Direct Pro Q10 Owners Please respond!

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Hello, I was reading about the q10 and wondered if you guys could clarify for me that the q10 has 8 analog i/o? My main question is: If the q10 does it's conversion on the break-out box, how do you get 8 channels of digital to your comp(no mention of Adat lightpipe or Tdif only spdif[2 channel])? If you can't transfer 8 channels digital to your comp, then what's the point in converting in the box only to convert in the pci card, aren't you damaging the signal chain?

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aardvark stuff is pretty cool, though it sucks that they aren't so great at driver support....i could be wrong, but i believe that the q10 does have eight xlr inputs, which double as quarter inch line inputs....it is supposed to have two high impedence inputs for plugging in a banjo or harpsichord...my guess is that a/d conversion is on the pci card, but with shielding like the direct pro...
 
I own a Q10, and yes, it has 8 analog inputs each of which can accept both XLR and 1/4 inch cables. The breakout box is connected to the computer via a cable, and all all tracks can be recorded spearately to your recording software. It also has 8 outs, which can be assigned various ways though the routing software. I haven't had any need for these as I don't use any outboard gear. But, I think there maain use is if you want to route the signals to an external mixer or recording device (e.g. ADAT).

I really like the Q10, but there are driver issues. It is fine as long as you run in Win 98, but XP and 2000 drivers are painfully slow in coming. This is not a major problem for me since I figure that they will EVENTUALLY get these drivers, and I have plenty to learn with my current set up in the meantime.
 
Thx for responding guys. I think I need an answer for the second and third questions.


Is the cable to the computer ADAT lightpipe? If so does it have an out on the pci card?

Specs
 
I do not think the Q10 has a lightpipe connection. My understanding is that lightpipe is one way to get digital info from a A/D converter to a digital recorder. The Q10 uses a computer cable and PCI card for this purpose. The back of the breakout box does not have a lightpipe connection:
http://www.aardvark-pro.com/direct_pro_q10.html

I don't think the PCI card does either, but it is not right in front of me so I am not 100% sure. But with a direct connection to the computer through the cable and PCI card, and the S/PDIF stereo out, I'm not sure why you would need a lightpipe connection.

Wait, I just reread your first post and see some confusion. The breakout box has the A/D converters. From Aardvark:

"The Q10’s shielded 24-bit converters are housed inside its rugged rack-mountable breakout box"

Digital signals are then passed through the cable and PCI card to your hard drive. The PCI card does NOT do another level of A/D conversion, it is just a gateway from the cable to your hard drive. This is true of any PCI card/breakout box system I know of. The signal chain is very clean, especially given that no external mixer or preamps are required.
 
Thx a lot. i just wanted to know how the transfer to the pci card went. There was no mention of how it was transfered. I'm sure I'll have another question shortly.

Specs
 
i don't think it matters too much where the converters are in this case.

this thing ships with pro audio nine....i wonder how well it works with cubase....i think the aardvark asio drivers are pretty good...but, i'd probably just run it in MME with Sonar...why not take advantage of the onboard DSP if you're recording eight tracks at a time? it works fine with MME, since it is onboard.....of course i would use it sparingly.....at any rate, i have been thinking about getting one too.
 
when you say "driver" issues force of nature...what does that mean? (still learnin tha lingo)
 
Look at the dates on the first eight posts, austexman.

Aardvark did supply drivers for 2000 and XP, and they work fine for me. Unfortunately, I believe the company went under recently.
 
dates

whew...that's for pointin' the dates out...half a decade later...lol

yeah...i know for a fact that aardvark went out of business...i just went
to guitar center here in austin to order the q10 and their phone was disconnected...i had to pay a bit more but ended up getting the motu 896hd...
 
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