In 1982 Hank Landsberg was working as Director of Engineering for Drake-Chenault, a radio programming producer in Canoga Park, CA. Much of the original studio gear at this time was actually consumer “hi-fi” equipment and so Hank spent many hours building “booster amplifiers” to interface this unbalanced equipment with the balanced audio consoles. He realized that other engineers might also be having this problem and thus Henry Engineering was founded. Hank first designed The Matchbox HD, thinking he’d sell a few hundred to local professionals. 32 years later, this is still Henry’s best selling product with over 75,000 units sold worldwide.

What sets Henry products apart? Performance and reliability. With most of their products manufactured in the USA, they are the ONLY company that makes solution products that are 1/3 rack-width and have built-in AC power supply. They do not use “wall warts” because the limited voltage degrades product performance and reduces reliability. Henry products have an established reputation for exceptional performance, very long-term reliability and affordable pricing. Over 100,000 have been sold to audio professionals worldwide and thousands are still in service after 25+ years of continuous use.

The Henry Engineering Matchbox HD quickly and easily connects consumer gear to professional equipment, eliminating the hum, buzz and distortion caused by mismatched levels and impedance. It is ideal for devices that play and record and offers a true 100dB S/N ratio, with 22 dB of headroom to yield 122 dB of dynamic range. A bi-directional unit, it employs four independent amplifiers to convert stereo inputs and outputs from unbalanced -10 dBv levels to +4 dBm balanced 600 ohm lines. The Matchbox HD has an internal power supply and at 1/3 rack width, can be mounted using the optional rack shelf, or wall mounted with optional wall/cabinet mounting brackets.

 

Quickly catching up to its analog counterpart, is the USB Matchbox II – a professional USB-to-XLR multi-mode stereo audio codec.  Essentially, it takes the best features of Henry’s previous USB products and puts them into one box. It features balanced analog inputs and outputs on XLRs, plus an AES/EBU digital output and a handy headphone jack on the front panel. Just plug-and-play for great audio with USB convenience and Henry reliability. The USB Matchbox II is ideal wherever computer audio needs to interface with a professional analog or digital audio system.

 

The Henry Engineering Rack Mount Shelf is constructed of steel for durability and has a tough black finish that prevents rust and scratching.  Specifically designed to fit up to three Henry Engineering units on a single rack shelf.