Is there any talk of a pro-tools in between LE and HD?

elenore19

Slowing becoming un-noob.
HD is ridiculously priced. And LE seems to be on the cheaper side.

Is there any talk of digidesign making a version/interface that goes for the middle of the road type of deal?

I think if there isn't, there should be. But that's me. You guys might think I'm just ridiculous...Let me know what you think though. I'm curious.
 
well, technically the interfaces of both HD and LE are about the same price (a couple grand)...it's the processing cards that cost you.
Ideally, Digi would allow LE users to use multiple interfaces and get rid of the track count...but I don't see that happening. I heard some rumor about a new line of HD getting rid of the processing cards though.
 
From a consumers point of view it would be great, but the better digi make HD alternatives the less HD systems they'll sell. I can't see any commercial incentive to making LE better or making more choices :(
 
Basically LE is the step down from HD just because like the other guys said they don't want to cut into their own market anymore, and the only reason we see LE around is because digi didn't want to miss out in the money for all of the "home" studios floating around.
 
Well theres nothing like in between right now, but ill say that if there is something cheaper and better than LE is TDM, using interfaces like the 888/24, which BTW is a great interface. The only problem with this is that the latest version you can use with an 888 is Protools 6.4 or 6.9 (im almost sure 6.9 is possible, but no 7.0 or later), also the other problem is that it only supports up tu Pentium 4 or Xeon processors (or G4 if you are using a mac), i think you can use it with a dual core but it will only use one of the cores, which sucks cuz youll be using only half the pc's pontential. In my case it was worse, i have a Core 2 Quad and it only used one of the 4 cores :(. But if you buy a nice Xeon youll have no problems, and i think the entire kit (eg. a Mac G4 + Mix Core card + 888 interface) will cost less than a digi003 rack
 
well, technically the interfaces of both HD and LE are about the same price (a couple grand)...it's the processing cards that cost you.
Ideally, Digi would allow LE users to use multiple interfaces and get rid of the track count...but I don't see that happening. I heard some rumor about a new line of HD getting rid of the processing cards though.
Yeah, that would be nice if they would allow multiple interfaces for LE. But I agree, I don't see that happening.
From a consumers point of view it would be great, but the better digi make HD alternatives the less HD systems they'll sell. I can't see any commercial incentive to making LE better or making more choices :(
Yeah, good point. I suppose I was sort of thinking in terms of us consumers, not the commercial point of view that I'm sure they take.
Basically LE is the step down from HD just because like the other guys said they don't want to cut into their own market anymore, and the only reason we see LE around is because digi didn't want to miss out in the money for all of the "home" studios floating around.
Yeah, makes sense. I just don't have it in me to spend that much for HD's gear. I guess I'll just have to go with LE and try and get as many channels as I can. I think I can get about 16 or 18 if I use S/PDIF or something like that.

Well theres nothing like in between right now, but ill say that if there is something cheaper and better than LE is TDM, using interfaces like the 888/24, which BTW is a great interface. The only problem with this is that the latest version you can use with an 888 is Protools 6.4 or 6.9 (im almost sure 6.9 is possible, but no 7.0 or later), also the other problem is that it only supports up tu Pentium 4 or Xeon processors (or G4 if you are using a mac), i think you can use it with a dual core but it will only use one of the cores, which sucks cuz youll be using only half the pc's pontential. In my case it was worse, i have a Core 2 Quad and it only used one of the 4 cores :(. But if you buy a nice Xeon youll have no problems, and i think the entire kit (eg. a Mac G4 + Mix Core card + 888 interface) will cost less than a digi003 rack
Wow, I never saw those interfaces. Those are pretty sweet looking. That sucks though about now being able to use them with later versions and also them not using all the cores of your processors. Bummer.
 
the 888/24, which BTW is a great interface.


Actually, the 888s were fairly poor interfaces considering how popular they become. They are fairly well known for having sub-standard converters in them - the new HD interfaces (192/96) are a REAL step up in quality.

That combined with the fact that you have to buy OLD technology just to get it to work, and the fact that it's no longer supported by PT and hasn't been for nearly 2 yrs now, to me it makes it look like a black hole in which to throw your money.
 
Actually, the 888s were fairly poor interfaces considering how popular they become.

Well i think is a matter of taste, im sure the new HD interfaces are much better than the 888/24 but still i think the 888 is and was a great interface, and nowadays you can get it very very cheap, like 20% of the value of a 96i/o
 
The HD gear is totally over priced. You have to have big pockets to even consider moving into that realm. The other thing about HD i don't like is it requires a ton of cards and interface devices to even use it.

The LE gear although it is for home use.. the interface sounds bad. The pre's on the 002 are horrible and i keep hearing that the 003 is not any better. It's bad when people recommend you get your interface modified to get a better sound. I think if they want us home users to keep using the LE gear they need to improve the interface quality. If you are paying 1000-1500 for a DAW system you expect to get decent sound quality from it.


Demi
 
Well if you think about it, out of all of the systems the mbox 1 had the best pres in the focusrite for the pricerange and for an all in 1 box but anyways. I look at it like this why would they spend big money on putting excellent pres in their units when most people use other pres/compressors anyways it would be a waste of money for them to do that and probably as well it would raise the overall price of the units... So IMO all of that is why the pres "suck"
 
Well if you think about it, out of all of the systems the mbox 1 had the best pres in the focusrite for the pricerange and for an all in 1 box but anyways. I look at it like this why would they spend big money on putting excellent pres in their units when most people use other pres/compressors anyways it would be a waste of money for them to do that and probably as well it would raise the overall price of the units... So IMO all of that is why the pres "suck"

I agree, but it seems like bad business to purposely allow the interface of your smaller product line to suck. I'm sure they sell alot of home based units and there's justification to improve it. I say this because they are constantly coming out with newer model units... i.e. the 003 line. I'm not going to buy an HD system because my LE sucks. I am going to buy another LE system because i can't afford the HD system and all that gear required to run it.


