THE FRONT

The plethora of ports found on the MusicXPC begin right on the front panel. Starting from left to right the ports are as follows:

Microphone Input: You can record audio straight away using the CD quality analog microphone input. OK, we'll admit that the latency is not as lightning fast as a professional audio card, but you don't have to buy a piece of hardware to record an audio signal.

Headphone output: You can monitor audio material from hard drive or CD/DVD by simply plugging into the front of the MusicXPC. Once again out of the box we make it easy to work with audio, regardless of your situation.

1394 IEEE ports: The 1394 [firewire] ports are perfect for the new audio devices that will connect to the computer this way. We have tested many audio interfaces and found the performance of these ports incredible. They offer plug and play connectivity and hassle-free operation. You can also connect hard disk and optical storage devices, like DVD burners, for flexible expansion options.

Two USB 2.0 Ports: Capable of a blistering transfer rate of 480MBPS, these ports allow for the connection of high performance storage devices and high definition audio devices. We have tested audio hard drives connected to these USB 2.0 ports and we can report that they are fast enough for large audio production with scores of audio tracks.

The next major wave of USB 2.0 products will be high-definition [24/96/192] audio interfaces that connect to the computer solely through USB 2.0. We can't say enough about the tremendous power available to the audio professionals via USB 2.0.

THE BACK

The back of the MusicXPC has SPDIF input and outputs, 2 more USB 2.0 ports, 1 more 1394 ports, 6 channel analog output for surround/home theatre applications and more.

SPDIF Output: With this port you can stream 16-bit audio from the hard drive to a digital recorder [DAT, Audio card, other MusicXPC] at up to 48KHz. The MusicXPC is the first audio computer with a built in digital output as standard equipment. This port uses the new cap-less connector so you won't lose your optical covers anymore.

LAN / Gigabit Ethernet: The presence of a Gigabit ethernet port on the back of the MusicXPC means more than fast network connections, this port is fast enough to play large numbers of digital audio files over ethernet. So beyond being the best way to manage data, Gigabit ethernet allows digital musicians to access files without first bringing them to the local hard drive.

COM port: We realize that there are other things you want to do with your MusicXPC besides music. To sync your handheld device simply connect it to the COM port and transfer your schedule or address book.

VGA Connector: This built in VGA connector ensures that you can work with your MusicXPC out of the box. Because we use the main RAM for VGA graphics, you can fill just about any large screen with beautiful color and depth.

Optical Digital input: This port allow the recording of digital audio directly to the hard drive from an audio interface. You can use this to complete audio transfers to your MusicXPC from a digital recorder. This port uses the new cap-less connector so you won't lose your optical covers anymore.

FireWire: This is the main 6-pin FireWire® 400 port. This is ideal for connecting your FireWire interfaces like Digidesign's Digi002 and M-Audio FireWire 410. This port has power so it can power most of the smaller FireWire interfaces that do not need to be plugged into AC power.

COAX Digital output: This port allow the streaming of digital audio directly from the hard drive to an audio interface. This is for devices with COAX digital inputs like audio interfaces, DAT machines and hardware digital recorders. For most MusicXPC users the digital I/O that will be used will be on the audio interface.

Line In: This port is designed for recording analog signals coming from most devices. It records at sampling rates up to 48KHz and is ideal for transfering audio from casettes, DJ mixers, etc. for audio restoration applications.

6 Channel Audio Output: The MusicXPC comes with audio capabilities that are not usually found on personal computers. The high quality 6-channel Audio Output for connecting to 5.1 surround-sound speaker systems. This means that right out of the box you can listen to material without a sound card being installed. Now let's be clear, this is not professional quality audio but the quality is perfectly good for monitoring purposes. Certainly, you will need a high quality audio interface for serious work.

PS/2 Mouse and Keyboard: We were not content to force you to use your USB bandwidth for mouse and keyboard input data. We believe that the best protocol for connecting a keyboard and mouse to an audio computer is via a PS/2 keyboard and mouse.