DELTA 410 as an 8 out multitrack card?

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LemonTree

LemonTree

Suck 'em and see!
I'm running a Delta 1010 but I want to put a 410 in the same system (I'm running win98se) to give me 16 tracks back out of the computer to my mixing console on mixdown.

Is there a huge quality difference between the two cards, apart from the 410 being unbalanced outs?

I've read everything I can on the 410 and in some cases it seems to be described as a 7.1 surround card on the 8 analog outs. I asume I'll be able to rout individual tracks from my software program to each output and back to my mixer. Is this the case? Or isn't that what the 410 was designed for?

Thanks,

Alec.
 
Yep. It'll do exactly that. In my case, I use the 8 analog outs to feed various unbalanced outboard effects, from Nuendo (and I have to assume that any pro multitrack software package would have similar routing options). Also running Win98SE. Works like a charm! No hassles whatsoever, and that card sounds great - same a/d d/a as the Audiophile (which I'll bet are really similar to the 1010). Clean, quiet, super low latency.

I've not tried running multiple delta series cards in the same system, but it's obvious from the M-audio control panel software that it has options for running multiple cards - I think the trick is that you need to lock the cards together via the spdif connections to get them to clock-sync together. Meaning, yes, you'll sacrifice spdif i/o in order to run multiple cards in the same system. Check the M-Audio site to see if they've got the specific info on that, as i'm not 100% certain.

But, yeah, that's pretty much exactly what that card was meant to do, and I'd be shocked if you heard any huge quality difference. In fact, i'm thinking about doing the opposite from you - I have the 410, thinking about now adding the 1010!
 
Oh, then again - I guess you probably don't need to clock sync the cards together for output? That would probably only be an issue if you also wanted to record through the 410 simultaneously with the 1010... onl two analog ins on the 410, so that seems kinda pointless...

And all of this is assuming you've got an open pci slot and no IRQ conflicts or whatever, but, that sorta goes without saying.
 
Can anyone else confirm that I don't need to lock the cards for playback? I doubt I'll ever use the 2 inputs on the card in my current situation with the 8 inputs on the 1010


Alec
 
Dick Flansen said:
And all of this is assuming you've got an open pci slot and no IRQ conflicts or whatever, but, that sorta goes without saying.
Click to expand...

The computer is a dedicated DAW that I built about 18 months ago, 4 spare PCI slots and no conflicting IRQs:

Gigabyte GA7VXE+ MOBO
AMD 1800XP
512 Meg PC2100 DDR
40 Gig ATA 133 Drive partitioned C: O/S, D: Audio software
80 Gig ATA 133 Drive as my dedicated hard disk recorder
Matrox G450 Dual head AGP video
52x CDRW
DELTA 1010 Soundcard

Win 98se
Cool Edit Pro
Cubase VST 32 v5.1
Wavelab 4.0
T-Racks 24
 
I wouldn't expect any conflicts with running multiple cards in that system.

Here's what the m-audio site says about running mutliple cards, hope this helps!

Multi-card

Syncing two Delta Series cards together

Configuring two or more Delta cards together can be done by linking the cards together through the use of external hardware lock via a 75-Ohm RCA SPDIF cable to allow synchronization between the cards.

The Basics:

When linking Delta cards, one card sends the master clock signal. The rest of the cards that are synced must receive signal from the card sending the signal. The S/PDIF connections on the sound cards are color coded for in and out. On the Delta series sound cards, the out is white and the in is red. SPDIF cables can be obtained from any Music Industry store or Home Stereo store.

Note about SPDIF cables, these cables are not the same type of cabling used for analog audio, the internal resistance of the cable is different than for analog audio. Although analog RCA may appear to work, it is not reliable. Examples of SPDIF cables can be found at www.hosatech.com

1. Connect the 75-Ohm cable from the out (white) S/PDIF connection of card sending master clock to the in (red) connection of the receiving card. Each additional card must be hooked in a daisy chain type of configuration.

2. Open the M Audio Delta H/W. The installed sound cards will appear down the right hand side of the panel. Select the card sending master clock.

3. On the Hardware settings tab of the master card select “Internal Xtal” for the “Master Clock setting”. In the “MultiTrack Driver Devices”, please select “multiple card sync”.

4. On the Hardware settings tab of all other synced cards, select “S/PDIF in” for the “Master Clock setting”. In the “MultiTrack Driver Devices”, please select “multiple card sync”.

After these steps are taken, the hardware is configured for use. The only step left to be is setting up your application to use the additional card(s).
 
Thanks a lot Dick. I've got a bid in for one on Ebay with 12 hours left on it, should be mine by the morning.

Alec.
 
ok, The Delta 410 is now mine, should have it by wednesday. The guy was selling it after having it for 2 weeks, full waranty, boxed, manual, drivers, breakout cable...saved over a third on the retail price.

Once I get it hooked up I'll post up my thoughts. One question that did spring to mind.....

If I daisy chain the cards S/PDIF out to S/PDIF in will I still be able to record to the S/PDIF in on the master card? I'm thinking yes, no?

Alec
 
Yeah, I don't see why not - the spdif in would then become the master clock signal, which would pass through to the second card and then control everything.

I suppose that means you would change the first card's master clock setting from "internal xtal" to "spdif in."

Can't think of any reason why that wouldn't work just fine!
 
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