8 channel adat pre for me.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Steenamaroo
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Steenamaroo

Steenamaroo

...
hi everyone,

sorry if this has been covered a million times, but


i'm recording with a digi 003 mixer using the four onboard preamps.


i want the use of at least 8 simultaneous mics, and therefore, i'm thinking of an 8 channel adat pre, to basically replace the onboard pres.


only thing is, i know nothing about behringers ada8000's, or focusrite octopres or presonus digimaxes etc, and was kinda hopin someone could compare them on experience?

obviously i want the quality and sound to be equal to or slightly better than whatever's in my digi003, but at the same time,,i don't want to go nuts.


if it's worth listing, i record mostly soft music,,,,soft rock,,acoustic guitars, that sort of thing, using,

sm58 (e guitar)
2 x sm81|(a guitar)
rode nt1a (vox)
samson 7kit for drums
marshall mxl990 (rarely used)

thanks everyone.


edit :

also, being that i have the four extra line inputs on the 003, i would consider a pair of dual channel analogue pres to feed them,

but the hold up is, i don't know if thats a good move. will the spec of my line inputs hinder preamps above a certain standard?
 
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I went with a fostex vm200 digital mixer. It's got ADAT i/o, but I also use it as a daw controller via midi control. Flying faders are coolio.
 
+1 for Digimax FS. Very good pres, excellent clock. Very affordable. Get it, forget about it, make music.
 
the ada8000s actually have a pretty good reputation (believe it or not) and I have seen those for as little as $170, so if your on a tight budget that may be worth a try
 
thanks for that,

looks like a good option with the digis 48k restriction,

although,i read somewhere the the optical link will operate at 96k 8 channel in spdif format?

i've been searchin,,and this doesnt make sense to me.


i thought adat was a connection type and a format, it seems now that the connection is 'optical' and the format can vary? is this true?

maybe some one can help me find an 8 channel optical link pre that'll operate 96k 24 bit spdif format,,,if i've got that right.


thanks again folks.
 
spdif is always 2 channels and although I have seen big spdif hubs, they are rare and not very useful. ADAT will always be optical and its rate is either 44.1 or 48 kHz.
 
altitude909 said:
ADAT will always be optical and its rate is either 44.1 or 48 kHz.
Click to expand...

This is true of the original Adat spec, but things have changed... my interface can take 4 channels @ 96kHz and 2 @ 192kHz through it's Adat interface, and it's a lowly EMU 1212m.
I personally record at 24bit and 44.1kHz. I'm sure there's a difference, but I can't hear it on my monitors. I don't this the average listener will hear a difference on their car stereos or their computer speakers either. Shoot, most people are very happy to listen to crappy MP3s on their ipods anyways. How many gazillions of those things are in use?

Peace!

~Shawn
 
ADAT is optical at 44.1 or 48kHz.

It can transmit half of the available channels at higher sample rates (88.2 or 96kHz) and 2 channels at 192 (all are "if supported").

The only way to get 8 at 88.2 or 96 is with a protocol known as S/MUX (sample multiplexing, or "bit splitting"), which requires a pair of ADAT jacks on both interfaces. This was one of the big howls of protest when Digi unveiled the 003 and it only had one ADAT I/O on it. Even MOTU gear supports S/MUX these days - it's a shame Digi does not.

So if you want to record at rates higher than 48k, you will only have 4 simultaneous channels over your ADAT input.

I would suggest the new Digimax D8 if you're sticking with 48k or lower.

You don't need to spend the extra money on the FS, as it's primarily an interface (firewire) and I would assume you'll be using the 003 for that purpose. The D8 is a straight 8 banger with ADAT out - perfect for an 003 setup. Haven't heard this unit yet but I have extensive experience with many other Presonus digital preamp products and they are all a significant step up from the Octopre.
 
haha,,fair play,

don't get me wrong,,i did some googling and reading (i'm not one of those people who instantly vebalises every query)


i figured that was the case with adat/optical carrying different formats or whatever,,,but the confusion arises when i go to buy a unit and the spec says

"up to 8 channels with maximum digital out of 96k. Supports spdif,adat,eas,ebu,toslink,blah blah"

then u check the back of the unit and it has optical,rca,and whatever else,,,


figured the best way to find 8 channels in one unit on toslink connector at 96k, that a digi 003 will receive @ 96k, was to ask those who know :)



for the money, i'll probably end up with a behringer at 48k,,,but it'd be nice to hear from someone with what i'm looking for so i can shop around,

any takers??

