Lexicon 2 PCI Card any good?

S

Stinky

New member
I'm going to be putting together a pc-based recording package and am looking at soundcard/interfaces. I have seen the Lexicon Core 2 PCI card listed in Musiciansfriend for $200. I only plan to use the system for myself and can make do with the 4 ins/8 outs.

Would there be any problem running this card/interface with Cubase software? Anything really evil about this card or Lexicon hard disk recording gear I should know about? How are the drivers/pres?

Thanks very much and ROCK ON!!!!--Stinky
 
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Still Rockin'--Stinky
 
Stinky said:
I'm going to be putting together a pc-based recording package and am looking at soundcard/interfaces. I have seen the Lexicon Core 2 PCI card listed in Musiciansfriend for $200. I only plan to use the system for myself and can make do with the 4 ins/8 outs.
Click to expand...

I believe Guitar Center is dumping these for $149.99 starting Friday, if you really want one.
Anything really evil about this card or Lexicon hard disk recording gear I should know about? How are the drivers/pres?
Click to expand...

I briefly looked into these a couple of months back and I can't remember why everyone said not to get it. I know the sample rate is low, for one thing. It's not terribly popular.

As far as I can tell, there _are_ no preamps.

If you're looking for a good deal on liquidated recording gear, you might take a look at the SeaSound SoloEX for $299 at GC. It's a great unit, but the company went bankrupt last month. It has only two channels out, but is expandable with their add-on unit. It has high-quality 24/96 converters, phantom power, excellent Oberheim-designed preamps and is a really great unit, lightyears nicer than anything else at twice the price, and covers everything between the microphone and the motherboard. The only drawbacks are that the basic unit is two-out (four pres) plus a SPDIF I/O and there are no WDM drivers nor updates. A new driver package was posted on their site a week or two back, but it wasn't WDM.

This unit was considered a good buy when Tom Oberheim introduced it at the original $849 a little over a year and a half ago. It got great reviews. If you can make do with the two outputs, there's no way I know of to get into high-quality 24/96 digital recording with less dough. I mean...$300 for everything? How you gonna beat THAT?
 
Sounds very promising!!!

Read your reply and that sounds like it might be a great opportunity!

Questions:
1) What is a WDM driver?

2) Four ins with pres? and two separate ins from the I/O?

3) This unit is a soundcard and interface together for $300?


Thanks so much for you info. and patience!!!


Rock On--Stinky
 
Re: Sounds very promising!!!

Stinky said:
Read your reply and that sounds like it might be a great opportunity!

Questions:
1) What is a WDM driver?
Click to expand...

"Windows Driver Model" (or "module," depending on who's talking) new DirectX8 support, lower latency. On the other hand, only a limited number of hardware and software packages support it so far. Sonar is the big WDM package right now.
2) Four ins with pres? and two separate ins from the I/O?
Click to expand...

Four pres into two outs, plus a SPDIF I/O on the PCI card.

There are actually two in and two out, but each channel has two integrated preamps, with a mic and instrument input which can be used simultaneously. These are pretty good-sounding pres, too.
3) This unit is a soundcard and interface together for $300?
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's everthing between the PCI slot on the motherboard and the microphone cable. Check out their site, www.seasound.com for a look at the thing and the features.

It's a sad deal. Tom Oberheim (yes, THAT Tom Oberheim) started the company and thought he was going to conquer the world with this thing and he overextended himself in promotion and whatnot and got into a money bind just as everyone else was introducing stuff with more channels in their basic units, which put the SoloEX at just enough market disadvantage to doom it at the list price. It was kind of a strange company up in Marin (if you're not familiar with CA this means nothing, but if you are it speaks volumes, most of which is untranslatable ;) ). Right up until about four weeks ago, they had buyers that were going to bail them out of their money troubles, but at the last minute they choked and SeaSound went into Chapter 13.

It's definitely not cutting-edge right now with the lack of WDM drivers (I don't think the Lexicon has them either, but I may be wrong) and not a lot of channels, but in terms of high-quality sound and a _very_ nice piece of integrated equipment, I can't see how you can do better at $300. The downside is that there isn't any factory support any more, but other SeaSound users have been quite helpful and SeaSound says that they're going to have a central mutual-support webforum for users - which usually beats what you get from a manufacturer anyway.
 
Talked with GC and I may take a shot at it

GC quoted me the $399 website price on the soloist and $499 for the SoloEX.

I asked about layaway and they said 25% down and thirty days is their usual deal. But they alluded to extending the layaway if I'm making payments. Have you had any experience or heard stories regarding this? I could swing it if I had a couple of months, but I don't wanna get screwed.

So, does no WDM mean I have to buy some other gear to make it work with the Cubase/PC setup I would use?

Thanks Again!!!!--Stinky
 
Re: Talked with GC and I may take a shot at it

Stinky said:
GC quoted me the $399 website price on the soloist and $499 for the SoloEX.
Click to expand...
Somebody's definitely jacking you around.

Their advertised price in the Guitar Center August Buyer's Guide (which is already out) is $299.99 for the SoloEX. It's _possible_ that this price doesn't start until Friday, but I already got a refund on the price differential since I bought mine on June 29.

