Metric Halo 3D Audio Interfaces are Nathaniel Reichman's Hardware Product Of 2020, he explains why.
The LIO-8 3d is the result of Metric Halo’s 20-year research program into the fusion of digital and analog audio technologies. It comes with 8 channels of mastering grade A/D Conversion and D/A Conversion with analog domain monitor control (8 channels). It has ultra-high impedance Guitar/Bass DI inputs 8 channels of AES I/O, SMPTE LTC I/O, MIDI I/O, 128 Channel x 64 bus mixer (up to 192k), Instantiable DSP processing with over 100 plugins, Integrated analog domain surround-capable Monitor Controller and all I/O supports 192k.
The 3d Card Upgrade is a user-installable hardware and software combination that completely refreshes your Metric Halo devices for the next leg of the digital revolution. It replaces all the digital & computer interfacing on your hardware with up-to-date, cutting-edge implementations.
Anyone who has bought a Metric Halo interface in the last 18 years can upgrade it to modern-day specs.
The 3d Card Upgrade System includes:
MH Link — Exceptionally low-latency, Ultra-high-bandwidth audio, clock and data connections over Gigabit Ethernet.
MH EdgeBus — An Ultra-high-bandwidth programmable and pluggable audio expansion slot. MH EdgeBus allows you to effortlessly extend your system to be exactly the interface you need at any given moment.
MH Console – A modern, 64-bit application to control your entire system with a simple, lightning fast and flexible routing model and a stunning new visual design.
MH Mixer – 128 input x 64 bus multi-box unified zero-latency mixer.
MH MonitorControl – Integrated surround capable monitor controller with system processing capability. Includes Analog Domain level control on ULN-8/LIO-8 hardware.
MH Record – 128 input ultra-reliable multitrack recorder with deep hardware integration.
MH DSP Engine — Enhanced processing power and massive memory in the hardware. All 3d hardware includes the +DSP license providing over a hundred plug-ins and the unique Metric Halo Graph environment.
MH Link Audio — Direct Ethernet CoreAudio driver (with support for up to 128 channels of I/O @ 192k).
USB Audio — USB-C Class Audio Interface.
MH Console supports the industry-standard Mackie Control protocol as well as Avid’s EuCon control surface protocol. If you want tactile control over MH Console, all you have to do is add one of the many supported control surfaces.
Faders, pans, mute, solo, headamp controls and MH Record transport controls are at your fingertips, and MH Console is ultra-responsive - no lag between the surface and the DSP.
You can navigate through your mix from your surface. Moving an Aux to the faders is a single button push, and if your surface has a master fader, the selected bus master is always on the master fader.
If you want to learn more about the Metric Halo 3D Upgrade System then check out their web site.
What Nataniel Thinks About Metric Halo 3D Interfaces
While Metric Halo’s 3D audio interfaces, the ULN-8 and LIO-8 came out before 2020, I purchased an LIO-8 in early 2020, and it has turned out to be a great investment. I wrote about using Metric Halo interfaces as Dolby Atmos controllers over the summer.
But since then, the control software for Metric Halo interfaces “MIOConsole3D” has hugely improved. It’s not well-reported in the industry, but the MIOConsole3D software now has deep EuCon monitoring support, with many of the excellent features found in the much more expensive MTRX/DADman series. It’s well worth a look if you use any of the S-series Avid controllers from Avid Control all the way up to S6.