Computer Audio Hardware TEC Award
The TEC Awards committee and the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) are pleased to announce and celebrate the nominees across the 22 Technical Achievement and seven Creative Achievement TEC Award categories. The annual TEC Awards recognizes and celebrates the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games, and multi-media.
Over 1,000 products and projects were nominated, and final nominees represent those that, in the opinion of the nominating panel, represent superior accomplishment in their respective fields. Nominees include products and technologies from the likes of well-established brands, including Avid, JBL, Native Instruments, Pioneer, Roland, Yamaha and others, and emerging companies, Spitfire Audio, Soyuz Microphones, and United Studio Tech, making the list.
Computer Audio Hardware Nominees
- Antelope Audio – Zen Tour Synergy Core
- Apogee – Symphony Desktop
Focusrite – Scarlett 3rd Gen USB Interfaces - Hotone Audio – JOGG
- PreSonus – Quantum 2626
- Solid State Logic – SSL 2+
- Universal Audio – Apollo Twin X
- Universal Audio – Apollo x4
Antelope Audio is proud to announce that its Zen Tour Synergy Core 18 x 26 desktop ThunderboltTM 3 and USB 2.0 audio interface has been nominated for Outstanding Technical Achievement in the Computer Audio Hardware category in the 36th Annual Technical Excellence & Creativity Awards® (TEC Awards), the winner of which will be announced during NAMM® Believe in Music Week — a global online gathering to unify and support the people who bring music to the world — being held as a virtual event on January 18-22, 2021.
Computer Audio Hardware Nominees highlight an Outstanding Technical Achievement recognise innovative product design and excellence in audio and sound production and includes 22 TEC Awards categories that span across the pro audio product spectrum. By being nominated in the Computer Audio Hardware category, the winner of which will be announced during the NAMM® Believe in Music Week virtual event on January 18-22, 2021, Antelope Audio’s Zen Tour Synergy Core 18 x 26 desktop ThunderboltTM 3 and USB 2.0 audio interface with onboard DSP has effectively come full circle, having made a show-stopping splash when introduced to widespread critical acclaim at The 2020 NAMM Show in January.
Antelope Audio’s Zen Tour Synergy Core is all about making it easier to effortlessly enter the creative flow and make album-ready recordings with high-fidelity conversion and sharp transient response typically reserved for professional studios and workflow possibilities usually only achievable with complex setups. Indeed, its nomination in the 36th Annual TEC Awards actively recognises its technical excellence in terms of analogue and digital connectivity, clocking and conversion, onboard real-time effects, and workflow enhancement, with notable key features well worth highlighting here as follows: four discrete ultra-linear preamps with 65dB of gain for studio-quality recordings, all of which work as microphone/line inputs on XLR-TRS combo jacks; four Hi-Z/line instrument inputs on TRS 1⁄4-inch jacks; eight DC-coupled analogue output channels over a D-Sub 25 connector allowing control of modular synthesizers; two reamp outputs on TRS 1⁄4-inch jacks for further amp processing of guitar signals; ThunderboltTM 3 (up to 32 channels) and USB 2.0 (up to 24 channels) ports for native DAW application with custom macOS and Windows drivers; digitally expandable over ADAT (up to eight channels) and SPDIF (up to two channels); two stereo headphone outputs; pair of monitor outputs; collection of 36 analogue modelled effects featuring classic as well as rarely-emulated compressors, EQs, and mic preamps, plus guitar amps and cabs; 4x DSP, 2x FPGA Synergy Core proprietary onboard real-time platform for effects processing with imperceptible latency; up to 112 effects instances per session loaded simultaneously; advanced digital routing matrix enabling complex input/output routing with simple drag-and-drop functionality; four 32-channel mixers for creating individual cue mixes and sub-mixes, allowing headphone mixes distribution to musicians while applying pan, reverb, or other effects, and a stereo link; customisable presets, complete with signal routing, level adjustments, mixer settings, and sub-mixes; direct hardware monitoring with effects, processed in real-time with imperceptible latency; multifunctional touchscreen display for monitoring, operation, and recall of hardware-based presets; front panel- based volume knob with selectable sources and function buttons, plus easily-accessible talkback with built-in microphone via multi-purpose ‘Antelope’ button; optional standalone operation (to work without being connected to a computer); and wireless control of software features from a separate computer connected to the same network.
Needless to say, voting for the 36th Annual TEC Awards is now open — to professionals that make their primary living in the music, sound, and entertainment technology industries. Indeed, the TEC and nominee community are invited to vote, including audio and entertainment technology professionals from studios, venues, houses of worship, audiences of nominated companies, and members of the NAMM retail community that sell pro audio and related gear, with requests to vote being accepted online. Closing on December 30, 2020, voting is powered by Broadjam, a third-party voting service, with winners’ names being kept in confidence until the online celebration is held during the NAMM® Believe in Music Week virtual event on January 18-22, 2021.
Antelope Audio also invites individuals who qualify to cast their vote for Outstanding Technical Achievement in the Computer Audio Hardware category.
