how can i use apogee converters into protools?

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AASteveo

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well i'm thinking about getting the apogee duet. right now i have the cheapest thing possible to get me into protools, the fast track pro. i just have it to learn pro tools. but i'm trying to bypass this p.o.s. so i can access protools and use another interface. could i go spdif out of the duet into the fast track? would that bypass the shitty fast track circuitry?
can you recommend some other interfaces that sound good? what about the presonus firepod? but then wouldn't i need a pro-tools compatible interface with the same number of channels? cuz if i go 8 from the firepod into 2 of the fast track, i won't get individual tracks in pro tools, will i? unless i fork over a few grand for a digi interface. ugh.

i'm considering just tracking in logic and mixing in pro tools. i'm really pissed off at how limiting pro tools is. they're really shooting themselves in the foot. especially with the delay compensation. logic pro has it, but pro tools LE does not. every fucking plugin adds more phasing problems!! and there's no way i can fork over 10 grand to get an HD rig. i'm thinking about just switching to logic entirely. then i can use ANY interface, i can mix in surround sound, i can have delay compensation, among other things...
...but i already memorized all the pro tools shortcuts. and i really do like the smart tool...ugh.
 
could i go spdif out of the duet into the fast track? would that bypass the shitty fast track circuitry?

Absolutely.


As for interface recommendations, I can't really help you. The best (cheapest) way to get quality signal-path into PT is to get something like an M-Audio ADAT lightpipe bridge with a high quality converter which can output lightpipe...
 
I have been looking into the same thing. Im using a delta 1010 with PT. Im going to continue to use the delta for tracking drums since I need all the inputs, but I plan to get a lucid or apogee or some other 2 channel converter and use the s/pdif in on the delta to track pretty much everything else....
 
Just make sure that whatever you get it is an ADAT..lightpipe!!! and you will be fine...Im bypassing my 003 converters that way!!!
 
S/PDIF is fine too. It doesn't have to be ADAT.

Yes, both options will be fine ADAT or SPDIF or both at the same time, though in adat you can only record at a maximum sample rate of 48Khz./24 bits and SPDIF can go up to 192/24bits, digi003 interfaces support up to 96Khz/24bit.
 
i was under the impression that the duet did NOT have s/pdif

i may be wrong, but read closely before buying.
 
Have you looked into the 002 or the 003 I think those have 8 ins can't remember right off top though. And I'm not sure of what kind of budget you are looking at spending either.
 
Have you looked into the 002 or the 003 I think those have 8 ins can't remember right off top though. And I'm not sure of what kind of budget you are looking at spending either.

but those 8 ins are not really "Pro" quality. The Apogee could be used to bypass the digi converters and and still allow you to use protools.
 
What do u mean by "Pro" quality? Cause I've never heard anything bad about the 002 or 003 series.
 
What do u mean by "Pro" quality? Cause I've never heard anything bad about the 002 or 003 series.

I didnt say anything bad about them...Im using Protools M-powered with a delta 1010 myself...these are along the same lines as the 002's....but in a Professional studio....a REAL studio that has top of the line "stuff" I doubt you will be seeing 002's or 003's. They might use Protools, but it would probably be an HD system using highend converters like Apogee, Lynx, or a large number of other converters.
The 002's and 003's are pretty much Digi's bottom of the line stuff...do you think the huge multi-million dollar studios are using 003's? Im not saying it is impossible....but very unlikely...
 
Oh ok, yeah I know alot of the pro studio's are using hd and tdm but i was just recommending them based off of the original statement about using 8 ins. And I know those have the 8 ins, and in my studio I use the 002 rack with a Mackie d8b (Digital 8 Bus) as an interface, and most people that I know that have record deals see that and they are amazed at that board, And I just look like some of the studio's that they have been in should have better equipment. They don't care how you do it or run pro tools all they care about is that you are running pro tools and you are able to take care of their recording needs.
 
The 002's and 003's are pretty much Digi's bottom of the line stuff...do you think the huge multi-million dollar studios are using 003's? Im not saying it is impossible....but very unlikely...

Um...yeah I do actually. I know there is one particular post-house in London which uses 003s and has more than 20 of them. They're not alone in that.

What is it about PT LE that makes you think it's "Low quality"? The software is fundamentally the same. The main difference being the processing being host based.

