HOLY SMOKES!! A NEW 24 TRACK AKAI !!!

[Buck62]

In case you guys haven't heard, Akai is coming out with a new 24-track machine that looks awesome!

It features:
Recordings up to 88.2/96kHz
44 channel/20 bus digital mixer w/ 8 subgroups
100mm motorized touch sensitive faders
Built-in 5.25 drive bay w/ CDR support
A MASSIVE 30 GIG HARD-DRIVE
28 Analog inputs (12 of them are XLR combo)
5.1 Surround Mixing
3 Expansion Slots

These are just a few of the great features of the new machine which will be featured at the Winter Namm show this year.
Check it out here....

http://www.akaipro.com

We're definitely gonna need an Akai forum... soon.

[MISTERQCUE]

That sucker looks awesome! I wonder how much?

[kristian]

thats going to costs you a lot. im guessing around $6000~$5000.

[Buck62]

Nah, my guess is $3,500 list price, and will sell for about $2,999 for the first few months before it comes down to $2,500 after 6 months on the market.
It sure looks sweet, though!

[snapper]

All I can say is WOW!!! I dumped my dps16 about a month
ago and I'll tell ya why. I couldnt track a drummer with
7 mics and use the external compressors and gates that I have-no inserts. The only way to bypass the internal a/d convertors was to use the spdif input-only two channels. Other than that the dps16 was awesome, so easy to use. So ive been closely watching what is going to be released this year(the namm show) and trying to decide on its replacement. I almost had the mackie hdr96/24 but was outbid, and I'm so glad now. I was planning on using that with either the new tascam dm24 digital mixer(who knows when that will be out) or god forbid $9000 for the d8b. I really want the d8b but that would mean no money for building my studio. And the reason I never got the yamaha aw4416 is because of all the crap you have to learn to navigate thru. The akai is so user friendly. I think buck is right about a $3000. price. They could never compete if it wasnt around there. Then there is the new alesis 24 bit adat, what to do, what to do. My only concern with the new akai is the a/d convertor quality. I dont think the dps16 where to special.But I didnt see any specs on the new 24's though. I sure wish I new when it was shipping. I think I'll call around tomorrow. My prayres may have been answered.

[kristian]

i might be going out on a limb here. but akai charges $2500 for only a 24 bit 16 track hard disk recorder with no moxer or anything else. i dont see them tacking on another $1000+ that strange for the extra 8 tracks and more.

[bhodgson]

thats what im saying. the dps16 is $2,000 list. that aki looks awwwesooome. but i heard the retail will be more than the new roland vs2480. retail on the vs is somewhere around 6,000 i think. so im thinking the akai will be street priced anywhere from 4,000-6,000 probably? although, if anyone has definite pricing, let me know, id love to see a lower price on that thing. i think kristian is right. i jsut dont see the aki pricing the 24 at 500-1,000 dollars more when it its got 12 xlr, 12 trs, (with 24 track simultaneous recording!) lightpipe, multiple auxs, 4 insert, digital out, 30 gigs etc. etc. etc.

[MISTERQCUE]

You guys are tossing around dollars like I toss my dirty socks!
N-E body want to make a donation to the "The Mr.Q Poor Gear-Junkies Association Fund"???!!! Tax-deductible!

[Rusty Coggs]

I think I will start begging my
wife to get me one for Xmas if there in the stores by than,
She's an MD,so an extra op should
cover the cost.What ya think brothu Q-cue good idea??

[Kelly Holdridge]

uh, HELLO?!

MOTORIZED FADERS?
SURROUND MIXING?
28 ANALOG INPUTS ON BOARD (not expansion!)?

This thing is gonna cost about $8,000, I guarantee it. The Mackie, the new Alesis, and the Tascam all go for at LEAST $3,500 and don't get CLOSE to the features listed so far. If they DO get close, it's with a good deal of extra cash.

Maybe $7,200 on the street, through the internet. NO WAY it's gonna be under $4,000.

[cflow]

Ok,Crew
I think all of these new harddisk recorders coming out every month is CRAZY. Just when you got relaxed with the one you`ve spent your life saving on, BAMM! here comes another one. Bigger and better. I think we need to just focus on THE MUSIC more and stop stressin about who got more knobs.

[bhodgson]

cflow,

i totally and utterly agree. i just got the yamaha aw4416. for a minute i was stressin. i was like, oh damn, akai is coming out w a 24 track recorder, and oh no! did i make the wrong decision, ive heard editing isnt as great on the yammy. man.. that sucks. for my whole recording life, up until a few years ago, i used tape based machines. where there wasnt editing, unless you wanted to splice tape, so performaces were what counted. you did it right, up front. you didnt do 4 measures of a song, cut and paste the crap out of it and create yourself a song. ive got the yamaha, its 16 tracks, i can eaaaasily bounce with no degradation if i want to. i can patch multiple ins to busses, and out through multiple outputs. im totally set. i want to sit down and record. i purposely got the all in one yamaha so i could get away from driver issues, os crashes, incompatibility w hardware... ecck. recording was a chore by the time i got all of that sorted out. im going to have fun with this, and when i get the money im getting a new g4 for simple editing and trashing my IBM pc. hahaa. see ya

[Bluzdelux]

Yup,

I totally agree with cflow as well. It's about the music, for me anyway. I have a AW 4416, and I'm not sittin around here wishin I had more tracks,or more bells and whistles, or surround mixing, or 96k recording. It has everything I need (and then some) and I'd bet it has the same for 95% of the rest of us here. 24 tracks is not going to make you a better musician or a better engineer. Manufacturers effectively tweak consumers with this kind of "bigger is better" advertising(as evidenced by the substantial amount of drooling going on here). I'm a musician, not a geek. I'd rather take the $ I'd save buying the "next great thing", and invest in better mics, monitors, etc.
Like bhodgson, I was going to go w/ a computer-based system, but decided against it for the very reasons he/she stated. The learning curve on the AW 4416 is not THAT high, and to me it's well worth the headaches I'll put up with for a while to have the versatility this unit has. For me, it will be a long time, if ever before I am saying to myself, "jeez, this thing just doesn't let me do a lot of things that I want to do". I bought mine for 2899.00...bang for the buck? Bigtime.

[rtzstudios]

Looks like it'll be right around $4100. The new roland vs2480 looks good too (about $3599.) Just gotta wait for those prices to go down...