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Discrete 8 Synergy Core Thunderbolt/USB Audio Interface
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The New Frontier in FX Processing
Introducing Synergy Core - Antelope Audio's next generation signal processing platform. Using FPGA's massive parallel computation capabilities and industry-standard DSP power combined, Synergy Core frees up your CPU while processing your FX with extremely low latency.36 Synergy Core FX Included
Adding further value to your investment, the Discrete 8 Synergy Core includes a compelling library of 36 real-time studio effects, meticulously modelled after their hardware originals. It's all happening inside your audio interface with the lowest latency possible thanks to FPGA's massive parallel computing capabilities, DSP processing, and fast Thunderbolt™ connectivity. The library can be expanded to include any effects you choose from our web store.
8 Discrete Transistor Preamps
The Discrete 8 Synergy Core features unique 6-transistor discrete preamps for console-grade sound quality. The circuit is the outcome of an extensive study of legendary microphone preamps that shaped the sounds of countless records. We consider it a "modern classic". It is crafted with our Edge & Verge family of modeling condenser mics in mind. With their characteristics perfectly complemented by the preamp design and Synergy Core technology, a new level of microphone recording is achieved.
Mic Modeling Ready
The Discrete 8 Synergy Core's Accusonic 3D modeling engine lets you transform the Antelope Audio Edge and Verge modeling microphones into expensive-sounding vintage replicas. Shape the final sound with complete control over proximity effect and change polar patterns during or after recording. Choose from a collection of classic and rare microphones as you monitor and record live, bringing out the musician's finest performance.
Class-Leading Monitor DAC
Instead of recycling outdated technology, we strive to use the latest innovations. With up to 130dB of dynamic range at the monitoring stage you can mix with confidence, enjoying exceptional detail and instrument separation. Combined with a state-of-the-art preamp design and our acclaimed clocking technology, recording with the Discrete 8 Synergy Core makes your voice and instruments sound lush, bold, and expansive.
Acoustically focused clocking
The pioneer of atomic clocking in pro audio, Antelope Audio incorporates 20+ years of clocking expertise in its audio interfaces. With the proprietary 64-bit AFC jitter management algorithm, the Discrete 8 Synergy Core delivers the kind of artifact-free audio once accessible only to the most prestigious studios.
Unparalleled Connectivity
With an abundance of analog & digital connectivity, as well as both USB & Thunderbolt ports for computer connection, the Discrete 8 Synergy Core presents more options than any DSP-equipped interface out there. Eight mic/line inputs, two instrument inputs, eight DC-coupled line outputs on DB25, a pair of monitor outputs, two reamp outputs, two headphone outputs and S/PDIF are at your disposal. Digital expandability is possible via 2 ADAT I/O chaining. A Word Clock input allows for syncing the Discrete 8 Synergy Core with other gear, while three Word Clock outputs let you distribute the interface's highly stable clock signal across your studio.
Features
• Premier Synergy Core FX processing
• 36 included real-time audio effects + optional additions
• 8 Console-grade Class A mic pres with discrete transistor design
• Best-in-class AD/DA conversion with 121dB dynamic range
• 4th Generation 64-bit Acoustically Focused Clocking
• 8 Analog line outs (DB25)
• Thunderbolt & USB connectivity
• A pair of monitor outs on TRS
• 2 Stereo headphone outs
• 3 Word Clock outputs
• Create & share custom presets
• Intuitive software control panel
Specifications
ANALOG
Analog Inputs
6 x Mic / Line Inputs
2 x Mic / Line / Hi-Z Inputs
Analog Outputs
1 x Monitor Out on TRS 1/4 Jack, +20 dBu max
2 x ReAmp Out on TRS 1/4 Jack
1 x Line Out (8 channels) on DB25, +20 dBu max
2 x Stereo Headphone Outputs
Mic Preamp
EIN: -128 dBu (A-weighted)
Dynamic Range: -121 dB (A-weighted)
THD: -106 dB
Max input: +18 dBu
Max Gain: 65 dB
D/A Monitor Converter
Dynamic Range: 130 dB
THD + N: -115 dB
A/D Converter
Dynamic Range: 121 dB
THD + N: -112 dB
D/A Converter (Line Out)
Dynamic Range: 121 dB
THD + N: - 100dB
DC Coupled
DIGITAL
Digital Inputs
2 x ADAT (up to 16 channels)
1 x S/PDIF
Digital Outputs
2 x ADAT (up to 16 channels)
1 x S/PDIF
USB 2.0 I/O: USB 2.0 Type B connector
Thunderbolt: Thunderbolt™ connector
CLOCKING
Word Clock Input: 1 x Inputs @ 75 Ohms 3Vpp on BNC 32 - 192kHz
Word Clock Outputs: 3 x Outputs @ 75 Ohms 3Vpp on BNC 32 - 192kHz
Clocking System: 4th Generation Acoustically Focused Clocking, 64-bit DDS
Sample Rates (kHz): 32, 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192
OTHER
