BMC-2: Your new High Def DAC and Monitor Controller
BMC-2 is a dedicated Digital-to-Analog
Converter and high quality ‘hands-on’ Monitor Control that’s an ideal solution
for you, whatever your audio production or monitoring set-up – be it digital or
analog.
We at TC Electronic realize that predictable, ultra-low latency
speaker and headphone control is an important part of your production process,
and with BMC-2 such luxury is always available to you – regardless of the state
of the computer at the heart of your system.
This handy self-contained
desktop unit can be operated without a Mac or PC, offering you instant and
practical control of sound levels. As well as controlling the listening level,
BMC-2 allows you to switch between three digital input sources – S/PDIF, AES3,
TOS and ADAT, and confirm if those inputs are synchronous or not.
BMC-2
drives one set of analog speakers, one set of digital speakers and a set of
headphones. Calibrated listening is available with both sets of speakers and the
headphone output.
But it’s not all about DAC and Level Control – BMC-2
also puts user-definable reference levels at your fingertips. You simply hit the
front panel-mounted REF button and BMC-2 will attenuate the output to a
user-defined sound pressure level, so reference level monitoring is always just
a single button-press away.
BMC-2 precision re-clocks all inputs, and
features high performance jitter rejection based on patented JET technology that
was originally developed for our flagship System 6000. All the benefits of
optical interfacing without the problems – asymmetries are corrected and jitter
is completely removed from the equation.
Analog output offers wide
dynamic range on XLR connectors. Peak level metering and Integrity Check – or
‘iCheck’ – is also available on the selected input. iCheck reveals if the signal
is spatially compromised, e.g. because of data reduction, such as MP3 or AAC
encoded at too low a bit rate.
BMC-2 is a self-contained desktop unit
that works right out of the box with no need for a computer for setup. It
interfaces directly with all new Macs and most PCs used for audio production –
just attach the supplied 12V DC power adaptor.
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Inputs: Connect the inputs
you wish to use. The S/PDIF input also handles AES3 and AES3-id format. Simply
press one of the three INPUT SELECT keys to select the input you wish to listen
to.
Outputs: Analog speakers connect
to the XLRs, digital speakers to the S/PDIF output. The S/PDIF output is really
an AES 3-id output, so BMC-2 can drive AES inputs, even over long cable runs.
Level Control:
The big level knob controls the level to the speakers unless REF is active. The
knob produces transparent gain settings with 0.0dB at the 3 o’clock
position.
Reference levels: Press the REF key
to activate calibrated listening on both sets of speakers as well as on
headphones. 
iCheck: Data reduced audio is not
the same as ‘CD quality’. BMC-2 provides a shortcut for revealing artifacts of
data reduction. At bit-rates lower than 256kbps for stereo, the spatial imaging
is often compromised, which may be easily exposed by listening to the components
of the image in isolation.