Home

Aardvark Direct Pro Q-10  

10 IN/10 OUT Audio Interface with 8 XLR Mic Preamps

Aardvark's unique Q10 brings a fresh new approach to computer recording. Its 8 studio quality XLR mic preamps have an ultra quiet .002% THD+N so you can professionally record an entire band direct to the computer without a mixer. Any of the 8 inputs can also be used as high quality ¼" line inputs and take advantage of Aardvark's legendary sound quality and low-jitter performance. The Q10 has tons of studio-friendly features like 4 ¼" analog effects inserts for easy integration with outboard processors, phantom power, 2 EFR™ guitar Hi-Z inputs, front mounted headphone & line monitor out level controls, SPDIF, MIDI, a shielded PCI card and comes with a full version of Cakewalk's Pro Audio 9.0 recording software.
The Q10 is compatible with almost all audio recording software, and is often used with Steinberg™ Cubase VST/32 & Nuendo™, Cakewalk Sonar™, Emagic Logic Audio Platinum™, , Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro 2000™ and gets ultra low-latency performance with software synths & samplers like Native Instruments™, GigaStudio™ and Propellerheads Reason™.
    HARDWARE FEATURE
  • 10 In/10 Out Computer Audio Interface
  • 8 Discrete Transistor XLR Mic Preamps
  • 8 ¼" Balanced Line Inputs (+4dBu/-10dBv)
  • 4 ¼" TRS Inserts  
  • 48 Volt Phantom Power     
  • 2 EFR™ Guitar Hi-Z Inputs      
  • 24 Bit AD/DA                    
  • S/PDIF Digital I/O
  • MIDI I/O
  • Word Clock I/O
  • ¼" Headphone Out w/ Level Knob
  • Stereo ¼" Monitor Out w/ Level Knob
  • Shielded PCI Card
  • Aardvark Low-Jitter Clock
  • Powerful On-Board DSP Processor
  • Expandable up to 4 Units (40 In/40 Out)    
    SOFTWARE FEATURES
  • Zero-Latency Monitoring
  • 20 Channel Real-Time DSP Mixing
  • 3-Stage Input Level Gain
  • Snapshot Preset Recall
  • DSP Powered VU Meters
  • Pan/Solo/Mute and Level Faders
  • Selectable +4dBu/-10dBv
  • Drop-down Digital Patch Bay
  • Simultaneous ASIO, GSIF, Dir X, MME
  • True Multi-Client Driver
  • 4 Color Schemes for the Control Panel
  • Room Brightness Control for Front Panel LED
  • ASIO2, GSIF, MME, DirectSound
  • ASIO Turbo Mode for Soft Synths
  • Bundled with Cakewalk™ Pro Audio 9  
The combination of discrete transistor mic preamps, 24 bit A/D D/A, shielded PCI card and Aardvark's legendary digital clocking technology guarantees the audio quality is second to none. The flexibility of the hardware completely replaces an outboard mixer, so you can record directly to the computer without sacrificing audio quality or studio functionality.
The DSP Control Panel for the Q10 uses the powerful DSP Processor on the PCI card, so you computer keeps running lightning fast and completely in real-time. It's laid out much like an analog mixer, and leaves native power for you to run more Plug-Ins and other processing. No other system has the brainpower of the Q10 and does so much, so easily.
Q10 Hardware Features
The true brilliance of the Q10 is the combination of the great sounding, flexible hardware & brilliant DSP powered software. But anyone that knows Aardvark, knows of the great reputation for amazing sounding audio hardware. The Q10 embodies all of Aardvark's great hardware technologies to bring to you one of the highest quality systems available.
As you'll quickly notice, the Q10 not only has great mic preamps and converters, but its hardware has all of the appropriate I/O's of an analog mixer. This means that with one unit, you can record direct to you computer without having to go through a mixer, noisy mic preamps and all the extra noisy cables just to record audio on your computer.
However, anyone with a Q10 will tell you that the single greatest feature of the Q10 is the 8 flexible and high quality inputs. With the XLR inputs going directly to the discrete mic preamp circuitry and the ¼" inputs going directly to the line level inputs. These having software controllable analog input gain applied before the A/D converter to maximize your sound and get clean gain just like an analog mixer. There's even Aardvark's proprietary EFR™ Hi-Z guitar input circuitry to warm up any guitar you connect directly into the Q10.
8 Discrete Microphone preamps:
The mic pre-amps in the Q10 are a hand crafted, discrete transistor design that yield outstanding noise specs and pristine sound quality. Most other manufacturers soundcards use standard "mic-pre-on-a-chip" solutions, which are not discrete and can lack the clarity and definition needed for professional use. The mic pre's in the Q10 are shielded in the breakout box and combine with top of the line converters to deliver professional audio quality from your mic's to your computer.
4 Inserts for Outboard Effects:
The Q10 is armed with 4 TRS ¼" inserts that work just like those of an analog mixer. These connect directly to outboard signal processing gear so you can 'insert' the processed analog signal between the mic preamps and the A/D converter. This means your classic analog signal processing gear such as EQs, compressors, limiters, can be easily integrated with the Q10s crystal clear mic preamps, allowing you to still use your favorite analog processors when you record direct to the computer.
2 EFR™ Hi-Z Guitar Inputs: The selectable front panel Hi-Z inputs (inputs 7+8) feature an Enhanced Frequency Response input circuit (EFR™ ) which is specifically tailored for recording electric and bass guitars with a unique warmth and clarity. If you've ever disliked the sound of a cheap DI box, then you'll love the warm, rich sound the EFR™ provides. You also don't need any more stomp boxes or extra cables to record.
Headphone & Monitor Output: It wouldn't be possible to record professionally to your computer unless you had convenient, pro quality monitoring. The Q10 has both a headphone output on the front of the unit and stereo Monitor outputs on the back to connect directly to your speakers.
Both outputs have individual level controls easily accessible on the front to give you mixer-like monitoring capability. Combine that with the 20 channel real-time DSP Mixer, and you have a system that much more flexible and professional than any sound card & mixer combination.

