Signal Quality Starts at the Headstage
The amplifier closest to the tissue determines the noise floor every downstream step inherits. SmartBox and XDAQ-compatible headstages for any probe type, 16 to 1,024+ channels.
Headstage Families
SmartLink and X-Series headstages — pick a family to see its products in the webstore.
Input-referred noise is set at the headstage front-end. Filtering, averaging, or software correction cannot recover it. A headstage with a 10 µV RMS noise floor limits unit detection to spikes that clear that threshold — no matter how sophisticated the spike sorting that follows.
SmartBox and XDAQ-Compatible Headstages
Two platforms covering the full range from legacy Omnetics rigs to high-channel-count XDAQ systems — matched to probe type, channel count, and experiment duration.
Per-Channel Impedance Measurement
Verify electrode site integrity before and after each session.
- ✓Site-by-site impedance at 1 kHz reported in Allego
- ✓Flags high-impedance sites before acquisition begins
- ✓Tracks impedance drift across chronic implant sessions
Programmable Filtering
On-chip bandpass and notch filtering configured per experiment type.
- ✓Hardware bandpass from 0.1 Hz to 7.5 kHz
- ✓Simultaneous spike band (300–6,000 Hz) and LFP band (0.1–300 Hz)
- ✓50/60 Hz notch selectable without software post-processing
Scalable Channel Count
X-Series platform scales from 32 to 1,024+ channels without changing acquisition software.
- ✓X3R: 32 or 64 channels per headstage
- ✓X6R: 128 channels in a single headstage unit
- ✓Multiple headstages aggregate on XDAQ for full 1,024+-channel configurations
Allego Integration
Every NeuroNexus headstage streams to Allego with probe-aware channel mapping.
- ✓Probe geometry loaded automatically from headstage identification
- ✓Real-time SNR per channel during acquisition
- ✓NWB-compatible output for population analysis workflows
Four Criteria for Headstage Selection
Answer these before specifying a headstage — each one constrains the others.
Noise Floor Spec
Input-referred noise (µV RMS) sets the minimum detectable spike amplitude. Verify against your expected unit sizes.
Probe Compatibility
Connector type, pin count, and impedance range must match the probe. Mismatched connectors or wrong drive strength degrades signal before amplification.
Channel Count
Match headstage channel count to probe channel count. Scaling beyond a single headstage requires a DAQ that aggregates streams synchronously.
Tethered vs. Wireless
Tether stiffness affects locomotion and introduces motion artifacts in freely-moving preparations. Wireless options eliminate cable torque at the cost of battery management.
Headstages — FAQ
Choosing and matching a headstage to your probe and acquisition.
How do I match a headstage to my probe?
The connector and channel count must match the probe. SmartLink pairs with passive probes; SiNAPS headstages read active-silicon probes; X-Series scales channel count on XDAQ.
Why does the headstage set signal quality?
Input-referred noise is fixed at the front-end amplifier and cannot be recovered downstream — the noise floor there limits every channel.
Wired or wireless?
Tethered headstages suit head-fixed and most freely-moving work; wireless options remove cable torque for behavior, at the cost of battery management.