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LTG
New member
I'm trying to decide if I should get the Aardvark Aark24 or the Delta 1010 interface. What are the pros and cons? I'm kind of in a hurry because I need one of these soon.
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oneArtist
New member
I would get a RME Hamerfall card if I were getting one. The Fostex 2424HDR includes it to transfer 24channels I/O of the PC. RME also has great tips for "tuning up the PC" at their site. They are fast becoming very popular.
Chuck
Chuck
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LTG
New member
The fostex D2424 is way out of my price range. I just need to know the pros and cons of the aardvark aark24 and the Delta 1010
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oneArtist
New member
Misunderstanding
LTG,
The D2424 is out of my price range also. The Hammerfall card is separate from the 2424. The Hammerfall card is about the same price as the two cards you mentioned, but it is very advanced- that is why Fostex chose to use it. Here is a quote from a Fostex release: "By having the audio reside on the D2424 instead of the computer’s hard drive, CPU performance is substantially conserved. This allows an affordable software package to be used as a computer based mixer. The Hammerfall sound card was chosen to provide 24 track, 24-bit audio with real-time mixing and DSP effects. It’s unique design, by having 80% of the software burned directly in the card’s EPROM, achieves an industry latency breakthrough of 1.5 milliseconds. The card is also fully compatible with all operating systems."
1.5 ms latency is as low as it gets. If I were buying a new card, I have Pulsar now so I'm not, I would get RME.
Chuck
LTG,
The D2424 is out of my price range also. The Hammerfall card is separate from the 2424. The Hammerfall card is about the same price as the two cards you mentioned, but it is very advanced- that is why Fostex chose to use it. Here is a quote from a Fostex release: "By having the audio reside on the D2424 instead of the computer’s hard drive, CPU performance is substantially conserved. This allows an affordable software package to be used as a computer based mixer. The Hammerfall sound card was chosen to provide 24 track, 24-bit audio with real-time mixing and DSP effects. It’s unique design, by having 80% of the software burned directly in the card’s EPROM, achieves an industry latency breakthrough of 1.5 milliseconds. The card is also fully compatible with all operating systems."
1.5 ms latency is as low as it gets. If I were buying a new card, I have Pulsar now so I'm not, I would get RME.
Chuck
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LTG
New member
but this means that it acts as basically a control card, not allowing you to edit the audio on your computer. I like having the audio on my hard drive. Plus what type of inputs does the card have and how many?
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oneArtist
New member
LTG,
The best thing to do would be to go to the RME site. They also have a nice PC tune-up section and check out their converters - ADAT and SPDIF at 96K. To buy, go to http://www.ask.com and ask where can I buy RME Hamerfall. Here is the site: http://www.RME-audio.com
Chuck
The best thing to do would be to go to the RME site. They also have a nice PC tune-up section and check out their converters - ADAT and SPDIF at 96K. To buy, go to http://www.ask.com and ask where can I buy RME Hamerfall. Here is the site: http://www.RME-audio.com
Chuck
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LTG
New member
ok i looked it up. The site says the card you're speakin of "allows you to realize up to 8 analog inputs," but it also states that this is if you buy the analog expansion board. This means it costs more and still only allows 8 analog in.
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oneArtist
New member
The Hammerfall has 24 I/O of ADAT, SPDIF optical and SPDIF cable, BNC, Toslink etc etc. Most cards don't have direct analog connections because they take too much space. You will need a digital mixer to do any kind of recording. The PC is not self-sufficient. The analog inputs are in a mixer that connects to the PC by ADAT or TDIF.
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LTG
New member
this isn't true, because i know many studios that use analog boards and go through A/D converters. That's what I plan to do.
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oneArtist
New member
Noise
From what I've read, you want to get the signal digital as soon as possible. Running a good mike into a quality pre-amp and then into the analog inputs of a digital mixer adds the warmth of the preamp but then the mixer converts to digital where it stays with adding any more noise. Analog mixers are going to add noise. Your can get a TMD-1000 for about $350 on ebay. It's not that expensive anymore.
I don't have an analog mixer, I'm just repeating what I've read.
Chuck
From what I've read, you want to get the signal digital as soon as possible. Running a good mike into a quality pre-amp and then into the analog inputs of a digital mixer adds the warmth of the preamp but then the mixer converts to digital where it stays with adding any more noise. Analog mixers are going to add noise. Your can get a TMD-1000 for about $350 on ebay. It's not that expensive anymore.
I don't have an analog mixer, I'm just repeating what I've read.