Demi
 
Well like I said from a "company" standpoint if they spent more money to put better pres in those products it would easily drive the price up on each unit by around $1000. And with most ppl using their on pres/compressors it would be a waste of money. It's all about affordability and profits.
 
I agree, but it seems like bad business to purposely allow the interface of your smaller product line to suck. I'm sure they sell alot of home based units and there's justification to improve it. I say this because they are constantly coming out with newer model units... i.e. the 003 line. I'm not going to buy an HD system because my LE sucks. I am going to buy another LE system because i can't afford the HD system and all that gear required to run it.


Demi

Man i have to say that i love Protools but i hate digidesign, and by that i mean the corporation. Some who works on Digidesign once told me "we dont sell software, we sell you the hardware and the software is for free so you can use the hardware". FREE MY ASS!!!! Dont sell software????, man what about all those expensive bundles, production toolkits, etc... they rip you off and on top they act as if they were doing you a favor!
 
Man i have to say that i love Protools but i hate digidesign, and by that i mean the corporation. Some who works on Digidesign once told me "we dont sell software, we sell you the hardware and the software is for free so you can use the hardware". FREE MY ASS!!!! Dont sell software????, man what about all those expensive bundles, production toolkits, etc... they rip you off and on top they act as if they were doing you a favor!

Hallelujah!
 
Well like I said from a "company" standpoint if they spent more money to put better pres in those products it would easily drive the price up on each unit by around $1000. And with most ppl using their on pres/compressors it would be a waste of money. It's all about affordability and profits.

exactly! If you want 18 channels of amazing pres and A/D conversion...be ready to pay for it. Hell, even 4 channels of so called "excellent" sounding pres (not including A/D conversion), you're looking at spending $1000 already. Not to mention "good sounding" is highly subjective.
A company like Digi is forced to find the median between sounding decent and still staying affordable for home users like you.

I'll be the first to agree that I like Pro Tools, but don't agree with a lot of Digi's company decisions...but I fully knew the cost and limitations of things before diving into the world of Pro Tools. As should ALL customers.
 
I guess on the board I'm one of the few that I talked about, I use my 002r just to connect everything in but I use a different comp/preamp and I also use a mackie d8b for my control surface so really my 002r is just has my mic input going into it, I don't use the pre's or anything. So it doesn't bother me as much, and for my mixing setup I just have the mbox to mix at home on. A couple of issues you guys brought up about the hardware "flaws" doesn't bother me as much. I just wish I could use all 24 of my faders instead of 8 :(
 
I guess on the board I'm one of the few that I talked about, I use my 002r just to connect everything in but I use a different comp/preamp and I also use a mackie d8b for my control surface so really my 002r is just has my mic input going into it, I don't use the pre's or anything. So it doesn't bother me as much, and for my mixing setup I just have the mbox to mix at home on. A couple of issues you guys brought up about the hardware "flaws" doesn't bother me as much. I just wish I could use all 24 of my faders instead of 8 :(

I have a digi002 and i bought an Alesis AI3, this converts from ADAT light pipe to TRS ballanced and viceversa, that way i add 8 extra outputs to my digi, then i bought an SPDIF ADA and that way i get two more analog channels for a total of 18 (its not 24 but close), a cheaper solution is to buy a DAT (even if the heads dont work) they have SPDIF converters on it.

I seriously recomend looking up for something like the AI3 interface, i had a hard time finding it because the product has been discontinued, but i got a brand new one on e-bay, the alternative is to buy a seriously beaten ADAT machine and use it only to convert from digital to analog and the other way around.
 
The HD gear is totally over priced. You have to have big pockets to even consider moving into that realm. The other thing about HD i don't like is it requires a ton of cards and interface devices to even use it.

I don't agree it's overpriced. For the home user it may be too expensive, but for a professional studio it's not exactly a huge investment when you consider what a decent mixing console costs... When you pay a couple of hundred grand for a console, but can get an HD system that does a very similar job (if not more) for around 5 grand I don't really think complaining about the price is justified. If you don't like the price, don't buy it. Likewise if you don't like the sound of the LE hardware, don't buy it.

And HD requires one card, and one interface to function...

If you are paying 1000-1500 for a DAW system you expect to get decent sound quality from it.

So which other DAW systems in that price bracket sound so much better?
 
So IMO all of that is why the pres "suck"

You seem pretty committed to the conclusion Digi pres "suck". I respect that but could you specifically (sonically) compare and contrast exactly where the Digi pre's go bad in comparison to pre's you like?

Just what does make Digi pre's suck so bad?
 
You seem pretty committed to the conclusion Digi pres "suck". I respect that but could you specifically (sonically) compare and contrast exactly where the Digi pre's go bad in comparison to pre's you like?

Just what does make Digi pre's suck so bad?

I dont think digi pre's suck, in fact for some applications i like them, its just that they are very transparent, they do not color or alter the sound in anyway, which as i said for some applications are good, but most of the time they just sound tiny and lifeless due to the great tranparency.
 
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