It is much more complicated. Horus is about multiple channel (48 per unit) networkable hardware (both on the recording and playback side) for professional application, that marries with their Pyramix Workstation editing software (which for editing is PCM based). It's elegantly designed, based on the chip technology of the ARDA AT1201 for the A/D converter, and ESS9018 for the D/A converter, and their own associated circuitry. It was four years in development, and was designed to raise the bar in sound quality for recording and playback in both PCM at existing supported sampling rates (up to 352.8KHz), and DSD with an increase of bit rate up to 11.6MHz, from the existing 64fs of 2.82MHz. This it accomplishes for substantially less cost per channel of any existing like systems. The Pyramix software also provides the here-to-for unavailable editing tools to use those increased speeds.
It's designed for the audio production market (recordings, broadcast, PA/arena support etc.), for engineers and producers who listen to content continuously, and are able to judge what sounds correct to themselves. If it were designed for the audiophile/consumer market, it would sell for at least 5X more, be housed in milled aluminium, have many more discrete parts, and embrace the latest audiophile beliefs of design quality.
As it is, for eight channels of playback in the new two card chassis, even requiring the purchase of the Pyramix Mastering Pack software (and learning how to use it for playback), it's a great bargain. When the Emotion software is finally released, assuming it will interface with Horus/Hapi like it presently does with Mykerinos, it'll be the bargain of the century.
