob controls the level to the speakers unless REF is active. The knob produces transparent gain settings with 0.0dB at the 3 o'clock position.

Reference levels: Press the REF key to activate calibrated listening on both sets of speakers as well as on headphones.

iCheck: Data reduced audio is not the same as 'CD quality'. BMC-2 provides a shortcut for revealing artifacts of data reduction. At bit-rates lower than 256kbps for stereo, the spatial imaging is often compromised, which may be easily exposed by listening to the components of the image in isolation.