M-Powered or LE?

A

Agent47

Dismember
My first post in the PT forum...

Despite using DAWs in studios for over 10 years, I'm a PT noob, only just starting to use it at the studio I work in. Anyway, I'm thinking of getting PT for my home studio, so I can take on extra audio-post work and be compatible with other facilities.

I have an M-audio 192 card, so could easily get M-powered (I've been playing with the demo recently). Would there be any point getting LE and a Digi 003 box or M-box instead? Would an LE system be more stable, or can I realistically save some cash and use my existing card?

Which is better, M-powered systems or LEs? :)

Thanks (go ahead and laugh at the PT noob, go on!).
 
http://www.digidesign.com/index.cfm?langid=100&navid=28&itemid=4779&action=news_details


That's a link to a really good comparison.. I would say I/O would be a deciding factor.. They are otherwise pretty much identical.. M powered is compatible with more interfaces.. but LE is compatible with better interfaces IMO.. M powered lacks some of the plugs, but most use third party more anyway, and maybe you do too already. Anyway, hope that helps.. I personally prefer LE.. I want to go with a rosetta soon, which isn't M powered compatible where LE is.. and then I can eventually go HD.. maybe. Good luck!
 
Thanks! I see LE and M-powered are similar, just seeing if I can get people's personal experiences. I had a feeling that LE was slightly better - hardwarewise - than M-powered.

As long as it runs stable then I may stick with my M-audio card for the time being and save myself a few hundred £...

Ultimately I want to run Source Connect and maybe eventually Digitranslator, depending on what work comes in (...if any).
 
Mr. ROUSH said:
I personally prefer LE.. I want to go with a rosetta soon, which isn't M powered compatible where LE is.. and then I can eventually go HD..
Click to expand...

I plan to go the Rosetta route eventually as well...but I think I will stick to M-powered....My plan is to get the M-audio Light Bridge which will let you connect up to 4 Lightpipe devices....
 
Mr. ROUSH said:
M powered lacks some of the plugs
Click to expand...

What plugs where? The plugins included with Pro Tools M-Powered are identical to those included with Pro Tools LE.

thajeremy said:
I plan to go the Rosetta route eventually as well...but I think I will stick to M-powered....My plan is to get the M-audio Light Bridge which will let you connect up to 4 Lightpipe devices....
Click to expand...

Noting of course that the I/O is still limited to 18 channels simultaneously ;)

The ONLY differences between M-Powered and LE are as follows:


  • M-Powered uses M-Audio Interfaces - LE uses the Digidesign LE interfaces (003 family or Mbox 2 Family)
  • M-Powered cannot use the C|24 or Control 24 ethernet controllers - LE Can
  • M-Powered cannot use DV Toolkit 2 or Complete Production Toolkit 2. It can however use Music Production Toolkit (2) - LE Can use all three toolkits
  • M-Powered requires the iLok USB key to run, with a relevant asset loaded. LE needs a serial key.
  • Pro Tools LE is included with all applicable interfaces. Pro Tools M-Powered is purchased separately to the interface.

M-Powered has a stigma attached to it. It's no where near as inferior as people make out. Sure if you need to use more than 64 tracks, timecode, feet/frames etc. then you need to be using LE. If you need to use the C|24 run LE. Otherwise let the interface (and budget) decide which version you run.

To the OP I would recommend you get M-Powered unless you see yourself needing more I/O than your 192 allows, in which case you need to weigh up the pros and cons of the interfaces.

For the ultimate rig, I would have a 003 Factory (with inbuilt control surface) coupled with an external set of converters such as a Focusrite Octopre.
 
Thanks for such a detailed answer pezking.

I doubt I'll be needing more than 2 in/2 out as the most I'll ever be recording is a single vocal or a voiceover. So multiple ins/outs aren't needed at all.

As long as I can run Source Connect, and have the option to install Digitranslator at a later stage, then I'm happy. It's mainly so I can be compatible with the rest of the world. Timecode I/O isn't needed as I doubt I'll ever need to lock to Digibeta or SP.

Getting M-powered for my existing card seems a very affordable way to get into the PT world...

Cheers.
 
Yes Source Connect will work with Pro Tools M-Powered. Just make sure you tick the RTAS (plugin format used for Pro Tools) installation box when you install the plugin.
 
pezking said:
What plugs where? The plugins included with Pro Tools M-Powered are identical to those included with Pro Tools LE.



Noting of course that the I/O is still limited to 18 channels simultaneously ;)

The ONLY differences between M-Powered and LE are as follows:


  • M-Powered uses M-Audio Interfaces - LE uses the Digidesign LE interfaces (003 family or Mbox 2 Family)
  • M-Powered cannot use the C|24 or Control 24 ethernet controllers - LE Can
  • M-Powered cannot use DV Toolkit 2 or Complete Production Toolkit 2. It can however use Music Production Toolkit (2) - LE Can use all three toolkits
  • M-Powered requires the iLok USB key to run, with a relevant asset loaded. LE needs a serial key.
  • Pro Tools LE is included with all applicable interfaces. Pro Tools M-Powered is purchased separately to the interface.

M-Powered has a stigma attached to it. It's no where near as inferior as people make out. Sure if you need to use more than 64 tracks, timecode, feet/frames etc. then you need to be using LE. If you need to use the C|24 run LE. Otherwise let the interface (and budget) decide which version you run.

To the OP I would recommend you get M-Powered unless you see yourself needing more I/O than your 192 allows, in which case you need to weigh up the pros and cons of the interfaces.

For the ultimate rig, I would have a 003 Factory (with inbuilt control surface) coupled with an external set of converters such as a Focusrite Octopre.
Click to expand...

It doesn't include the third party package that comes with LE.. ie abelton live lite / reason adapted / drum core plugin.. a few others.. nothing important..
 
thajeremy said:
I plan to go the Rosetta route eventually as well...but I think I will stick to M-powered....My plan is to get the M-audio Light Bridge which will let you connect up to 4 Lightpipe devices....
Click to expand...


I'd be very interested to know how that turns out for you. If you think about it, and if you beat me to it.. Let me know, and I'll do the same.
 
Mr. ROUSH said:
I'd be very interested to know how that turns out for you. If you think about it, and if you beat me to it.. Let me know, and I'll do the same.
Click to expand...

well...the lightbridge should be along very soon....the rosetta may be a ways out but I have an M-audio octane to lightpipe in until I can afford the rosetta...
 
configuring defaults such as clocking, buffer settings, bit rate, caching, etc. can all be done within a session, not the case with m-powered.

m-powered and LE both require an iLok dongle in PT 8.

i think the 003 converters sound cleaner when not driven past -10 db.

multiple monitoring support is also very nice
 
pezking said:
How do you find the octane?
Click to expand...

I walk downstairs to my studio...then I slowy open the door on the right at the bottom of the stairs and ease my way into the room....I usually find the octane in my rack about 6 spaces down....just sitting there....doing octane sorta stuff...... :p


well...I thought it was funny...

I usually just use the octane into a Delta 1010 for recording drums. Everything else is tracked with a Lucid ADA1000 into the delta's s/pdif. Think of the octane as 4 DMP3's in one unit...very clean pre's but they dont have quite the amount of gain of a DMP3...
 
I use an 003 in my work studio for broadcast work, and to be honest I like the sound, at least on spoken word. I usually drive it up -5 and it still sounds nice to me.

But for my home studio, I'll probably investigate the M-powered side of things, see how it goes. My PC is getting on for 4 years old - 3.6gHz HTT, 2GB RAM, Win XP Home SP3, but it still runs SX3 ok.
 
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