Chuck
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LTG
New member
my analog mixer has no noise and contains quality preamps. I like the sound of the mixer, this is why I use the mixer. I'm not a fan of digital mixers, the sound is too dry even with preamps. I like analog mixer going into digital converters.
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KaBudokan
New member
Can I jump in here? 
LTG is obviously looking for a card with analog inputs to go with his current setup.
I have an Aardvark Direct Pro LX6, which I really like. I had a Delta 66 for a little while and sent it back, as it wasn't happy with my hardware setup. I think the convertors are pretty comparable, maybe favoring the Aardvark a bit, because they are shielded and quieter, though I had a couple days between installing them, so I couldn't A/B them like I would have liked. I haven't compared the 1010 with the Aark 24 features, but in my price range, the Aardvark definitely had a better feature set.
What kind of hardware setup do you have?
LTG is obviously looking for a card with analog inputs to go with his current setup.
I have an Aardvark Direct Pro LX6, which I really like. I had a Delta 66 for a little while and sent it back, as it wasn't happy with my hardware setup. I think the convertors are pretty comparable, maybe favoring the Aardvark a bit, because they are shielded and quieter, though I had a couple days between installing them, so I couldn't A/B them like I would have liked. I haven't compared the 1010 with the Aark 24 features, but in my price range, the Aardvark definitely had a better feature set.
What kind of hardware setup do you have?
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CyanJaguar
New member
hi ltg,
I can't be mad at kabudokan, cos I'm still listening to his song "addiction" which is the best song I've heard in some time(he also has the same pre I have, the joemeek vc6)
But it is my belief that the delta 1010 and the ark24 use converters from the same company, if not the same converters. They are both awesome converters, and, while I don't know about the aardvarks, the delta 1010 has received the most awesome reviews from everywhere.
I have it and it is great. Very transparent and easy to use
But you can rest the either one you get will be a good buy.
I can't be mad at kabudokan, cos I'm still listening to his song "addiction" which is the best song I've heard in some time(he also has the same pre I have, the joemeek vc6)
But it is my belief that the delta 1010 and the ark24 use converters from the same company, if not the same converters. They are both awesome converters, and, while I don't know about the aardvarks, the delta 1010 has received the most awesome reviews from everywhere.
I have it and it is great. Very transparent and easy to use
But you can rest the either one you get will be a good buy.
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KaBudokan
New member
LOL Cyan thanks MUCH!!!
You may be right about the converters being the same. Of course I want to say the Aardvark sounds better, since that's what I got.
I think the converters on the Direct Pro and Delta 66 may be the same too. I know that the Direct Pro has the entire PCI card shielded, and people have said that helps protect from interference. I did read a review of the Direct Pro 24/96 that said the card sounded a lot better than the author's Event soundcard (I don't remember which model).
Like Cyan said, I think either interface will work great. I dealt with tech support for both companies, and they were both helpful, though I did wait on hold for a LONG time with Midiman's tech support before talking to someone.
Just for reference Cyan, Addiction was actually recorded before I got my new soundcard, so all of that stuff was recorded running into my old SoundBlaster Live Value card... lol
You may be right about the converters being the same. Of course I want to say the Aardvark sounds better, since that's what I got.
I think the converters on the Direct Pro and Delta 66 may be the same too. I know that the Direct Pro has the entire PCI card shielded, and people have said that helps protect from interference. I did read a review of the Direct Pro 24/96 that said the card sounded a lot better than the author's Event soundcard (I don't remember which model).
Like Cyan said, I think either interface will work great. I dealt with tech support for both companies, and they were both helpful, though I did wait on hold for a LONG time with Midiman's tech support before talking to someone.
Just for reference Cyan, Addiction was actually recorded before I got my new soundcard, so all of that stuff was recorded running into my old SoundBlaster Live Value card... lol
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LTG
New member
Thank you CyanJaguar and KaBudokan for being the first one's to answer my question. Now I'm really not sure which one to buy. I can get the Delta 1010 for $595.00 and the Aark24 for $599.00. So price doesn't really help influence the decision. The Delta can record at 24-bit 96kHz, but it just says 24 bit on the Aardvark. It doesn't mention if it's 48 or 96? Anybody know the maximum sampling rate on the Aardvark?
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CyanJaguar
New member
You can get the delta 1010 with vegas pro for $639 at 8thstreet.com or marsmusic.com (i forget), but Vegas pro by itself costs about $300. ANd they do work well together.
peace.
peace.
