Avid Pro Tools Carbon HDX DSP-Accelerated Audio Interface

Here's what Avid say about the Pro Tools Carbon:

For artists, bands, and producers, Pro Tools | Carbon is a new breed of audio interface—built to capture brilliance. It’s a hybrid audio production system that features incredible sound quality and combines the power of your native CPU with onboard HDX DSP acceleration. So you can push your computer to the limit when you mix and record through AAX DSP plugins with near-zero latency monitoring. All at the touch of a button. All in Pro Tools.

Hardware and software. Made for each other.

With intelligent Pro Tools integration, you’ll work smoothly all in one creative environment. The Hybrid Engine lets you offload real-time AAX DSP plugin processing to Carbon at will. This means you can record with a polished sound that brings out the best in your performance. No more third-party apps to slow you down. Just focus on the music you’re making—not what you’re making it with.

The best in both worlds.

The Hybrid Engine maximizes the performance of Pro Tools by using your native CPU and HDX DSP processing at the same time. When you put a track in DSP Mode, Carbon accelerates real-time AAX DSP plugins while your CPU plays back the rest of your mix. And because every AAX DSP plugin has a native counterpart, you can move seamlessly between worlds—just click a button. Record with HDX DSP power for near-zero latency monitoring. And work natively with the same plugins.

AAX. Architected to go beyond.

AAX is the only plugin architecture with true hybrid capability. It’s designed to deliver the same sound quality in both native and HDX DSP domains. Which means you can disconnect Carbon and take your mix on the road or collaborate with others who don’t have the interface.

Premium plugins included.

In addition to the 116 AAX plugins that come with Pro Tools—which include the Avid Complete Plugin Bundle, HEAT, and UVI Falcon - Carbon comes with a collection of premium plugins and sounds to get you started. Produce with virtual instruments from UVI and Native Instruments. Emulate mix environments with spatial audio processing from Embody. Dial in polished sounds with premium AAX DSP dynamics, EQs, and reverbs from McDSP, Arturia, and Plugin Alliance. And get 3 free months of Auto-Tune Unlimited. Then when you’re ready to take your sound further, there are thousands of AAX plugins and over 250 more AAX DSP available.

Epic performance.

With HDX DSP acceleration under the hood, Carbon is a powerhouse built on our industry-leading technologies. It’s finely tuned to process audio at blazing speed, so you can record with rock-solid sub-1 ms latency monitoring. Which means you’ll always hear yourself in perfect sync with the music as if you were playing live. 

The HDX Engine. Made to remove barriers.

At the heart of the interface is a custom-designed, high-performance FPGA and eight HDX DSPs. The FPGA routes audio lightning fast - one sample at a time - with virtually no latency. While the HDX DSPs handle real-time plugin processing, performing an amazing 22.4 billion operations per second. So no matter how big your session gets, or how many plugins you use in it, you can record with sub-1 ms latency. And it frees up your CPU cores for more virtual instruments and creative mixing.

Super sonics.

Every aspect of Carbon is engineered in pursuit of sonic excellence. Superior audio conversion. Double resolution clocking. And our most transparent preamp design ever. All details have been meticulously considered, so that Carbon captures every nuance with the greatest depth, dimension, and clarity. All you have to do is press record.

Converters. Clean and true.

The best sound quality begins with exceptional audio converters - we went the extra mile designing ours. With four ADCs per channel, Carbon has a remarkable 126 dB dynamic range. And from input, to the HDX DSPs, and into Pro Tools, the entire gain structure works at uniform 32-bit precision, providing more headroom without any signal degradation. The result? You’ll capture clean, natural sounding audio. Every time you record.

Mic preamps. Musical and transparent.

With a padless design, incredible 126 dB dynamic range, and support for 32-bit / 192 kHz audio conversion, Carbon features the most pristine preamps we’ve ever made. Capture performances without coloration. Bypass any preamp to use your own outboard gear. And with Variable Z built in, you can adjust input impedance to optimize or alter the tone of any microphone or instrument—from dynamic and ribbon mics, to guitar and bass.

Connect the whole band.

With 25 x 34 simultaneous I/O, Carbon is ready to record any session–from solo artists to full bands. Eight pristine preamps, four headphone outputs, and 16 channels of ADAT I/O open up creative possibilities for miking, cue mixing, and expansion. Plus, with super-fast, high-bandwidth Ethernet connectivity, it preserves the highest possible quality from input to output.

The future is Ethernet.

Carbon connects to your computer over Ethernet. Based on AVB, our version of this high-bandwidth, low-latency connection streams audio to your host system at 32-bit float precision—the first in the industry. This means you have consistently high headroom and superior audio quality throughout the system. And it also primes Carbon for the future.

Specifications

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Avid-qualified Ethernet or Thunderbolt-equipped Mac computer (see details)  

INPUTS

• Combo Mic/Line Inputs: 8 balanced XLR/TRS with Variable Z (impedance) on inputs 5–8
• DB25 Line Inputs: 8 balanced via 25-pin D-sub
• Instrument (Variable Z) Inputs: 2 unbalanced ¼-inch TS
• Digital Inputs: ADAT: 16 channels @ 44.1–96 kHz, ADAT: 8 channels @ 176.4–192 kHz

A/D CONVERSION

Mic Preamps

• Dynamic Range: 126 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -105 dB (0.00056%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB
• EIN: -129 dB (A-weighted)

Line Inputs

• Dynamic Range: 125 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -106 dB (0.0005%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

Line Inputs (True Bypass)

• Dynamic Range: 126 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -113 dB (0.00022%) 
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

Instrument Inputs

• Dynamic Range: 125 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -103 dB (0.0007%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

OUTPUTS

• DB25 Line Outputs: 8 balanced via 25-pin D-sub
• Monitor Outputs: 2 balanced ¼-inch TRS
• Headphone Outputs: 4 stereo ¼-inch TRS
• Digital Outputs: ADAT: 16 channels @ 44.1–96 kHz, ADAT: 8 channels @ 176.4–192 kHz

D/A CONVERSION

Line Outputs

• Dynamic Range: 120 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -110 dB (0.0003%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

Monitor Outputs

• Dynamic Range: 120 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N: -110 dB (0.0003%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

Headphone Outputs

• Power: 100 mW into 300 ohm; 200 mW into 32 ohm
• Dynamic Range: 116 dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N (32 ohm): -87 dB (0.0045%)
• THD+N (300 ohm): -100 dB (0.001%)
• Frequency Response: 20 Hz–20 kHz, ±0.1 dB

DSP ACCELERATION

• HDX DSP: 8 HDX DSP processors, (2.8 GHz aggregated processing)

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Pro Tools | Carbon audio interface
• Pro Tools software
• 1-year subscription with a Pro Tools perpetual parachute*
• 116 AAX plugins (over 70 AAX DSP plugins), including UVI Falcon, Celemony Melodyne 5 essential, the Avid Complete Plugin Bundle, and HEAT
• 3 free months of Antares Auto-Tune Unlimited, including Auto-Tune Hybrid
• 5.4 GB sound library
• Standard support

Included premium plugins

• Arturia Rev PLATE-140
• Brainworx bx_console N
• Brainworx bx_rockrack
• Brainworx bx_masterdesk
• Brainworx bx_Purple Audio MC77
• Embody Immerse Virtual Studio
• McDSP 6050 Ultimate Channel Strip HD
• Native Instruments Vintage Organs
• UVI Model D

Accessories

• Power cable
• Ethernet cable
• Rackmount screws and desktop feet
• Registration card