Delta 10x10 lt...i am about to buy soon so people with experience please help

[alistair]

hey guys...i know variations of this question have been asked in m any places time and time again but i really need a solid answer before i buy...sorry if you are well sick of this question and thanks very much in advance for helping me


I am looking to get into home recording at a minimum cost. Ideally i would like to be able to record my largest band (2 vocals, guitar, bass, drums, horns and keys) in a live setting. At a bare minumum this is gonna be about 10 tracks.

I went to a local recording store and the salesman was pushing a Delta 44 on me. I went home and did my homework, and sure it looked like a pretty decent card, good quality, good price etc...but i really want more tracks. I mean, i could hardly record guitar, bass and drums live with that setup.

Thats when i stumbled across the 10x10lt, which looked like the 44's bigger cousin...just missing a pretty box?

Is this in essence what it is?

i have searched for a while on this board trying to get a definitive answer, but everyone seems to be saying different things Re preamps, mixers, quality etc..


So i guess my 3 essential questions are:

What is the difference between unbalanced RCA I/O's versus balanced 1/4 I/O's (apart from the size obviously)?


Would a set of preamps be all that i need to throw between the inputs and the microphones? (ie a few DM3's or Behringer Ultragains?)


and lastly, and most obviously...am i lookin at the right card for what i want to do? will this soundcard, in conjunction with a big stack of mics and pres (and good software) allow me to record 10 tracks simultaneously for seperate mixdown?


thank you VERY much in advance for your replies,

alistair

 

[christiaan]

Thats when i stumbled across the 10x10lt, which looked like the 44's bigger cousin...just missing a pretty box?

Is this in essence what it is?

yup, basically.

So i guess my 3 essential questions are:

What is the difference between unbalanced RCA I/O's versus balanced 1/4 I/O's (apart from the size obviously)?


Would a set of preamps be all that i need to throw between the inputs and the microphones? (ie a few DM3's or Behringer Ultragains?)


and lastly, and most obviously...am i lookin at the right card for what i want to do? will this soundcard, in conjunction with a big stack of mics and pres (and good software) allow me to record 10 tracks simultaneously for seperate mixdown?

1) in simple terms: a balanced (3 wires) line results in a better signal/noise ratio than an unbalanced (2 wires) line and is less prone to pick up noise along the way. A must when you want to use really long cables but not really an issue for homerecording setups
2) mic -> preamp -> input. yes that's it.
3) Depends. A 1010LT has 8 analog inputs and 2 digital inputs in the shape of a spdif connection. If you want to use all 10 inputs, you'll need a pair of extra A/D convertors to be able to use the digital inputs.

 

[alistair]

many thanks christiaan, i think my mind is now made up

now its just a matter of which pre amps/what mixer...but thats another story for another day...

cheers for the quick and helpful response