Delta 44 & 66 Audio Cards

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kevzmusic
  • Start date Start date
Kev,

With regards to my company and gear selection, we have a primary directive that we live by:

The client doesn't really care about my features, my process or what tag is hanging off of my gear. They REALLY care about results - in this case, how my voice sounds selling their product. And our results speak for themselves with continued demand for my services.

As far as DIGI goes, I can't say that I am a big fan. The cost and hardware requirements of their products are too restricting for me. It is a well known fact that DIGI has a client base due to sheer time on market. They were first with a foot in the door years ago but that doesn't mean they are the best.

For me - I define the "Best" as - Those products which deliver ease of use, affordability, stability and above all - allow me to deliver high quality product to my clients in a reasonable amount of time.

DIGI probably has some great stuff but I work better, faster and more efficiently with the Omni and the other tools that I have mentioned. Remember too - I am not exactly remixing Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon in my studio either so I would consider even the most basic ProTools setup to be overkill in terms of cost to my company and another learning curve I don't need. For every moment I spend trying to learn some app with new functionality, I look at it as a wasted minute for a paying client.

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
Hey Cuz,

I like your straight-forward, bottom-line, no BS philosophy here :-)


I'm very much that way myself.....I know that in order to create/obtain a certain pro level of music (or anything else for that matter) one must of course have good equipment...but not necessarily the most expensive or what's considered top of the line.

Some times I think this whole "audio" stuff thingy can get out of control. There's so many products OUT THERE, and when one starts to read a lot of different information, etc., it's really hard for the consumer to know which to buy, and/or how models compare.

In the end, I guess personal budget and need inevitably makes the decision for us...

Unfortunately, today there is far too much HYPE and psychological positioning involved in marketing strategies that the buying mind-set just becomes a spiraling up-swing....Ie: we gotta have more, better faster, etc...

My new speaker system from the UK arrived this afternoon, so it's gonna be "rock on Tommy" time again :-)

Regards,

KEV
 
Kev,

Yep - I hear ya. The deluge of products aimed at getting us to part with our cash is ridiculous. Everyday I get bombarded with this offer and that offer but until somebody builds a better mousetrap than say - the Omni/Delta combo for what I am doing, in my studio for my clients (a very important distinction here!), I am very happy with my gear.

I have always been of the mind that mathematics and wallet depth are the only realities. What do I need more? Groceries or a faster, cooler sound card? - there are hundreds of cards out there - some better and some a lot worse than the Delta...but I turn this thing on, day in day out and it just works and it always delivers. Believe me - I have thrown everything at my gear...ya can't beat that, can ya?

Makes a guy think as we drift through the posts on these boards reading about those people who are never satisfied unless they have the "best" and keep spending and adding but never seem to "create", ya know?

I used to be like that a long time ago but since starting my own company and delivering the goods to clients by using what I already own, I have developed a newfound respect for learning my products the best that I can, accepting the gear for what it is and not spending a fortune - once that all comes together - it feels pretty good.

Cuzin B
 
Hi CUZ,

Well, I've been using this OMNI for about 2 weeks now - and I'm real pleased with the audio-quality....it sounds clean & clear.....no background noise whatsoever when connected up to the POD, etc.

I've just put this little ambient/rock tune thingy ("The Traveller") up on ACIDplanet which I recorded thru the OMNI....the guitars especially sound good IMO......

IF you wanna take a listen...it's at:

http://www.acidplanet.com/Lounge/ArtistDetail.asp?ArtistID=78884

Remember, the media stream is only 64kbps wma or real player format...the Mp3/CD 's sound even better...

Let me know what ya think Cuz,

10 - 4, over...

KEV
 
Kev,

Pretty cool stuff. I will have to get some of my stuff up on AcidPlanet for you to check out.

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
Just read the thread. I have been interested in bying an OMNI studio for about a week now and I think I will be purchasing it in the next few days.

Although...I must say that I really don't understand a lot of what you guys are talking about in regards to balanced/unbalanced and cable types. Guess what this board is for.

Nate
 
I believe the OMNI works with either balanced or unbalanced cables...It isn't a big issue in most cases.
 