Operating Temperature: 0-50C, 32-122F
Weight: 3.0 kg/ 6.61 lbs
Dimensions: 483 mm x 220mm x 44mm / 19" x 8.6" x 1.7"
Power Consumption: 20 Watts
Discrete 8 Synergy Core includes a compelling library of 36 real-time studio effects:
Gyraf Gyratec IX / Tube Mic Preamp
VCA160 / Compressor
Stay-Levin / Compressor
FET-A76 / FET Compressor
VEQ-1A / Tube EQ
VMEQ-5 / Tube EQ
X903 / Compressor / Limiter
FeedForward Antelope Compressor / Compressor
Clear Q / Parametric EQ
Power EX / Expander
VEQ-HLF / Passive High/Low Filter
Auraverb / Reverb
BA-31 / Mic Preamp
Power Gate / Gate
Plexi 59 (UK) / Tube Guitar Amp
Bass SuperTube VR / Tube Guitar Amp
Darkface 65 (US) / Tube Guitar Amp
Top30 (UK) Bright / Tube Guitar Amp
Tweed Deluxe (US) / Tube Guitar Amp
Overange 120 (UK) / Tube Guitar Amp
BurnSphere (DE) Lead / Tube Guitar Amp
Marcus II (US) Lead / Tube Guitar Amp
Modern (US) CH3 / Tube Guitar Amp
Rock 75 (UK) / Tube Guitar Amp
Rock 22.10 (UK) / Tube Guitar Amp
Darkface 65 2x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Top30 2x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Modern 4x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Green 2x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Vintage 4x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Green 4x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Caliper 50 1x10 / Guitar Cabinet
Bluelux 1x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Clst 1x12 / Guitar Cabinet
England 4x12 / Guitar Cabinet
Bass Tube 1x15 / Guitar Cabinet
Media
Youtube video product demo
Youtube video product demo
Q & A
There are currently no questions for this product.
Reviews
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Best Card I've ever had! 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Vancouver, British Columbia
I have been producing an engineering music for almost 20 years, and have gone through several audio interfaces. I can confidently say that the Antelope Audio Discrete 8 Synergy Core card is hands down the best card I've owned. Very fast setup, overall very easy to use, and most importantly the pre amps sound incredible! For those looking for a quality card that you plan to use for years to come, this is definitely one to seriously consider! Worth every penny!
Posted by Tristan Dickson on Jan 19, 2022
This unit is the thruth 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
Let's just say I'm coming from the focusrite pro40 for like 8 years,then I recently upgraded to the apollo x6.i was happy with all the in/out but not so with AD/DA. When I switch to the Antelope discrete 8 i was instantly blown away by its clarity and depth. Very wide sounding and lush.not to mention again the converters are a killer for this price range. My mixes sound polish and translate well which makes it easy for the mastering
stage.it runs solid on my imac. I'm happy with it .time to make more great music.
stage.it runs solid on my imac. I'm happy with it .time to make more great music.
Posted by Shervon john on Dec 17, 2021
Discreet 8 Synergy Core 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Edmonton Highlands, Alberta
Just purchased this interface, and I absolutely love it. I wanted to upgrade to an interface with better D/A conversion for my monitors than what I was using previously, and boy does this ever deliver! Music sounds WAY better and more clear through this interface. I hear details in my mixes that I was struggling to hear before. It’s like a blanket has been pulled off of my speakers.
The preamps in this thing sound incredible too, and it’s unbelievable that you get 8 of them for this price. There are also so many connectivity options (the separate headphone mixes and the re-amp outs are especially awesome for a home studio).
The “Synergy Core” effects are absolutely killer, and there is absolutely no latency when tracking through them. The amp modelling is also really great if you’re a guitar player, and there are tons of options on tap!
Everything worked well for me right out of the box using usb (running MacOS Big Sur), and switching to thunderbolt only made it run better. I’ve seen some reviews saying that there are sometimes software issues, and I had some of those issues with a previous antelope interface I bought, but Antelope has great customer service and in my experience they did everything to make it right. I’ve had very pleasant experiences dealing with the company.
The only negative thing I could say is that I wish the headphone outputs were a little hotter, as they have a bit of a hard time driving my Sennheiser HD650 headphones, and also when I’m tracking I find I have to have everything turned up almost to the max to hear it very well. But this is a very small issue and doesn’t really detract from how great this interface is. Especially for the price. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. If you’re thinking of getting UAD… Check these out first before you decide!