It's true that LE is aimed at the home/pro-sumer level and HD is very much aimed at the professional world, but that doesn't mean either system is not valid in the "other" realm. If I were running a business, and the 003 was adequate for my requirements, I'd spend my money on them, rather than paying a minimum of 3-4 times as much for an HD system which would probably not help me do my job any better... Horses for courses and all that jazz. To be honest if you really think you need better converters just go with an HD system with Digidesign Pres - fully remote controllable and you can save the settings.
 
To be honest if you really think you need better converters just go with an HD system with Digidesign Pres - fully remote controllable and you can save the settings.

You dont have to buy an HD system to have better converters, any interface that has digital inputs can work with a standalone separate converter. You could spend your money in some Apogee A/D converters, i also like Prism Sound, and RME (this are not as expensive as the Apogees or so, and still very very good).

Regarding the pres, well i dont really like Digidesign pres, they are good very transparent, but ill rather spent that money in other pres that are actually better than the digidesign's. I only like to use transparent pres in some applications, like acoustic instruments, and such. But i prefeer colored pre's most of the time, as always, it depends on what type of music you are recording, when i record classical/orchestral music ill go with the most transparent pre's i can find, but if im into rock or something like that, ill go for some good transformer or tube pre's.
 
You dont have to buy an HD system to have better converters, any interface that has digital inputs can work with a standalone separate converter. You could spend your money in some Apogee A/D converters, i also like Prism Sound, and RME (this are not as expensive as the Apogees or so, and still very very good).

I'm aware of this, but I think the benefits of an HD system (or any other expanded system) would be more than the benefit(s) of the expensive converters...

Regarding the pres, well i dont really like Digidesign pres, they are good very transparent, but ill rather spent that money in other pres that are actually better than the digidesign's. I only like to use transparent pres in some applications, like acoustic instruments, and such. But i prefeer colored pre's most of the time, as always, it depends on what type of music you are recording, when i record classical/orchestral music ill go with the most transparent pre's i can find, but if im into rock or something like that, ill go for some good transformer or tube pre's.

Fair enough - ironically that seems to be the most common complaint about the Pres that I've heard, that they're too transparent. I personally feel that there are more important things to worry about than the converters... The number of studios around the world that are perfectly happy with the converters in the Digi equipment is astounding and they are making great sounding records.

I guess I think that if your converters are the weak link in your chain then you must have some hellish awesome equipment with a perfect sounding room. Kudos to you! That's just my opinion anyway...
 
Fair enough - ironically that seems to be the most common complaint about the Pres that I've heard, that they're too transparent. I personally feel that there are more important things to worry about than the converters... The number of studios around the world that are perfectly happy with the converters in the Digi equipment is astounding and they are making great sounding records.

Yes you are completely right, there are more important things to worry about than the converters. This brings up an anectdote that i just remembered, it doesnt really have to do anything with converters but... its something a friend of mine told me.

So there is this studio where the studio owner has a Protools HD and decided to buy an apogee external clock, my friend went there and this studio owner opened a a protools session, he claimed that digidesign's internal clock was a piece of garbage, that the apogee made everthing sound more defined, clear, crisp, better stereo image, etc.. When my friend looked into Protools Hardware settings the clock source was set "INTERNAL" so, you know whats next.

The thing is that a lot of things in audio have to do with the mind, i mean, if the mind sees an apogee big ben, it will influence the things we hear. Im not saying good AD converters will not improve the sound. But my point is that as you said, there are more important things to worry about.

There are some situations where good A/D's are a must have, for example if you like recording into digital but like to mix or use analog equipment for the mix. If you dont have good A/D & D/A converters, you'll endup with a worse audio signal in your attempt to use that "vintage" compressor or whatever..
 
Welp...I grabbed a Lucid ADA1000 yesterday on Ebay for $240 shipped....I know it only goes to 48.8 but it also can be sync'd up with other gear. I wonder If I would be defeating the purpose of the hi end converters if I were to sync it to my Delta 1010 to get it up to 96?
 
The Lucid converter you are talking about uses the ADAT lightpipe format?, i love the sound of Lucid converters, but if the converter uses ADAT Lightpipe format the only sample rate youll be able to use is 48 KHz./24bit you wont be able to sync it up to 96 because ADAT doesnt support this format (actually it does, athough it will only transfer 2 channels at 96KHZ but its not the standard on ADAT)
 
A couple years ago I had the same dilemna and ended up getting something comparable if not better than the apogee converters. I ended up with the Lynx Two model C and I swear by it. I haven't had a single problem and the sound is fab. It's certainly something you want to look at before sinking the big doh into apogees and they're made in America (if that means anything to ya :) ) Here's a review I found on the Lynx Two soundcard;

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/lynxtwo/index.html
 
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