Boseafus,

The Onmi does work with both types of cables but be very careful when connecting the Omni to your monitors. This is where the 'Balanced/Unbalanced' is very important.

For example, when I bought my new Event 20/20 powered monitors, I looked at the back of the cabinet, saw the 1/4 jack and thought "Cool - I will just jam an ordinary balanced guitar cable in there and I will be rockin'"....Well - not only did I get a ton of hum, one of the speakers took a hit of this balanced feed from the Onmi (These Events have very big nasty amps inside), made a noise that scared the crap out of me and the tweeter was burned out in a matter of seconds....adn I had these new speakers for about 10 minutes....

Whatever speakers you are going to use - do your homework and make sure the right cable is in use.

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
Hi Cuz,

I got a couple of questions for ya buddy....

1) I'm gonna by some new active monitor speakers for at home.....how are those Event 20/20 that you have...I've read a few reviews that say they are pretty good - what do you reckon???

Lottza folks seem to think that the Behringer Truth B2031's are great value for money too - but I haven't been able to hear a pair coz everybody in Toronto is out of stock.....I like the Mackie 824's of course, but they are a bit rich at over $2500 Cad a pair.

Gott any monitor suggestions and/or advice?

2) You mention the OMNI-to monitor connection, etc in you last post here....What kind of cables are YOU using, and which OUTS on the OMNI do you have the monitors hooked up to....Is it from two of the DIRECT OUTS...or do you run it thru an external mixer first?

Just wondered.....

10 - 4, over....

KEV
 
Kev,

Monitors are a very personal thing but since you asked - the Event 20/20's are the most revealing speaker I have ever heard. They really expose the sound of the mix and for me, in my studio, to my ears - I made a great choice and it was money well spent. Excellent customer service as well...

Again - each to their own - you are best to hook up with a dealer that will let you take a couple of different pairs home so you can audition in YOUR environment. Can't stress this one enough - DO NOT do any serious listening at the music shop. I guarantee the monitors will sound different at your place. Audition in your space - after all - that's where the monitors will be living.

Connections? I run unbalanced 20' custom cable - 1/4 inch jack from the Onmi Monitor Outs (L+R) direct to XLR in on the back of the Event 20/20 BAS. Sounds killer. No mixer needed since the Events are powered and who needs a mixer when you have the Omni?

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
I am now thinking about going the delta 66 and another mixer route. Any suggestions on an 8 chanel mixer with phantom power and pre-amps?
 
Cuz,

Yeah, speakers are very 'subjective" for sure.....However, I'll give the Event 20/20's a listen this week though - on your recommendation.......

So, you use the OMNI monitor (L&R) OUTS to your monitor speakers - OK....I was wondering about that.....I thought the "monitor" outs were maybe for connecting to an external mixer unit (and not actually monitor as in "speakers")...the OMNI instruction manual is a little bit confusing at times.....it's not precisely clear.....on that....

Of Course 1/4" to XLR in that case would be the best way to go....

Now I gotta make up my mind - which monitors to buy :-)

My AKG 270S headphones sound really good with the OMNI - very flat response.....no colour......etc......

The OMNI is a good little setup :-)


"Cheers"

KEV
 
In response to Gordone's reply.

You are very correct, but i think you mis understood what i was saying. Of course you can get that extra DB gain off of an unbalanced line. The main issue here is that 3rd wire that balanced cables use. I might be wrong about the actual physic and constructions of the cabling but i do know that balanced cables have an extra wire in it, and what i think this third wire does is cancels out the noise/static sent through the wire. Thus a much cleaner signal. This is why it is recommended to use balanced cabling for long distance situations. Yes it is true that there is not a whole lot of advantage to using balanced cables in short distances (like 2 ft) except you dont have to turn up the gain so much on the unit. But what i was implying more about the cause of this static, is the delta unit may be trying to use that unbalanced cable as a balanced cable, trying to use that extra wire in the balanced cable. Thus it is creating too much voltage and cause some sort of distortion in the signal. From what i have read, unbalanced to balanced conversions are a problem in some studios. Some equipment can do it, and others cant.

