Sennheiser - HHB CDR-882 with Updated Firmware

September 21, 2009 - HHB CDR-882 DualBurn professional CD recorder

Sennheiser Electronics Corporation, the US distributor for HHB, is now shipping the new HHB CDR-882 DualBurn professional CD recorder, which is compatible with all types of CD-R media, both low and high-speed up to 52X, including HHB's CDR80HS 2X-52X disc.

With genuine REC-REC drive configuration, the HHB CDR-882 resolves the inherent limitations of previous generation CD recorders by supporting seamless extended recording time across two or more discs, as well as simultaneous recording of two discs, high-speed duplication and intelligent disc management. New firmware (v2.6), freely downloadable for existing units and included with new units at no extra cost, provides the HHB CDR-882 with enhanced performance and a wide range of new state-of-the-art functions.

The HHB CDR-882 is designed from the ground up for high-end performance in a range of professional music recording and digital media applications. Full 24-bit A/D and D/A converters with noise-shaped dither onto CD combine with a high-quality quartz crystal-derived internal clock and audiophile-grade analogue circuitry to deliver superior sonic performance.

Build quality is similarly uncompromised, with the CDR-882 weighing in at 6.7 kg/14.7 lbs. Unlike adapted consumer devices, the CDR-882 uses high-quality IDE CD-R drives mounted in a massive steel 2U rackmounting chassis to ensure reliable, glitch-free recording, even in unfavorable environments such as live concerts.

Comprehensive professional connectivity includes balanced XLR analogue I/O, unbalanced phono analogue I/O, balanced XLR AES/EBU digital I/O, coaxial and optical S/PDIF digital I/O, external word clock input, RS232 remote control and parallel control interface. An on-board sample rate converter accepts digital signals from 32-96kHz, and the CDR-882 ships with an infrared remote control.

A full complement of professional features equips the HHB CDR-882 for a wide variety of tasks. Track IDs may be manually created, or auto-generated from the digital input, audio level threshold, or time period, both of which are user-definable. When recording seamlessly across two or more discs, track IDs are inserted when the next disc starts, and where the user-definable fade out and fade in start and finish. With an overlap between the two discs, the whole program can either be played back uninterrupted in the CDR-882, or easily reconstructed in a DAW using the track IDs to precisely align the audio from the two or more discs.

With the new firmware, the CDR-882 can now create new tracks on the fly and boasts even better performance. The burn process is now optimized to handle the wide temperature variations that may occur with disc burning for extended durations. The write strategies are optimized to ensure the very best performance from the four types of HHB CD media: CDR80 low-speed, CDR80HS high-speed, CDRW80 re-writeable media, and our highest quality media, CDR74Gold low-speed, which now boasts a BLER (block error rate) figure that is comparable to pressed commercial CDs. In addition to these optimizations, which are automatic on detection of the media type, the CDR-882 recognizes and optimizes performance for other non-HHB media as well.

The CDR-882 supports CD text, which may now be added after recording but before finalizing, and makes use of CD text to identify multi-disc recordings and their correct order. The finalization process adds the CD text information in the table of contents.

The versatility of the CDR-882 is enhanced further by the inclusion of sync record and disc copy modes, a program mode to enable selective track record/replay, and single/clone modes to select recording to one or both drives.

Commenting on the CDR-882, Dawn Birr, product manager, HHB, says, "With CD-R continuing to play an important role in all kinds of professional applications, HHB has used their experience in CD-R technology to build the ultimate CD recorder, providing users with advanced record and playback facilities, along with uncompromised sonic performance, high-end build-quality, and comprehensive professional connectivity."

To fully support the new drives, a new main firmware v2.6 is now available on the website (www.hhb.co.uk) under "SOFTWARE". The new firmware is fully compatible with existing CDR-882 recorders fitted with older drives. New firmware, vD03E, is also available to download for older drives and improve finalization and reduces data loss.

MSRP: $1,149.00

For more information, visit their web site at www.sennheiser.com.

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