It is unusual for a six-year-old product to achieve record sales but, since October 2020, Merging has reported more than 120 units Hapi units sold to all corners of the world, covering all types of applications, from theme parks and state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos studios to mastering houses commercial studios. This has motivated Merging to accelerate the introduction of its latest Merging+Hapi MKII, scheduled to be shipping before the end of March 2021. "Advance orders are already more than fifty, so eagerly is this product anticipated. All the good bits of Hapi remain, meaning all the current and future AD/DA interface cards will slot straight in as will the PT64 HDX and MADI cards," Merging states.
For the update Hapi MKII, Merging leveraged much of the developments the company introduced with the Anubis portable solution, including its more powerful ZMAN SoC processing technology. This allows the Hapi MKII to add channel-based routing, where each channel can be routed individually to make the most efficient use of resources. On the dedicated circuits, Merging improved the headphone specifications and features, adding a new mastering-grade amplifier stage that is not only more powerful but it is also suitable for ultra-low to very high impedance headphones. This includes adding headphones DSD volume support (DSD64, DSD128, DSD256) and DSD256 output support, with trim controls for level and polarity per channel.
Hapi MKII also retains the redundant power supply option and now has ST2022-7 Seamless Protection Switching added to the NMOS and ST2110-30 compatibility it already had. The dual Ethernet ports also allow "Switch Mode" operation which permits the connection of one additional Ravenna/AES67 device without the need for an external switch. This is particularly useful for compact location recording systems where additional switches add to the complexity and overall weight, perfectly complementing Anubis SPS and MAD. The combination of Anubis and Hapi provides a surprisingly powerful package that delivers exceptional audio fidelity with all the control needed to route microphones, control monitoring and even provide talkback to the artists.
The new Hapi MKII also gained a new front panel with an improved display with dimming options. And it gained additional roll-off filters on the DA have per-channel trims and polarity switching. Demands from many mastering houses have seen all trims including the DAs to be adjusted in 0.1 dB steps to provide the precision demanded by this speciality. These adjustments are also applicable to the headphone monitoring making sure that users get identical results whether they are listening on speakers or headphones.
Merging Technologies is a Swiss manufacturer with over 30 years of experience in developing groundbreaking, professional audio and video products for a wide range of entertainment and media industries. With a dedicated user base in the elite end of the music, film, television, mastering and performances industries, Merging is committed to developing product ranges with unrivaled quality and flexibility, no matter what the application. Merging builds tools for people who want more from their systems, have an inherent need to push boundaries, and believe that quality always comes first.
All Merging latest products fully support audio-over-IP networking, using Ravenna as a solution for real-time distribution of audio and other media content, leveraging standardized network protocols and technologies. Ravenna is designed to meet the strict requirements of the pro audio market featuring low latency, full signal transparency and high reliability and is fully AES67 and ST2110 compatible. With a capacity of nearly 8 x MADI streams over a single Gigabit Ethernet link, it is also the first and only Layer-3 based IP audio protocol with full support for high-channel count DXD and DSD signals.
The new Hapi MKII interface is designed to fully support the latest networking workflows, either in broadcast applications, or live sound, install and recording - all environments where Ravenna/AES67 enables the most versatile and robust options. Hapi MKII comes with a web-browser based control interface allowing any web-enabled device to access all the parameters of each Hapi unit over the network. And the ANEMAN software utility allows users to easily manage AoIP networks of any size.
Merging has kept abreast of AoIP developments by participating in international showcases and standardization events. It is no surprise that Hapi MKII complies with the key standard requirements for the most demanding applications in broadcast, live production and remote production facilities.
Users can order the Hapi MKII units equipped with the latest AKD8D/AKD8DP cards, featuring remotely controlled Mic/Line inputs and a line level post mic-pre “Direct Out” output, available in models that work up to 192kHz (AKD8D) and DXD/DSD256 (AKD8DP), or they can add the 3rd generation ADA8S/ADA8P remotely controlled Mic/Line Input and Output cards with Dual Gain topology - inspired from the Anubis preamps - also available in models that work up to 192kHz (ADA8S) and DXD/DSD256 (ADA8P). Using those combined 8 channel Mic/Line In and Line Out cards, the Hapi MKII can be configured with up to 16 channels of Analog In/Out. There are also MADI Expansion cards (MADM - Multimode / MADS - Singlemode) for 128 inputs and 128 outputs, the PT64 Card that delivers 64 channels for Pro Tools HD and Ravenna networking.
www.merging.com