thanks for all the replies,,so helpful as usual :):)
 
sorry tnjazz, didn't ignore you,

your post came in at the same time as mine.

thanks for clearing up the smux issue. you're right, it is a shame.

have YOU experience with the behringer?

i did use a presonus firepod before and liked it,so you could be on to something there,

i notice that the d8 has 8 analogue outs, and adat.

can i run four of the analogues into digi 003 channels 5-8 @ 96k, then use the adat to provide a further 4 channels at 96k?

that could be a great solution.
 
yes I've used the Behringer. It's OK for the money but not even on par with the Presonus stuff. It is not as bad as some would lead you to believe though. I've made several excellent sounding live recordings with a rack of them.

The Digimax D8 only supports lightpipe output of 44.1 and 48k, sorry. The only Presonus products that do more are the interfaces (Firestudio series) and the Digimax 96K preamp (but that only does 96k via AES).
 
tnjazz said:
You don't need to spend the extra money on the FS, as it's primarily an interface (firewire) and I would assume you'll be using the 003 for that purpose. The D8 is a straight 8 banger with ADAT out - perfect for an 003 setup. QUOTE]

Im sorry but this is incorrect, the Digimax FS is ONLYa 8channel mic pre with 24-bit/96k ADAT dual SMUX I/O and wordclock I/O and inserts on every channel no firewire, the D8 has less options not even Dual SMUX, Please refer the thier website all the info is there. Me myself I like the FS I own one along with the Firestudio 26/26.
Click to expand...
 
Actually, (and we'll get this right eventually) the chief differences between the FS and the D8 are:

The D8 has metering and pads on each channel. No SMUX, no inserts.
The FS has SMUX and inserts for each channel. No pads, no metering.

Both share the same XMAX preamps, but the FS has the JetPLL anti jitter conversion, and there is no mention of the JetPLL on the D8.

So, it depends on your needs. If the D8 had been available when I made my purchase I probably would have gotten the D8. Pads are more valuable to me than inserts. However, I've never needed pads with the FS even on close-miced drums. And who knows? With the JetPLL maybe the FS has better conversion.
 
aw jees,,,didn't meant to start one guys,sorry :(

now that we've more attention in here tho,,

ultimately the question is,,


is it possible to have 8 channels @ 24bit 96k in any format, going into a digi003 lightpipe/optical connector?



if no.,,,with the mention of smux,,,can i have a unit thats smux cabaple,

providing four channels through ONE lightpipe @ 24bit 96, and take my other four from it's analogue outs to the digi channels 5-8



once again,i've been googling more and more,,and this seems to be really badly covered with much confusion,,,or at least confusing terminology :(

thanks for the interest.




Quote:
Originally Posted by tnjazz
The Digimax D8 only supports lightpipe output of 44.1 and 48k,

No being a dick here but this is also not true, It also has direct outs...

< i think he meant in the sense that it wont do 96k>
 
No problems here. Just clarifying. I'm curious also if one ADAT cable will work for 4 channels at 96K. I run my Digimax into a Layla 24/96, and it would be nice to know if that would work. Or, I could get off the net and just try it.
 
please do,

the same outcome's bound to apply across the brands.
 
Carter said:
tnjazz said:
You don't need to spend the extra money on the FS, as it's primarily an interface (firewire) and I would assume you'll be using the 003 for that purpose. The D8 is a straight 8 banger with ADAT out - perfect for an 003 setup. QUOTE]

Im sorry but this is incorrect, the Digimax FS is ONLYa 8channel mic pre with 24-bit/96k ADAT dual SMUX I/O and wordclock I/O and inserts on every channel no firewire, the D8 has less options not even Dual SMUX, Please refer the thier website all the info is there. Me myself I like the FS I own one along with the Firestudio 26/26.
Click to expand...

You're right - I was confusing the FS with the Firestudio. Presonus has too much shit that's called "FS" or "Fire-something or other" - it's hard to keep it all straight.

In another month or so they're going to add ANOTHER one to their line, too. :rolleyes: (That one I'm salivating over though...:D)

As for the ADAT thing, I was referring ONLY to the digital output. I'm fully aware it has analog outs on every channels. His question was whether or not he could send 4 channels out via lightpipe in addition to 4 out of the analog and have them come across digitally at 96kHz. The answer to that question is no.

The D8 will not do sample rates above 48kHz on it's digital out. Simple as that.
Click to expand...
 
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