Best choice for 8 channel A/D via lightpipe into Digi002?

T

trenttati

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I've done decently extensive searching on this forum, The Recording Project forum and google, but haven't found a good definitive source for this information:

I am on a budget of no more than $1500, but preferrably half that, looking to add 8 more in's to my Digi002R setup via the ADAT lightpipe in. Though it would be nice to get 8 pre's with the A/D converter, I am more interested in getting the best quality conversion for the price.

I am recording mostly acoustic groups; lots of drum sets, acoustic guitars, male and female vocals, sax, trumpet and mostly DI electric bass.

I've been looking at the M-Audio Octane, Presonus Digimax (LT and 96K), Lucid AD8824, Focusrite OctoPre and the Frontier Design Tango 24, among others.

If I were to get a unit without built-in pre's, I would most likely complement it initially with at least 2 DMP3's and then upgrade when the funding manifests.

I have been happy with the quality of my DMP3 going to analog in's on the 002R, and that along with the price sends me leaning towards the Octane, but I'm reserved over the conversion quality factor.

I used a DigimaxLT with my setup to track a folk/rock album and it gave decent results, but every channel from the Digimax sounds a little thinner and crisper (as in digitally crispy) than those that went through the Digi002's pre's and a VTB1. If I can't afford better sound, I can definitely live with this quality until future funds appear.

All input is glady accepted. I would like this thread to be the one-stop for people in the same position (there must be a lot of us).
 
I've got the Tango 24 that I'm using with the 002R. I haven't really tracked through it enough yet to give you a definitive response (recently, I've had some trouble with the ADAT in to the 002R). It's an 8-channel A-D/D-A converter that tops out at 48 kHz. It suited me, as I don't really plan on going above that sample rate and I wanted the additional analog outputs as well. If all you need is the A-D, you might be better off with one of the other untis. The other unit I was considering at the time was this one:

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ADI8ProDS/

I don't have any experience with it, but I'd guess the RME converters are a step up. I basically figured the converters in the Tango 24 were probably on par or slightly better than the 002R, and I am happy enough with them.

Good luck.
 
Thanks AlexW. I don't plan on going over 48Khz either, so that is a non-issue.

When I used the DigiMaxLT with my 002R, I had issues with the lighpipe connection also. After some time-wasting frustration I remembered IT rule #1: Is it plugged in? I found that the Lightpipe-in on my 002R wasn't quite a perfect fit to my cable, and it easily came loose enough to fall out. Low quality cable? Probably. (Don't let this sidetrack the thread please... :o )

On another note, I also came across the Alesis AI-3. At $400 the price is right, but I'm venturing to guess that the quality is relative to the cost...
 
Yeah, I don't think the AI-3 is that great. Never heard one but just heard about them. I generally believe the Tango 24 is a step up in quality over that.
 
Go with the Octane!

I've had an Octane now for four months, and love it. Very clean pre's with LOTS of headroom, great sounding (IMHO) A/D converters, lightpipe out, M-S matrix, a pair of nice sounding instrument inputs... what's not to like! :)
 
kid klash said:
I've had an Octane now for four months, and love it. Very clean pre's with LOTS of headroom, great sounding (IMHO) A/D converters, lightpipe out, M-S matrix, a pair of nice sounding instrument inputs... what's not to like! :)
Click to expand...

I too am entirely satisfied with my Octane. I haven't tried any of the really high end A/D units, but to my ears the Octane does just fine. Only warning is that the max gain on the Octane isn't all that great. I can see soft sources with ribbon or low-out dynamics being a problem, but otherwise the unit is very nice.
 
Thanks all! I think due to budget constraints I'm going to go with the Octane. The features at the price sit nicely with me. I figure I'll be able to sell it used for not too much loss when/if my studio generates enough clients, and thus cash, to make the step up to something better feasible.

I'd still like to get this thread filled up with user opinions, cross comparisons and debate over the relative drawbacks and benefits of the different approaches to getting 8 channels via ADAT lightpipe into a DAW.
 
All of the ones listed will do the job. If you can get into RME or MOTU though it will sound quite a bit better than either M-Audio, the Digi 002, or Presonus. Especially the RME. The Lucid is a good solid converter, but not a whole lot nicer than something like the RME Fireface, but the RME comes with a lot of other features as well as more channels. You may even want to look into a used Mackie or Alesis HD recorder. That would leave you channels for expansion should your needs change at a later time.
 
focusrite octopre

anyone use or have some feedback on the Focusrite OctoPre? have been eyeing this up for my extra 8 on my digi 002
 
I luv my octopre by RME, I have yet to A/B the pre's against the M12, and the DAC to the HD24, but it sure is nice to just run a lightpipe. A lot less gear to haul too.
 
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