Shielded PCI Card:
Only Aardvark provides custom shielding on our PCI cards. Both the breakout box and the PCI card are designed to be completely noise free. This extra shielding keeps harmful computer noise and EMI out of your precious audio.
Expandable:With the clever design of the Q10, you can run up to 4 Q10's in the same computer for a maximum of 32 analog inputs and 8 channels of digital I/O! In fact, all Aardvark audio interfaces can be expanded up to 4 units…mix and match! No other line of computer interfaces allows as much flexibility and expansion as the Aardvark Direct Pro Series. Just connect the word clock in & outs on the Q10's to each of the devices and your running sample accurate with an unprecedented 40 channels of great sounding I/O. This is perfect for portable rigs that need tons of I/O and great sounding mic preamps.
Aardvark Low Jitter Clock:
Every Aardvark computer audio card uses clocking technology similar to our legendary AardSync II master clock generator. The AardSync II is the industry standard master clock, used to sync Pro Tools, digital mixers, A/D converters and other devices, improving their sound via its low-jitter clock. This proprietary clocking technology gives our computer audio interfaces improved stereo imaging and better resolution on extended high and low frequency audio tracks.
Q10 Software Features
Aside from great sounding hardware, the Q10 also sets itself apart from other interfaces by having a fully shielded DSP powered software control panel. This control panel is packed with user friendly features, and is laid out just like an analog mixer with stereo monitor outputs. The hardware & software combination of the Q10 truly replaces every aspect of traditional analog mixers, except you're getting better sound and tons more flexibility with digital presets and routing.
Q10 Control Panel:
The brain of the Q10 is the DSP powered Control Panel, which is designed to replace the need for an external hardware mixer, while still providing the real-time mixing and easy monitoring that you get with an analog mixer.
All of it's features are powered by the powerful DSP processor on the PCI Card, so the mixing, monitoring and metering won't slow down your computer. It works in a very similar way to an outboard mixer, and it works in combination with the Q10 hardware to provide a total digital mixing solution that includes flexible routing, zero-latency monitoring, snapshot preset recall, input level trim, digital peak metering and is +4/-10 selectable.
The Q10 Control Panel:
 The Control Panel is laid out just like a mixer and functions almost exactly as if you had a small mixer sitting next to your computer. It can be seen as a 20 channel mixer with a 2 channel monitor output that is routed to ¼" stereo line outs on the back panel, and a ¼" front panel headphone out. Ten of the channels are from the physical 10 inputs of the box (8 analog and stereo digital), and the other 10 channels are from the software application. Any combination of previously recorded audio tracks can be played back, mixed and monitored individually or in subgroups, while simultaneously recording additional audio tracks. This control panel even comes in 4 cool colors that you can change as often as you'd like. This lets you match it to your studio, or make life easy on the eyes during an all night recording session.
3-Stage Input Gain:
The input trim (found at the top of each mixer strip on the Q10 Software Control Panel) provides up to 75dB gain on the mic inputs. This gain is done in the analog stage (pre A/D conversion), just like an analog mixer would do. In contrast, most other audio cards provide the gain after the A/D, which dramatically increases the noise. The Q10 software avoids this by sending commands to the analog circuitry in the breakout box to get the best sound possible. This actually has 3 separate gain stages; m2 (Mic 2), m1 (mic 1), and L (Line level), which are each optimized for that particular gain range to give you the best possible sound.
ASIO Turbo Mode:
Our enhanced ASIO 2 driver provides some of the best latency performance in the industry. Down to 4ms or less with some applications such as software synths and VST instruments. Great for real-time performance.
ASIO Buffer Slider:
Not only is the ASIO driver really efficient, but it has a unique 31-step ASIO Buffer Slider which lets the user dial in the exact buffer size that is optimal for the computer. No other card goes this far to get real-time performance.
Snapshot Preset Recall:
Hitting the Presets button on the Control Panel activates the Presets window, which let you save an unlimited number of screen shots to recall at any time This is particularly useful when you need to change the patch bay settings or the input levels for different studio sessions. It's also nice to save different or special mixes so you can get up and running in no time.
Output Routing (Patch Bay):
Dealing with the software routing of audio interfaces can sometimes be a big hassle. That's why we took a photo of the back panel, and put easy to use drop down menu's to select what you want routed. This includes analog through to the outputs (Analog 1-8), any of the playback tracks (Playback 1-10), generating a tone and using the stereo output of the Control Panel's Monitor Bus (MONITOR).
Aardvark Logo Brightness Control:
One of the coolest features of the Q10 is that the power LED's brightness, on the front in the shape of the Aardvark logo, can be controlled from the DSP Control Panel to match your studio's light level. Even the phantom power button on the front activates both an LED on the front of the unit and one in the control panel.
Software Bundle: Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.0
The Q10 is bundled with a full version of Cakewalk Pro Audio 9.0, an excellent multi-track audio recording and MIDI sequencing software.
Top More