Lexicon Omega vs. Tascam US122

[diogo]

hello everyone...

im wondering if the users of both these fine machines can lend a hand here...i have a few questions regarding both units in my search to find out wich ones sounds best and wich one will be more suited for my needs...

ill be using this with a laptop (windows xp), more than meets the req. so no problem there, only need two inputs recordable at the same time so usb and its price is more than welcome..im gonna mic everything (guitar amp, acoustic guitar, vocals, etc) with a pair of condensers and a 57. ill also be using two midi sources...a drum machine and an old synth. monitors will be Esi near05. no use for the instrument input whatsoever..

1. i have to successfully bypass the pres in the unit..will use an M-audio DMP3 as my main pre, not the pres in either unit...im wondering if the the line ins of both these units will provide enough gain for me to max out the potential of the pre when going into the unit, or not..for instance i know that the lexicon unit will only provide 22db of gain in the line inserts, and im felt wondering wether or not this will affect the external pre's hability and gain. wich unit will be more "bypassable", i guess thats what i wanna know...and with better results at that..

2. with that said, wont plugging in the outboard pre to the xlr inputs and simply turn down the gain of the built in pres, harvest more or less the same usable results?

3. is the reverb provided with the lexicon unit that good? i mean, wont i get similar results with SIR and some impulses? i must admit that the reason im considering the lexicon unit is the reverb plug in, wich is supposed to be very good. but it can only be used with cubase right? so i would making a commitement with a software i never worked with, when i have samplitude 8 and cool edit pro at my disposal...i wonder if this is worth it based on the reverb alone...

4. in general, the lexicon unit looks more professional/powerful, but is it really? one thing that also bothers me is that the US122 is usb powered, and the lexicon has an adapter...its supposed to be a much more powerful solution in terms performance (the adapter that is)...i guess thats kind of why the lexicon can record 4 inputs at the same time, and the tascam only 2...but im not sure if thats the reason or not...or if the power thing is gonna be a big issue or not..usb powered looks atractive, but if itll yield problems, then its something to consider...

im sure ill have more questions as some answers come along...

many tanx in advance for any help u guys might give me..i already posed a nr of questions about both units to ppl that own them or know about them, but im very interested in a direct comparison by some folks that may have tried both...

is the lexicon really worth the extra money?

many tanx!


ps - with all this said, i could consider those alexis usb mixers as well...at first view, they seem to be a better product than the us122..but there's this on going general doubt on wether or not they can multitrack...also, i really dunno if this would work as an interface or a simple mixer connected to the computer..if its the latest and a soundcard would be needed, its pretty useless to me :/

 

[scrubs]

I suspect that the number of inputs and the reverb are really the major differences (as, I believe both come with Cubase LE now). I don't know how stable the Lexicon is, being that it has more inputs running on the USB bus. AudioMidi is about the cheapest place I've seen for the US-122, if you are leaning that way (other online vendors will match/beat this price if you ask them).

 

[ssscientist]

i mean, wont i get similar results with SIR and some impulses?

The best things about SIR: It sounds great and it's free. There may be advantages to hardware over plugins, but with all the IR's out there for SIR I'd be hard pressed to part with any cash for any more hardware.

I have a US-122 which I use with a laptop PC, and have never had a moments trouble with it. It has 2 mic inputs, 2 line inputs and 2 insert points for inserting a compressor or other thru processor into the signal path when recording vocals or bass or anything else.

those alexis usb mixers

They're just mixers with the left and right outputs on a USB interface. You can't multitrack thru them, just mix and print the resulting stereo two tracks.

 

[diogo]

I suspect that the number of inputs and the reverb are really the major differences (as, I believe both come with Cubase LE now). I don't know how stable the Lexicon is, being that it has more inputs running on the USB bus. AudioMidi is about the cheapest place I've seen for the US-122, if you are leaning that way (other online vendors will match/beat this price if you ask them).