So, does no WDM mean I have to buy some other gear to make it work with the Cubase/PC setup I would use?
Click to expand...

No, I think that'd be OK, as it comes set up with Cubasis, the demo version of Cubase. As far as I know, only Sonar requires WDM and I am not clear on all the details by a long shot.

I'm trying to get Cubase 5 set up on my SeaSound right now, but I've been too busy to give it the attention it needs. So far I have just checked out all the hardware and have made sure that everything works. I haven't done any recording except for a couple of quick test passes with a mic to see that everything's hooked up OK.

I don't know anything about Guitar Center's layaway policies.
 
I think the Lexi Core2 is GREAT for the money, provided it works for your system (ie I don't think it works for a AMD PC)- but there are new drivers out which fix all the original bugs.

I don't know how you can beat it.... 24-bit, dbx type 4 compression built in, 8-in 8-out ADAT lightpipe, 8 in 8 out analogue.
It is cheap because it got a bad name originally because the drivers were bad and it used to crash all the time.

Thankfully, the problems have been fixed.

I highly recommend it. Try to get the one with the Lexi effects built in too (the mpx-1).

Matt
 
Talked to a guy at GC and he says 4 ins/8 outs and not pres on the Lexicon Core 2. Sample Rate 48k. Also not compatible with some PCs that don't have pentium chip.

I guess I'm a bit concerned about the Seasound card since I won't have any tech support. But apparently GC is knocking down their few remaining Solo EXs to $299.

HMMMM

Thanks!---Stinky
 
If you want tech support....

...you're definitely not going to get it from Lexicon! They have all but abandoned the Core2 and Core32. Tech support is important, and active driver development is perhaps even more important. If you can live with Win98 and little or no help if anything goes wrong then you might get away with having a Lexicon or a Seasound for a while, but if you're making a long term purchase, I would recommend something from a Aardvark or M-Audio, who seem to at least take a passing interest in the products they've released.

;)
 
Hey Folks.

This is my own personal project studio, so I'm not going to be spending much dough or putting the system through industrial use.

I guess I'd like to at least have a warranty, which I don't guess I can get with Seasound. I guess I've heard the drivers on the Lexicon are adequate and that will suffice for now. Maybe I'll upgrade to a better card in the future. We'll see.

I looked at the M-Audio Delta 44, but it didn't have any info listed at MusicansFriend. I'm still shopping around and the M-Audio stuff seems impressive. Dolemite--Would you recommend something besides the Delta 44 for about $250?

Thanks again and keep rockin'!---Stinky
 
I have the Lexicon Core2, but I replaced it with the SeaSound SoloEX. The Lexicon is nice, but it is definitely not a full package deal like the Solo. The Lex is basically ins and outs and nothing more. You need to add your own mixer, mic preamps, MIDI interface, etc to get what the Solo gives you.

Isn't the Solo going to be hard to find now that they aren't making them anymore? The Expander I just got in the mail today was the last NIB unit I could find anywhere, calling the big guys (including Sam Ash and Guitar Center). Perhaps the 2-channel Solo base units are more plentiful.

I hesitate to recommend the Solo because it may be hard to get the Expander which I think is a very important add-on. In my opinion, the Solo is quite limited if you can only do 2 channels. The Expander is a must for my needs, even if all I want to do is simple solo work with a vocal mic and a stereo pair on my acoustic guitar simultaneously. With the Expander, I can do this and more, perhaps with a room mic too, or whatever. And I can mic larger groups as well. 8 channels sure beats 2. (The base Solo actually gives you 4 ins if you use the back-panel line ins with an outboard mic pre, but each pair is combined into 2 channels, so you can't lay down 4 truly separate tracks).

SeaSound stuff is great though, no doubt. The Expander I just got is beautiful. The switches and knobs and all the details feel like much more expensive hardware. And the quality in the guts is there too. It's good stuff. I am really quite bummed that they went under. If you can score an Expander somewhere, or if you are sure 2 channels will meet your needs, I say grab a SoloEX for $299, that is the deal of the Century.

I paid full price for my SoloEX about 2 months ago ($499 at Guitar Center). How recent must a purchase be for Guitar Center to offer a refund of the difference on a sale price? I doubt I could get $200 back on something I bought in May, but what the heck, it's worth a try. What exactly is their policy on this?

Trumpetman.
 
Hi Guys,

I am NOT suggesting that the Lexi Core2 is the best soundcard around- only that for the money, it is GREAT.

Sample rate is 48Khz 24-bit.
No preamps.
No mixer software,

however, I have found the Lexicon tech support to be great (Australia, anyhow). I mean- I read everything about how the tech support would be awful, but they've helped me and I didn't even buy the card new.
The new drivers that Lexicon only JUST released make them fully compatible for Macs & Pentium PCs- and in any case, anyone trying to go for digital audio who does not have a Pentium chip is crazy anyhow.

And re the preamps- I wouldn't want to use preamps from any soundcard when I have an LA Audio preamp, and I use a real mixer. I'm thinking of a Fostex VM-200- 32bit digital mixer, similar to the Lexi card in that it is cut-price, but with some great features.
 
# How recent must a purchase be for Guitar Center to offer a
# refund of the difference on a sale price?

Thirty days.
 
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