m-Audio Delta 1010LT question

[rsilverst]

Hi-

I posted for the first time yesterday, and I've done some research, and am homing in on purchasing the m-Audio Delta 1010LT as an audio interface. I do not *need* to record multiple tracks simultaneously, though if I could do vocal and guitar at the same time, that could be useful.

Just to remind you of my system:
Athlon 2700XP
1.5GB RAM
6600GT
RALINK Wireless Network card
WD 80GB SATA HD

Gear to be used for recording:
Various guitars through Line6 PODxt (or potentially mic'ing tube amps)
Audix OM-5 for vocals (Shure SM-58 maybe for mic'ing amps)
ART Tube MP preamp

My questions:

1. Are the preamps on the m-Audio likely to be better or not as good as the ART mic preamp? As an aside, I have a giant *basket* of 12AT7 and 12AX7 tubes, some of which are newer, and some vintage, so I am betting that I could get better-than-stock sound from the ART with the right tube...

2. Are there any major drawbacks to this card that anyone knows of?

3. Are the inputs mono or stereo? i.e. when they say 2 inputs, is that two stereo inputs?

4. For the money, is there anything you'd pick over this one?

[James Argo]

Welcome to the board...

Let's see if I can help...

1. Are the preamps on the m-Audio likely to be better or not as good as the ART mic preamp? As an aside, I have a giant *basket* of 12AT7 and 12AX7 tubes, some of which are newer, and some vintage, so I am betting that I could get better-than-stock sound from the ART with the right tube...

I've used this card for years, and IMHO, the Mic preamp on 1010LT only supplied as complimentary. It works, but as you put external "real" preamp (specialy tube'd one) you'll notice what I am talking about. I didn't say it's bad at all. It works for most "newbie" or those who doesn't mind it's quality. But from your list of gears, I can tell you're "above" them. You'll want to use the card as I/O only (by turning off it's internal preamp). I use various mics & preamps, but mostly I use SM58 with Mackie board. Mackie's internal preamp is good enough combined with the SM58. Tube is even better. Give yourself a try, and decide yourself. The 1010LT itself, never let me down for years!

2. Are there any major drawbacks to this card that anyone knows of?

No, so far I am a happy camper. The card, M-Audio site, support provided, drivers, etc. They are all great! Oh, the only things I found anoyying is the way they put the bracket cable on the back side of the card. It's too... you know... hog! So many cables, so little space. But as I built myself an external patch bay there is no problem at all. FYI, I "burried" my PC in the special box, deep inside my special designed mixing desk to reduce it's noise. I route the cables from the back of my CPU to the patch bay, reachable so I can easily connect 'em to my external mixer.

3. Are the inputs mono or stereo? i.e. when they say 2 inputs, is that two stereo inputs?

They can act as 10 mono, or 5 stereo. It's all configued by the software included. You can even mix the configuration. Say input 1 & 2 mono, and the rest 8 input configured as 4 stereo. The software/Delta panel is intuitive.

4. For the money, is there anything you'd pick over this one?

No... I don't think so. It's great "1st owned real audio card".

Hope it helps,

Jaymz

[Alexbt]

The preamps in the Delta aren't exactly real preamps. They just have the ability to record at Mic level. You won't be able to use condensors, so keeping the ART would be a good idea. I only use mine to plug the occassional dynamic in.

The 1010LT has 10 inputs and outputs. not two.
There are two XLR jacks in, six RCA jacks in, and a SPDIF (coax stereo) in.
There are eight RCAs out and one SPDIF out.

With the exception of the digital SPDIF, the connections are not stereo, unless you configure stereo pairs in the software.

For the price it's a really sweet deal. It's what I'm using now, and I'm thinking about expanding my setup with additional Delta cards, something you can't do with many other lines of cards.

[rsilverst]

Originally Posted by Alexbt

The preamps in the Delta aren't exactly real preamps. They just have the ability to record at Mic level. You won't be able to use condensors, so keeping the ART would be a good idea. I only use mine to plug the occassional dynamic in.

The 1010LT has 10 inputs and outputs. not two.
There are two XLR jacks in, six RCA jacks in, and a SPDIF (coax stereo) in.
There are eight RCAs out and one SPDIF out.

With the exception of the digital SPDIF, the connections are not stereo, unless you configure stereo pairs in the software.

For the price it's a really sweet deal. It's what I'm using now, and I'm thinking about expanding my setup with additional Delta cards, something you can't do with many other lines of cards.

Thanks to all for the info. Yes, I realize that there were 10 inputs, not 2 What I meant was, for instance, does it require 2 inputs to record a single stereo input. And I understand now that the answer to that is yes.

One more question: can all the inputs be used simultaneously? I'm asking because I know that the inexpensive version of Protools only allows 8 inputs at a time, so the way I'm reading this, I could actually record more tracks at once using this card than using the low-end Digidesign unit. Am I missing something here?

Thanks again,
Bob

[Alexbt]

Yes!
You can record from all 10 inputs at once, if your software allows for it (and if you can make use of the SPDIF. I don't have any SPDIF devices/preamps so I've never tried it).

[James Argo]

Thanks for clearing up things, Alex

It's said, 1010LT doesn't supply phantom power (+48V). You need external preamp (with phantom power) to power your condenser mic if you use one.

The price is realy worth the 10 - In/Out + 1 MIDI port & the 24/96 - AD/DA converter, not the "preamp".


Jaymz