Digital Pres

[cpl_crud]

G'day.
I'm looking at getting some digital 8(ish) way pres, to go into ADAT (now) and possibly some form of hard disk recorder (something like a Mackie HDR, haven't decided yet).

What I need is 8 channels of preamp and A/D conversion, with ADAT lightpipe out. Preferably 96kHz. I'd also like something with simultaneous analouge out, although that's not a requirement.

Unit's I've looked at so far include the Mackie Onyx 800R and the Presonus Digimax LT.

Has anyone uysed these units and have any sage advice on them, or could anyone suggest a similar unit that is worth a look in?

Thanks

[Juggernaut]

You might also want to take a look at the M-audio Octane. It has 8 channels with Adat out as well. The quality is supposed to be equivelent to a DMP3 so it cant be that bad.

[Zed10R]

Originally Posted by Juggernaut

You might also want to take a look at the M-audio Octane. It has 8 channels with Adat out as well. The quality is supposed to be equivelent to a DMP3 so it cant be that bad.

Equivalent to a DMP3? It had damn well be BETTER!!

[MadAudio]

Originally Posted by Zed10R

Equivalent to a DMP3? It had damn well be BETTER!!

Actually, the pres in the Octane are based on the DMP3, but it has digital out and an M-S matrix. Plus phase reversal on every other channel. I think the ONYX might be better soundwise, but the Octane is pretty nice.

[reshp1]

Originally Posted by Zed10R

Equivalent to a DMP3? It had damn well be BETTER!!

DMP3 is $160 for 2 channels=$80 a channel, Octane is $600 for 8 channels=$75 a channel. So right there, you'd expect the octane pre's to be lower quality than DMP3 based strictly on price.
Plus you get a M-S matrix and A/D conversion, so saying the Octane pre's are as good as the DMP3 (which I think they are, with slightly less gain) is a hell of a compliment at the price.
Anyway, I second the Octane, I have one and it's been great.

One last thing, ADAT lightpipe is usually 8-channels at up to 48k. If you want 96k, you'll usually halve the number of channels to 4. That is if the unit is set up for it.

[Juggernaut]

I think that the quality of the octane pres can't be worse than the DMP3's because think about it, you only need one powersupply for the whole Octane, and there are no meters, so its probably a case of when you buy more you pay less per item.

[MrBoogie]

The Octane pre's have considerably less gain than the DMP3. Only 50db of gain for the Octane might make it useless on some mikes.

[reshp1]

Originally Posted by MrBoogie

The Octane pre's have considerably less gain than the DMP3. Only 50db of gain for the Octane might make it useless on some mikes.

Yeah, I've run into this as well, you really have to crank it on weak mics with soft sources. The up side is that it's pretty quiet (self noise) even with the gain all the way up.

[adclark]

Try Presonus Firepod

[cpl_crud]

cool, thanks guys, i'll look into those.