Hitec Helps SADiE Achieve Global Success

SADiE... a UK company to be proud of...

Cambridge company SADiE is a world leader in professional audio technology. SADiE estimate that 50% of all music CD's have been created with the involvement of their technology. Indeed, SADiE's technology is so prevalent in the broadcast sector, SADiE is said to be a part of the vocabulary at the BBC.
Anyone who works in audio engineering will be very aware of the phenomenal pace of technological change. The transition from analogue tape and analogue mixing desks to the digital domain opened the floodgates of innovation and today, audio technology advances on a daily basis. Working within this increasingly competitive and incredibly fast moving industry is challenging, not only in terms of engineering but also in terms of understanding the market and delivering the best service.


At the top end of audio production equipment...
SADiE have been developing and manufacturing digital recording equipment since 1991, targeting the top end of the market with very high quality recording technology. Their PCM range of digital audio workstations have become industry standards for those seeking quality over and above that of the more common PC based audio editing solutions. The PCM range can replay and edit up to 128 channels of 24bit 48kHz audio with real-time cross-fades and punch-ins and is used in recording studios, post production studios, film soundtrack studios, live music recording and broadcasting.


Built to travel the world...
and built to work on location...
SADiE's products are shipped worldwide, with their most recent order being a consignment of PCM audio workstations to be shipped to New Zealand. Once with the customer, many of their products will be expected to travel to film locations, sports events and large concerts.

 

"The mechanical aspects of the design are critical to the equipment's performance and survival," said David Cousins, Managing Director at SADiE. "The metalwork has to look classy in order to reflect the very high value of this type of equipment but at the same time, it has to be light and robust. We put a lot of effort into this side of the design and Hitec has become a key design partner in this respect. They take our drawings (PDF's or DXF's created on 3D MAX) and work closely with our engineers to develop the parts we need, often giving us important guidance and responding quickly when design revisions are necessary."

Customers who simply can't wait...
When a film company or a broadcast company needs a SADiE audio workstation, they can expect to pay anything up to £40k. In any other industry such a purchase of specialist capital equipment might require a 10 to 16 week delivery time. When SADiE's customers place an order they expect shipment in the region of 5 days.

"To win in this industry, you have to have a 'can do' attitude," said David Cousins of SADiE. "You also need suppliers who share a similar ethos. We've always felt that Hitec's engineers really 'buy into' our projects and really get to understand our market and how we need to work in order to succeed. This is something that we value very highly about Hitec, their support has been key to our success."
Building something special time and again...
Another important ingredient for the recipe of success in this most demanding of technology markets is that of 'innovation'. SADiE have launched a product called the LRX2. The LRX2 is probably the most technically advanced broadcast audio mixer available world-wide for on-location projects such as news reporting, sports coverage, film recording and live music recording. The LRX2 is the culmination of many months of development, collaboration and refinement and has recently proven itself whilst being used for coverage of test cricket in India.

"The LRX2 is a great example of UK technology leading the world and we are very excited to see it going into production," said John Stevenson of Hitec. "Our main involvement has been the rapid prototyping of the metalwork, using our laser cutting technology to turn SADiE's engineering sketches into high quality precision parts. SADiE had very ambitious deadlines and many design revisions, so it's been a lot of pressure but we fully understand the importance of getting the design right at the outset and the importance of getting innovative products such as the LRX2 to market at the earliest possible time."

(SADiE's world beating LRX2)

The main feature of the LRX2 is its ability to record up to 48 discrete channels at a professional level of recording quality, which for its size and robustness puts the LRX2 way ahead of the field. In addition to this it has many other advanced features such as motorised faders and powerful software support.

"Rolling out the LRX2 has been a fantastic achievement and we couldn't have done it without Hitec's support," said David Cousins of SADiE.

For more information on Sadie, visit ww.sadie.com