I have a problem...I went a little crazy and got way too many things daisy-chained via USB (midi controlers, interfaces, hard drives) in my studio, including four focusrite 18i20s hoping to be able to get all 32 channels out of them. but I know it was wishful thinking since my 13-inch MacBook running logic won't be able to handle all the data, at least without massacring the sample rate. Online i can only find help with linking 2 via adat, but nothing about about linking 3 or 4 separate 8-channel interfaces. Given that I have I need at least 3 of the 18i20s for my current studio template (preferably all four and perhaps even more - i have a couple 2i4s connected to RCA switches and would love to be able to expand even more to accept individual channels from my analog board), what would be the cheapest way to make it work?? I really don't want to drop 2k on 32-channel live box with no manual gain adjustment, and I really feel attached to the setup I currently have with two of the 18i20s in the control room and 2 in the tracking room. Is there any way to consolidate the usb signal from the four interfaces and then bring it into the computer? If I I find a suitable slave computer could I use Vienna ensemble pro to spread the cpu load, and solve the issue that
I don't know how well multiple Focusrite drivers work but I do know that RME devices are intended to be used in multiples. For example, you can use up to 3 Digiface USB interfaces on one machine to give up to 96 inputs and 102 output channels.
It has always been my understanding that only Macs can run two or more sound cards at once, excepting the RME PCIe cards. Is that right? I've got an 18i20 collecting dust because I've got another one hooked up to a laptop that I carry around.