Posted by Kyle on Oct 25, 2021
nice sound 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Summerside, Prince Edward Island
purchased discrete 8 synergy core. love the sound of the pres. already using discrete 4 and love it. very warm sounding.
Posted by remi arsenault on Oct 7, 2021
Works great if you can get it to work. 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store London South, Ontario
This is the second Antelope product I've bought and it's been nothing but a disappointment. Lots of connectivity issues if you are using USB and on a PC. Avoid their products if you aren't planning on using thunderbolt because you will likely have nothing but headaches. I often have to reset my PC to recognize the Discrete 8. I also own an Orion 32 which I'm planning on selling along with the Discrete 8 because their support team just started closing my active tickets and breaking off all communication, after having them suggest that I replace my motherboard, and install a PCI card which still hasn't got my unit working. Needless to say I will be avoiding the entire brand going forward. If having decent support for products you spend thousands on then I would suggest doing the same.
Posted by Chris C on Jul 31, 2021
A little disappointed 0 of 0 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Hamilton, Ontario
So, the interface is GREAT. I love the mic emulation and the system is fairly easy to use and is pretty cool. BUT....I kinda regret not picking UAD. Some aspects of Antelope Audio are an absolute mess. For instance, you get a bunch of free plugins with this interface but you can't even use them in your DAW unless you spend another $200 on their awful AFX2DAW feature that should just be free. So pretty much all the plugins are useless unless I do this absolutely ridiculous and time-consuming routing or pay more on top of the expensive interface. UAD plays the game way better than Antelope. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who's expecting a complete bundle....just get UAD if you're looking for a top-of-the-line upgrade.
Posted by Mike on Jul 27, 2021
Great interface value for the money. 1 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Oshawa, Ontario
The Discrete Synergy Core 8 is right up there with it's competition but for less $.
Great pres, awesome Vintage realistic and modern plugins you can print while recording. I would recommend this interface to anyone that takes their craft seriously.
Posted by Shane Scott on May 30, 2021
An interface to keep 2 of 2 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Edmonton Whyte, Alberta
The Discrete Synergy Core 8 is excellent. On the 'pros side' I need to mention 1) pristine, clean preamps, no need for expensive outboard gear, they are that good; 2) clear, unflattered audio quality so essential when you work on your mixes: using the Discrete Synergy Core 8 you will hear every detail; 3) very good headphone output; 4) a lot of I/O options with flexible routing; 5) decent software bundle; 6) high build quality; 7) sheer eleance of its design. On the 'cons side' one has to be aware of: 1) Antelope's proprietary strategy; 2) relative comlexity of software installation; 3) rather long time it takes to open the Antelope Launcher even on powerful machines; 4) expensive paid plug-ins; 5) small size of the digital screen on the front panel; 6) its being still USB 2.0/Thunderbolt 2, but thanks to the Core technology it is not a problem in my opinion; 7) absence of Thunerbolt cable (of course!) and the need to buy Apple's TB3 to TB2 adaptor, which altogether will set you back a 'cool' $120-150 (perhaps a bit less?). However, software integration, at least on a Mac, is exemplay and the software itself is easy to use. All in all it is an interface, which should serve you well for the years to come. Its positive qualities and features much outweight the negative ones. What counts in the end is what you look for when using an interface: audio quality and that, in the case of the Discrete Synergy Core 8, is out of this world. This interface is highly recommended. I traded in quite a few pieces of my gear to get this model (including the excellent Element 46 from Apogee), but I do not reget it a bit.
Posted by Piotr on May 18, 2021
Great Box! 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
Amazing converters, tons of I/O (including reamps), surprisingly good pres, cool plugins. Really easy one stop shop for centerpiece of a project studio.
Posted by Jx on Apr 8, 2021
I own it 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Richmond, British Columbia
Well worth the money spent. Very clean pre’s, intuitive and short learning curve.
Posted by Robbin MacDonald on Jan 2, 2021
Awesome Sound 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Laval, Quebec
The discrete 8 has all the features I need in my studio. It also reduces latency to unnoticeable levels while the audio quality is astonishing. I can go through every Stem that I have worked with my previous interface and the level of detail that I can now hear is so much more sharp. Without a doubt, the best quality / price ratio equipment on the current market
Posted by Abel Torres on Dec 31, 2020
Awsome interface 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Laval, Quebec
The discrete 8 has all the features I need in my studio. It also reduces latency to unnoticeable levels while the audio quality is astonishing. I can go through every Stem that I have worked with my previous interface and the level of detail that I can now hear is so much more sharp. Without a doubt, the best quality / price ratio equipment on the current market.
