AMS (Advanced Music Systems) Audiofile - a VERY RARE Console

What you're viewing is an original AMS AudioFile console. What this means should (in terms of rarity and pioneering technology) be obvious, if you've knowledge of Synclavier, TC Electronic, Audio Precision and other high-end studio equipment.

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The console in the pictures would be for a 16-bit hard-disk based recording system. These control units were originally released in 1984 and stopped being made around 1990.

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This item is rare and, as can be reasonably expected (and evident from the photos), this item has some age-related scuffs and scratches. All control buttons are present and in their original unmolested condition; during my possession none have been swapped out/modified. Similarly, no internal connections or components have been touched, modified, reconnected or replaced. When zooming in on the photos you may see the whiteness of the ink used on some of the control buttons has yellowed/darkened a bit with time and usage. Despite retirement meaning the unit has been unused for some time, the 3.5" floppy disk drive and audio editing/timecode scrub display still function at self-test/power-up, as shown.

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The AudioFile was designed to record with a 48 kHz sample rate with storage on Winchester hard disks. It was aimed at post-production, offering up to about 4 hours of recording depending on configuration and used a custom interface. Some consoles featured a trackerball to assist editing; this one has the sought after silver dials and front-panel controls. As with most high-end broadcast grade equipment it is designed for 19" rack mounting, so will require the chassis fixings for that purpose.

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Although the photos prove the console has neither buttons missing nor any major scratches/dents, please be aware it is a genuine vintage rarity, retired from a pro-audio/broadcast environment. It is therefore being sold as-is (i.e., strictly as shown and based on the photos), without further testing and is already packed ready for shipping.