Audiotrak 1010 or Delta 1010?

[The549]

I know the ratio of users for the delta is much higher, but does any more knowledgeable person have any advice over the Audiotrak Maya 1010 and the MA Delta 1010? I searched for posts but couldn't find any.

Keep in mind I can get this linked Audiotrack for $230 new.

Audiotrak:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tem?sku=700354

Delta:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...tem?sku=701376

Thanks!

[andycerrone]

delta 1010. I love it

[therage!]

I'm not familiar with Audiotrak but the specs look good on it. $230 is a damn good price for that. I'd check around and see if there are any forums where people are talking about them. Keep an ear open for how their drivers work. Like the Delta they are using AKM converters. With the Delta you will get good driver support and many of us around here use one and can help with any problems.

[Chris.]

Just an FYI, the Delta 1010 can be modded (analog stages as well as clock) by Black Lion, and they can be had on ebay for $250-300.

[LemonTree]

I've always seen the Delta 1010 to be geared at people mixing outside the box. It's just a straight 8 converter with no bells and whistles and does exactly what it says on the tin.

If you're mixing in the box then obviously the maya has it's advantages with headphone outs and the (skimpy) fantom power

horses for courses

[Chris.]

Originally Posted by LemonTree

I've always seen the Delta 1010 to be geared at people mixing outside the box. It's just a straight 8 converter with no bells and whistles and does exactly what it says on the tin.

If you're mixing in the box then obviously the maya has it's advantages with headphone outs and the (skimpy) fantom power

horses for courses

I mix in the box. I use two outs (monitor mixer) out to my monitors.

If you're using headphones then the Delta won't really work for you, true. Unless you get a 2 1/4 inch to 1 minijack converter.

[therage!]

Originally Posted by Chris.

I mix in the box. I use two outs (monitor mixer) out to my monitors.

If you're using headphones then the Delta won't really work for you, true. Unless you get a 2 1/4 inch to 1 minijack converter.

Or just get a little mixer and you can do both.

[Chris.]

Originally Posted by therage!

Or just get a little mixer and you can do both.

Yeah, I don't really use headphones unless I'm tracking, and when I'm tracking I just use my mixer for the headphone mix.

[DonF]

Originally Posted by LemonTree

If you're mixing in the box then obviously the maya has it's advantages with headphone outs and the (skimpy) fantom power

I think the Maya 1010 may be the first box I've seen that provides phantom power on TRS connectors. I hope this is not the beginning of a trend. Don't accidentally plug your headphones into the microphone input!

[Elmo89m]

The Delta is awesome for the price

[Herm]

I ended up selling a sound card cause I couldnt get drivers for it after I upgraded my computer to windows 2000.
I was stuck using the old card and old slow computer cause the company went out of buisness.
I would bet that m audio (midi man) will be arourd for a long time to support their gear.
M audio seems to be one of the companys you can count on.

[ozraves]

I don't know if the Delta 1010 has been upgraded since it first came out but I gave it a fairly close listen a long time ago and just thought it lacked.

I'd probably lean toward one of the Echo units. There's an Echo Layla 3G on eBay with a buy it now price of $399.

I've not heard anything by Audiotrak.

FWIW, I've looked at writing reviews of converters over the years and evaluated more than a few units. It's not something I've gotten into for a lot of reasons. I will say that in that time that some things do stand out. RME is far and away the best in stability. EMU "m" series sounds surprisingly in the ballpark with standard pro love converters (think Apogee). I've been wanting to pull the trigger and give them a good review but I just don't seem to feel comfortable that there's enough stability there to give them a recommendation unless there are some reservations attached to it. The latest generation Echo gear sounds good.

[mrface2112]

IMO, the delta 1010 has fine converters--it's the clock that's lacking. once i clocked mine to my apogee minime, i immediately noticed that the bottom end tightened, the top end became less harsh/hard/brittle and the midrange sweetened. the converters remained the same.....but the sound certainly changed. once i heard it with the minime's clock, i thought it "lacked" without it as well. i was really surprised.

anyway, it does what i want--solid, no frills 8x8 TRS in/out--10 with spdif, plus wordclock in. i need to pick up a second one. i run the first pair of outputs to my monitors and the 2nd set to a behri headphone amp, which solves the "headphone out" problem (but brings the "behri into the signal chain" problem), but i don't use headphones for anything but tracking/monitor feeds, so......

something that should be not overlooked--the 1010 has been around for years. the driver is rock solid, as it is the same driver for all of their PCI-based cards, which makes it very easy to run a 1010 and an audiophile 2496 (for example) in the same computer. i've moved my 1010/2496 combo from windows 2000 to XP pro without a single problem. there's something to be said for what product longevity does for a stable driver.

as always, YMMV.


cheers,
wade

[The549]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I have looked at reviews for the Audiotrak and I haven't heard of any driver issues...

I would be using external phantom power, obviously, since 12v it's worthless. Also, I'll be using it to record a band, so I thought that maybe all the outputs would be worth it.

Also, could somone explain practically what s/pdif can do? I know it's a digital input. But does it add one or two more digital channels? Could I hook up an external mic pre to it like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...uts?sku=180629

Of course, by the time I do that, i start to wonder if I should just save for an firewire Onyx.

[MOFO Pro]

Originally Posted by The549

Of course, by the time I do that, i start to wonder if I should just save for an firewire Onyx.

Another victim of GAS... only 30 posts and aready decided that he needs better than what he hasn't bought yet...

Welcome to the club 549

[Chris.]

Originally Posted by The549

Also, could somone explain practically what s/pdif can do? I know it's a digital input. But does it add one or two more digital channels? Could I hook up an external mic pre to it like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...uts?sku=180629

S/PDIF holds a stereo signal, so two channels.

From the website: "Switch selectable optical output (S/PDIF or ADAT)"

I believe that means yes, you could use that with the 1010.