Posted by Abel Torres on Dec 17, 2020
Discrete 8 = Amazing sound 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
Features
Quality
Value
Overall
Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Laval, Quebec
The discrete 8 has all the features I need in my studio.
It also reduces latency to unnoticeable levels while the audio quality is astonishing.
I can go through all the tracks that I have worked on with my previous interface and the level of detail that I can now hear is much sharper and more detailed.
Without a doubt (In its range), the equipment with the best quality / price ratio on the current market
Posted by Abel Torres on Dec 16, 2020
interface beast 0 of 1 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Hamilton, Ontario
This thing is a beast! Never had an interface that could do so much. And even with waiting for the Big Sur update it still ran well, their customer service is great too! Mint preamps. Loving this product
Posted by Mike on Dec 8, 2020
Best Value For Your Money Interace! 1 of 2 customers found this review helpful
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Quality
Value
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Product Experience I own it
Closest Store Toronto (Bloor St.), Ontario
This interface is stacked with features! The thing just works and the plugins are an added bonus! The pre-amps are absolutely pristine and preserves the beefyness of my synths. You cannot go wrong with this solution and definitely won't be disappointed!
Posted by Duke on Dec 27, 2019
Protect your investment with the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty
A warranty can be a very important factor when making a buying decision. Because repairs can be very expensive in terms of parts and labour costs, manufacturers usually only provide one year limited warranties that generally only cover items that malfunction due to a manufacturer’s defect. With an important purchase such as a musical
instrument or piece of studio gear, however, many people want to have the peace of mind in knowing that their investment will be protected should the product no longer be performing at 100%.
Because of this, Long & McQuade provides our customers with a FREE one-year Performance Warranty on most of our products. The Long & McQuade Performance Warranty supplements the manufacturer’s warranty to ensure that our customers receive complete “no hassle” warranty coverage within their first year.
How does the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty differ from most manufacturers' warranties?
- Performance Guarantee: Normal wear and tear is covered, so your product will be performing as well as the day you purchased it for the entire duration of the coverage. Band and Orchestral Performance Warranty does not include replacing pads or cleaning for woodwind instruments, unless deemed necessary by our repair staff. Ultrasonic cleaning for brass instruments will be provided if deemed necessary by our repair staff, but is not routinely offered under the Performance Warranty.
- Product Replacement: If your product cannot be fixed or costs too much to fix, we will replace it with the equivalent model for no additional charge. If this is not possible, a full refund will be provided.
- No Lemon Policy: Your product will be replaced should the same problem occur multiple times.
- Convenient: Easy drop off and pick up of the product at any Long & McQuade location.
- Guitar Setup: Guitars purchased at Long & McQuade come with 1 free setup, to be redeemed within 1 year for new guitars and 90 days for used guitars.
- Loaners Available: A loaner product may be given while the product is being repaired.
- Power Surge Protection: Your product is covered even if damaged from a power surge.
- Accessory Coverage: Any peripheral devices or accessories that come with your product (i.e. foot pedal, case) are also covered.
- Commercial Use Coverage: Music and recording professionals who purchase gear for “heavy-use” commercial purposes will still be covered.
Long & McQuade reserves the right to restrict the purchase of additional years of Performance Warranty. Used products come with a 3-month Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Some products (i.e. computers, software, cymbals and other items) are covered only by the manufacturer‘s warranty. Consumables (i.e. strings, reeds, drum sticks, batteries, tubes, cross faders) are excluded as they are designed to be replaced. Cosmetic Damage, Accidental Damage, or problems caused by Humidity or Temperature Issues are not covered. Speakers damaged by overpowering are generally not covered. Our coverage does not provide compensation for loss of use. As of June 2018 the Performance Warranty is no longer transferable. The warranty is only valid in Canada.
Purchasing additional years of coverage
Some manufacturers provide warranties for longer than 1 year; however, these are usually limited warranties that do not provide the same coverage as the Long & McQuade Performance Warranty. Customers interested in more complete and convenient (but not necessarily longer) coverage are still able to purchase additional years of the Performance Warranty.
If you are interested in receiving this coverage for longer than one year, you have the option of purchasing additional years of the Performance Warranty. The pricing is as follows:
- NEW products: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.
- USED products: 4% of the current new selling price to increase the warranty from 3 months to 1 year. 4% for each additional year.
- GUITARS: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year. $45 maximum. An additional free setup is not included with additional purchased years of Performance Warranty.
- BAND and ORCHESTRAL instruments: 4% of the current new selling price to double the warranty from 1 year to 2 years. 4% for each additional year.
Great Additions
Reserve in Store
| Product | SKU | Qty |
|---|---|---|
| Discrete 8 Synergy Core Thunderbolt/USB Audio Interface | 713973 |