K
KaBudokan
New member
I am not sure about the sampling rate on the Aark24. I would assume it is 96k, but maybe not, since it has been out a little longer than many of their other cards. Go to http://www.aardvark-pro.com and email their tech support, and they will get back to you within a day.
Also ask them when the Q10 is coming out, which is supposed to be shipping in March, and it looks pretty sweet. I think it is 8 ins and outs. The 8 ins are xlr or balanced inputs, and I have heard that the Aardvark pre's they use are actually pretty decent and very usable. COnsidering where they have been pricing their other products, it may be directly aimed in the range you have been looking at.
I was going to suggest checking out what Cyan said - the 1010 with Vegas Pro package. At http://www.bayviewproaudio.com they actually have a package with the 1010 and Vegas Audio 2.0, XFX 1,2,3 and Siren Jukebox for $599 ($612 shipped). That's a great deal, and if you don't already have a software package that's probably the best bet.
A lot of the Aardvark stuff is shipping with Cakewalk Pro 9.0 right now, so you may want to talk to Bayview about that option, too.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Also ask them when the Q10 is coming out, which is supposed to be shipping in March, and it looks pretty sweet. I think it is 8 ins and outs. The 8 ins are xlr or balanced inputs, and I have heard that the Aardvark pre's they use are actually pretty decent and very usable. COnsidering where they have been pricing their other products, it may be directly aimed in the range you have been looking at.
I was going to suggest checking out what Cyan said - the 1010 with Vegas Pro package. At http://www.bayviewproaudio.com they actually have a package with the 1010 and Vegas Audio 2.0, XFX 1,2,3 and Siren Jukebox for $599 ($612 shipped). That's a great deal, and if you don't already have a software package that's probably the best bet.
A lot of the Aardvark stuff is shipping with Cakewalk Pro 9.0 right now, so you may want to talk to Bayview about that option, too.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
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oneArtist
New member
help or argue?
LTG,
Please excuse me if I've offended you. The best purpose of these forums is for us to help each other and offer a thank you every now and then. I have two of the most expensive soundcards you can buy, about $2600 worth, and my suggestions to you about RME were just from what I've heard from other BBs. At TASCAM, there are many people who switched from analog Mackies to Digital TASCAMS and they nearly all referred to the decrease in noise. If your analog mixer is super quiet, then that's great. I wasn't intending to argue. The only info we can give is from what we've experienced and from what we've read.
Good luck with your 1010.
Chuck
LTG,
Please excuse me if I've offended you. The best purpose of these forums is for us to help each other and offer a thank you every now and then. I have two of the most expensive soundcards you can buy, about $2600 worth, and my suggestions to you about RME were just from what I've heard from other BBs. At TASCAM, there are many people who switched from analog Mackies to Digital TASCAMS and they nearly all referred to the decrease in noise. If your analog mixer is super quiet, then that's great. I wasn't intending to argue. The only info we can give is from what we've experienced and from what we've read.
Good luck with your 1010.
Chuck
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LTG
New member
ok, the Aark only has sampling rates of 32, 44.1, and 48 kHz. So therefore I assume that the Delta 1010 is a better choice because it offers 96kHz. The Q10 is coming out in March. I'm finding out more info. So far now i'm leaning toward buying the Delta 1010.
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CyanJaguar
New member
hi LTG,
You can hear the difference btw 44.1 and 96khz. 96 khz is just smoother, and nicer.
I hardly ever record over 44.1 khz though, except I am doing like a solo vocal that has to be of the highest quality. 96 khz tasks the system a lot, especially if your files are stereo,and I use sonic foundry dither which is probably not the best dither out there, so it just is not worth it.
I was reading on prorec.com
yesterday, and this dude was comparing the delta 1010 to dedicated converters costing $3000.
Guess what: he said that the more expensive converters would not be necessary if one already had a good card like the Delta 1010,and that on the Digital-analog side, the $599 delta 1010 is just as good as $3000 dedicated converters.
Talk about value for money.
You can hear the difference btw 44.1 and 96khz. 96 khz is just smoother, and nicer.
I hardly ever record over 44.1 khz though, except I am doing like a solo vocal that has to be of the highest quality. 96 khz tasks the system a lot, especially if your files are stereo,and I use sonic foundry dither which is probably not the best dither out there, so it just is not worth it.
I was reading on prorec.com
yesterday, and this dude was comparing the delta 1010 to dedicated converters costing $3000.
Guess what: he said that the more expensive converters would not be necessary if one already had a good card like the Delta 1010,and that on the Digital-analog side, the $599 delta 1010 is just as good as $3000 dedicated converters.
Talk about value for money.