Rain Recording Element R Desktop Computer

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farodyssey

New member
Hi, wondering if anyone has tried out this computer for recording.

http://www.americanmusical.com/item--i-RAI-ELEMENTRV2--d-4.html

I'm currently using a roland vs-2480 as the main recording device in my small studio, but I'm thinking of upgrading to a PC-based system. (i don't like to work with macs).

anybody used this system? or have any ideas how many tracks i could get out of it and at what audio quality? also, i hear bad things about latency. would a computer like this have latency issues?
 
Any computer is going to have latency issues. You vs has latency. The trick is HOW much latency. Your VS probably has converter-only latency (the time it takes to convert your singal into a digital file) a few miliseconds.

Most DAW audio interfaces allow some way of monitoring at that same level of latency. If you are monitoring through your software, however, the software tends to add some latency of its own- it has buffers to allow it enough time to get everything right. A good average amount of latency is 15ms or less.

Depening on your audio inteface and how the driver for it is configured, that's a pretty easy target to hit. Even running an Mbox (via CoreAudio on a Mac) with Cubase SX 2 I'm able to get 13.5ms latency- and that's on a USB connection. Firewire and PCI are both much faster and offer much lower latency, as well as allowing you to set your buffers lower.

So the Rain machine will probably work fine, but I don't know anything about that intel soundcard that comes with it. That makes me nervous. If I bought that machine, I'd replace the card with a Delta 1010 or somesuch.

Take care,
Chris
 
the Rain is just another regular PC optimized for recording, then jacked up $1000.

Anybody can either:

A: build it themselves. It ain't hard, and I fail to see how the Rain would be quieter than an Antec w/ a 120mm fan, Phantom PS, and Zalman cpu cooler.

B: pay someone $100 to do it for them. Still is cheaper.

And a P4? Intel is gett their ass handed to them on a platter right now in the desktop chips.
 
I've also been looking at sweetwater's creation station and it's actually an even better deal. Do these guys also just jack up the price $1,000? I don't know much about this area.

http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/rack.php

but where and how can i go to get information about building a non-intel PC optimized for recording for $1,149? That'd be really cool, especially if it's going to be way better than an intel.
 
farodyssey said:
I've also been looking at sweetwater's creation station and it's actually an even better deal. Do these guys also just jack up the price $1,000? I don't know much about this area.

http://www.sweetwater.com/creation_station/rack.php

but where and how can i go to get information about building a non-intel PC optimized for recording for $1,149? That'd be really cool, especially if it's going to be way better than an intel.
Click to expand...

I dunno man, that's still a ridiculous amount of money for a 3.2Ghz P4.
 
so would it basicly be a wiser decision to configure a similar system at tigerdirect.com or such? i know those computers are a lot cheaper. is the whole "just for recording" thing a scam?
 
Its NOT a scam when it comes to the creation station, at least.

They've put together a machine that has shock mounted internal fans and hard drives (if I recall) and the whole thing is built from the ground up to be quiet and cool. That's why the built for audio machines are so much more expensive.

You might not think its a big deal, but you are probably sitting within 5 feet of the thing while you are recording and each time you mic something up you are adding yet another track of that lovely computer whine-fan noise. Ah! The sound of home recording! :) 24+ tracks of computer whine....

It adds up. And most silnece boxes that you can build or buy for keeping the computer closed up and quiet also run the risk of overheating the thing- enemy number one of your precious data drives and processor.

So its not really about getting the fastest machine for the best price, but getting a machine built for the needs of the studio environment. I mean I have effects boxes that I can't use while I'm tracking because the power supply in them buzzes. If that's a concern you want to address, then the built for audio machines are a sometimes the only choice.

Take care,
Chris
 
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