Burl Audio B80 Mothership

The Burl B80 Mothership is a multi-channel version of Burl Audio’s critically acclaimed B2 Bomber ADC and DAC. Pushing the boundaries once again, the Burl Audio B80 Mothership AD/DA converter has up to 80 channel capability. Using a card based system, and a heavy duty 4U chassis, the B80 Mothership employs 10 card slots with 2, 4 and 8 channel AD/DA cards, all with the B2 quality signal path. Every ADC channel has a BX1 transformer and every DAC channel has the latest Burl Audio discrete op-amp, BOPA2, technology. For many who have already embraced the B2 Bomber, this is a dream come true. Recording an entire band and playing back through 24 channels Burl at a time, is a truly beautiful experience.

With a completely configurable AD/DA, a converter for any situation can be realized. If you just mix, load up the B80 with 8 BDA8 cards for 64 channels of mind blowing fidelity. If you track live, 6 BAD4 cards will give you 24 B2 quality inputs, and 4 BDA8 cards gives you 32 channels of outputs. Rocking.

Digital interconnect is also completely configurable, and controlled by a swappable motherboard. The first offering of the B80 digital motherboard, the BMB1, comes standard with two Digi-link connectors for direct hookup to Pro Tools. Burl Audio does away with the expansion port, making both primary ports. That means you can play 64 DAC channels straight out of Pro Tools with one unit! No more cascading units with multiple word clocks. All channels can run off of one internal master clock. Good bye word clock generator! Of course if you do need more channels, multiple units run flawlessly with tight clocking.

The technology that makes this possible is the Burl BackBone. The Burl BackBone is a high bandwidth backplane delivering incredible digital audio throughput. The Burl BackBone also delivers large amounts of power to the analog sections. Master clock travels directly to each converter eliminating the need for individual PLLs.

Digital ad on cards to follow will be the BMADI and BAES. Because each card slot can handle a single MADI card, an entire MADI switch matrix can be realized in one unit. Other future digital cards will include word clock distribution and time code sync for film and video.

The B80 Mothership is the result of over five years of tireless research and development. The no compromise, no BS design strategy is immediately apparent in the build quality. The 4U, steal enclosure is truly impressive. No plastic, no layers of menus, everything is meant to be used easily with zero hassle. Configuring a B80 is literally a snap. All you do is slide the card down its card guide, snap it in the Burl BackBone, turn the hand screws, and you’re there.

Configuration cards currently consist of the BMB1 with Digi-link, the BAD4, 4-channel ADC card, and the BDA8, 8 channel DAC card. Cards to follow are the BMADI card and the BAES card. (available 2011) There are also plans for film and broadcast grade “Black Face” cards where channel density and price per channel are of greater concern.

Powering a unit like the B80 Mothership takes some juice, so we designed the BP250 to drive the 80 channels of class-A analog circuitry. With a 250 watt continuous power capability, and +/- 24 volt rails, a multi-channel AD/DA converter is finally getting the power it deserves.

For complete control of all of the B80 signal routing, and stand alone metering, a USB port has been included. This is not an audio interface, it is strictly for control. A future touch screen control will plug in here. The flexibility of the B80 design allows for a smooth integration and upgrade path.

Burl Audio’s intention with the B80 is to create one main chassis that takes care of virtually any music, broadcast or film recording situation, revolutionizing pro audio as we know it. In this digital era, many yearn for the tone of records past, and analog tape is becoming a lost art. The B80 Mothership clearly bridges this analog to digital gap.

• B80 Mothership
• 4U main chassis
• BMB1, motherboard
• 2 Digi-link connectors
• 1 BNC Word Clock In
• 2 BNC Word Clock Out
• 10 card slots
• All slots accept AD/DA, AES, MADI
• 2, 4, and 8 channel analog cards
• BP250, 250 watt, 1U power supply