Of course i could be off on the actual technical details of this stuff, because i dont really know them. But im pretty sure i got the basics down enough to where you can understand what could have been happening in that situation.

Also, sorry for saying some of the unecessery info before. I only read the first couple of posts then i skimmed through the rest (really fast) because i had to go.

Darnold
 
Boseafus said:
I am now thinking about going the delta 66 and another mixer route. Any suggestions on an 8 chanel mixer with phantom power and pre-amps?
Click to expand...

nothing wrong with the 66, but if you aren't going to get the omni thing, you might be better served by another soundcard, especially if you only need 8 channels and phantom power. pretty much any mixer is going to have phantom power and pre-amps with XLR balanced inputs...unless you get a dj mixer, or something from radioshack.....have you checked out the Aardvark q10?
 
I almost missed this (I thought I was being ignored!), I'm not all up on the technical details, all I know is that I have my unbalanced Great River going into my Delta 44 set to +4, and i have no problems getting a nice clean and strong signal.

Getting the right cables for this was a b*tch though! I purchased an XLR-F to 1/4 TS and it was miswired (I think it was designed to plug those hi-Z Rat Shack mics into the cr*ppy Rat Shack mixer, which I used to own!), when I first got my GR, things were all freaky because my recorder was picking up the Ground from the GR instead of the signal! Luckily Dan Kennedy (Mr. Great River himself) helped me out over the phone and I then took the cable back to Sam Ash and they resoldered it so the signal from the XLR went to the correct connect on the TS.

I hope those cables never go bad, I guess I should learn how to solder myself :)

darnold said:
In response to Gordone's reply.

You are very correct, but i think you mis understood what i was saying. Of course you can get that extra DB gain off of an unbalanced line. <snip>
Darnold
Click to expand...
 
Hey Cuz,

What do YOU actually mean when you say "who needs a mixer when you have the OMNI"..........

I know the OMNI has neat features to connect to an external mixer, plus onboard recording and I/O monitoring level functions, control panel, etc., etc...but it's not exactly a "MIXER" per se - is it?


Or, am I just plain missing something here?

DUH - Please enlighten moi :-)

10 - 4, over...

KEV
 
Kev,

Well - let me clarify a bit. To me, hardware mixer (like a Mackie) acts as a collection point for all your incoming signals. It handles effects buses, signal output, direct feeds to DAT , insert points, has nice preamps blah blah blah...the most important thing the Mackie doesn't have (and will never have) is a dedicated pipe to my Delta 66.

The Omni does everything the Mackie does plus it has an unbeatable direct link to the Delta 66. All of my mixes take place in software with automation, plugins and all the other good stuff. I can do 32 or 48 tracks without batting an eye in Nuendo or Vegas. Bottom line is - if you give yourself over to "hands-on" hardware mixing, you better have enough faders to handle that - do you know what a 48 track Mackie board would cost? For me with my setup, I can turn out a mix that would stand up against a Mackie mix anyday (and I wouldn't be re-patching cables all day long).

So that's what I was getting at - the Omni outboard box has the best attributes of a small Mackie without the cost and hassle of repatching. The only thing I can't do with the Omni is record more than 6 tracks at once...but then again - I don't need to do that so I am pretty much good to go for any project. Love the Omni!

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
Hi Cuz,

Well, I've been using the OMNI now for about a month ..and all I can say is "the audio quality is bloody great".....

My guitars, keyboards, mic's, etc.... are all just sounding real pro thru this little box....and YOU are right....the best part about it....is once it's set up for recording, etc....I don't even have to touch the settings...In fact, I haven't even looked at the software 'control panel' for the past 2-3 weeks.

This card is so damn quiet (ie: background noise) I can't even tell the thing is 'turned on' until I hit a string or key, even at MAX VOL level...

I simply can't imagine finding a better small-studio set-up for under $500 USD (I paid $789 CAD here in Toronto).....

and yep - with this baby and a decent software prog - who really needs an external mixer anymore!

Once again - MUCHO THANKO for turning me onto the OMNI - nice one - mate:-)

"Cheers"

KEV
 
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