Chris,

tanx man. stability is obviously a big concern..in every 5 US122 opinions i read, there's at least 2 that had several problems making it work with windows XP... :/
i guess the omega, with the external power supply can add to that stability, not driver related, but something like true 48v phantom power, usb connection not breaking out cause its also powered by it, etc...i dunno...i mean, the omega is only 80 euros more...thats more or less the same in dollars...i consider that a very fair price to pay for a decent reverb...

i really dunno..

 

[diogo]

The best things about SIR: It sounds great and it's free. There may be advantages to hardware over plugins, but with all the IR's out there for SIR I'd be hard pressed to part with any cash for any more hardware.

I have a US-122 which I use with a laptop PC, and have never had a moments trouble with it. It has 2 mic inputs, 2 line inputs and 2 insert points for inserting a compressor or other thru processor into the signal path when recording vocals or bass or anything else.


They're just mixers with the left and right outputs on a USB interface. You can't multitrack thru them, just mix and print the resulting stereo two tracks.

hey sscientist...

tanx...
im really leaning towards the US122, but i really cant make up my mind...im also very afraid of stepping into the lexicon and having it die on me, like most core2 users experienced..then having lexicon just walk out of the whole thing..that wouldnt be very nice...

the lexicon seems more robust and stable..the very few reviews ive read are very positive, and "sound on sound" is very open about how they love it. my guess would be that this is not gettin enough attention cause of the core2 issues, and im afraid it might be a very good sleeper deal that ppl are ignoring cause of that...then again, it might just not be that much better, or better altogether, than the US122... :/

i really dunno

 

[scrubs]

Chris,

tanx man. stability is obviously a big concern..in every 5 US122 opinions i read, there's at least 2 that had several problems making it work with windows XP... :/
i guess the omega, with the external power supply can add to that stability, not driver related, but something like true 48v phantom power, usb connection not breaking out cause its also powered by it, etc...i dunno...i mean, the omega is only 80 euros more...thats more or less the same in dollars...i consider that a very fair price to pay for a decent reverb...

i really dunno..

I have no experience with the Omega and it may indeed be a fine piece of gear. I have, however, had no problems with the US-122. The lack of an external power supply is actually beneficial for me because I can use it for remote laptop recording and not have to worry about finding a place to plug in (until my laptop's battery dies). At home, I use external pres, so phantom is a non-issue, but I've never had any problems using the phantom on the US-122 with any of my condenser mics. I can't find the actual specs/tolerance on the Tascam site, but, like I said, it hasn't been a problem for me.

 

[ssscientist]

..im also very afraid of stepping into the lexicon and having it die on me, like most core2 users experienced..then having lexicon just walk out of the whole thing..that wouldnt be very nice... the lexicon seems more robust and stable..the very few reviews ive read are very positive, and "sound on sound" is very open about how they love it. my guess would be that this is not gettin enough attention cause of the core2 issues, and im afraid it might be a very good sleeper deal that ppl are ignoring cause of that...then again, it might just not be that much better, or better altogether, than the US122... :/:

You sound like this is a big hairy deal for you. This is probably not going to be the last audio/midi interface you buy. My advice - pick one and if you don't like it sell it and get the other one...

 

[diogo]

You sound like this is a big hairy deal for you. This is probably not going to be the last audio/midi interface you buy. My advice - pick one and if you don't like it sell it and get the other one...

haha

it is! it is...thats why i cant make up my mind...it wont be the last no, but its probably going to be the only one im getting for many many years, thats why i have to get something that keeps working, and that is, in a word, the best of these two

i cant buy then return..the shipping costs from and to where im getting this (thomann) would be, more or less, the price of the tascam alone lol

its weird, no omega users whatsoever...ive done searches and some ppl owned it...either they're busy recording with this great piece of gear few know about , or they hate it so much that it made them leave the recording business altogether, or it blew on their faces and they're still in the hospital