For artists, bands and producers, Pro Tools Carbon is a new generation of audio interface, designed to capture every nuance of a performance with fidelity, transparency, simplicity and epic performance.
It is a hybrid audio production system that delivers incredible sound quality and combines the power of your native CPU with built-in HDX DSP acceleration. That means you can push your computer to the limit when mixing and recording with AAX DSP plug-ins, with virtually zero-latency monitoring. All at the push of a button. All in Pro Tools.
Hardware and Software: Made for Each Other
With smart Pro Tools integration, you'll work seamlessly in a creative environment. Hybrid Engine lets you process AAX DSP plug-ins in real time. That means you can record with a polished sound that brings out the best in your performance. No more third-party apps slowing you down. Focus only on the music you're making, not the tools.
The Best of Both Worlds
Hybrid Engine maximizes Pro Tools performance by using your native CPU and HDX DSP processing at the same time. When you put a track in DSP Mode, Carbon accelerates AAX DSP plug-ins in real time while your CPU plays back the rest of your mix. And because every AAX DSP plug-in has a native counterpart, you can switch seamlessly between the two worlds with a click of a button. Record with the power of HDX DSP for virtually zero-latency monitoring. And work natively with the same plug-ins.
AAX: Designed to Go Further
AAX is the only plug-in architecture with true hybrid capability. It is designed to deliver the same sound quality in both the native and HDX DSP domains. That means you can unplug Carbon and take your mix with you, or collaborate with others who don't have the interface.
Premium Plug-Ins
In addition to the 116 AAX plug-ins that come with Pro Tools, including the Avid Complete Plugin Bundle, HEAT and UVI Falcon, Carbon comes with a collection of premium plug-ins and sounds to help you get started. Produce with virtual instruments from UVI and Native Instruments.
Emulate mixing environments with Embody spatial audio processing
Craft polished sounds with premium AAX DSP dynamics, EQs and reverbs from McDSP, Arturia and Plugin Alliance. And get 3 months of Auto-Tune Unlimited free. Then, when you're ready to take your sound even further, there are thousands of AAX plug-ins and more than 250 more AAX DSP plug-ins available.
Thanks to HDX DSP acceleration, Carbon delivers epic performance. It is precisely tuned to process audio at incredible speed, so you can record with solid monitoring latency of under 1 ms. That means you'll always hear yourself in perfect sync with the music, as if you were playing live.
The HDX Engine: Built to Remove Barriers
At the heart of the interface are a custom-designed, high-performance FPGA and eight HDX DSPs. The FPGA routes audio at lightning speed, one sample at a time, with virtually no latency. Meanwhile, the HDX DSPs handle real-time plug-in processing, performing an astonishing 22.4 billion operations per second. No matter how big your session is, or how many plug-ins you use in it, you can record with latency under 1 ms. And it frees up your CPU cores for more virtual instruments and creative mixing.
It also features a thermal and cooling design. A high-performance audio interface generates a lot of heat. That's why we engineered a thermal design that keeps Carbon cool and quiet, even when stacked with other gear in your rack. A single axial fan gently pushes air from the front of the interface to the back, modulating its speed to dissipate heat. It's also super quiet, so it can stay in the same room with you while you record.
Every aspect of Carbon is designed for sonic excellence. Superior audio conversion. Dual-resolution clocking. A preamp design that is more transparent than ever. Every detail has been meticulously studied so that Carbon captures every nuance with the greatest possible depth, dimension and clarity.
Converters: Crisp and Real
The best sound quality starts with exceptional audio converters. With four ADCs per channel, Carbon has a remarkable dynamic range of 126 dB. And from the input through to the HDX DSPs and Pro Tools, the entire gain structure runs at a uniform 32-bit precision, delivering greater dynamic range with no signal degradation. The result? You'll capture audio with a crisp, natural sound. Every time you record.
Musical, transparent mic preamps. With a padless design, an incredible 126 dB dynamic range and support for 32-bit / 192 kHz audio conversion,
Carbon features cleaner preamps than ever. Capture performances without coloration. Bypass any preamp to use your own external gear. And with built-in Variable Z, you can adjust the input impedance to optimize or alter the tone of any microphone or instrument, from ribbon and dynamic mics to guitar and bass.
Clock: Twice the Precision
Precision clocking is crucial for audio free of distortion and artifacts. That's why a dual-resolution implementation of JetPLL jitter-elimination technology was designed. It is an FPGA-controlled oscillator running at 100 MHz, twice as fast as typical JetPLL-based clocks. And it is twice as accurate, with extraordinarily low jitter, ensuring high-fidelity capture and playback.
I/O
“Carbon connects to your computer over Ethernet. Based on AVB, this version of the wide-bandwidth, low-latency connection streams audio to your host system with 32-bit floating-point precision, an industry first. That means you have wide dynamic range and superior audio quality continuously throughout the system. It also future-proofs Carbon.”
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, signal mixing and expansion. And thanks to super-fast, wide-bandwidth Ethernet connectivity, it preserves the highest possible quality from input to output.
