Radar 24

  • Thread starter Thread starter TexRoadkill
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TexRoadkill

TexRoadkill

Audio Bum
After a year of spec'ing out all the options it looks like a RADAR 24 from www.izcorp.com will be my best choice for 24CH digital recording. I was amazed how cheap their DAC's are. 24CH of highly regarded 96khz convertors for $4000. That's pretty hard to beat with anything that I'm aware of.

They have their basic packages and you can mix and match options. I think I'm going with their cheapest Project D for $4K and adding the Nyquist convertors for another $4k. Before I blow 8 grand anybody have any better suggestions?

One note on their packages- I was trying to figure out why there was such a big price jump from their Project series to the Classic and I realized they charge $2k for the SCSI kit! That just blows me away that they can sell 24ch of 48khz convertors for $2.5k but they charge $2K for a scsi port and a removable drive bay? I can put together a rackmount file server for that kind of cash.

Now I just need to find a good deal on a Ghost 24 with MMC.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
i've seen lots of deals on the 24ch ghost on recycler.com as i have been looking for one as well. but i only need the LE

T
 
Thanks for the link. I didn't know they had a site. There is a 24LE on Ebay right now for around $2300. Recently a 24 with MMC went on sale with a BIN for $2500. I thought about it too long and it got picked up in a couple hours.
 
shit you must have a lot of $$$ to even CONSIDER it in a couple of hours

T
 
Congratulations Tex on your soon to be purchased gear. Sounds like you'll have an amazing studio.

I sort of know the feeling - I just dropped 8 grand upgrading my Pro Tools to an HD2 system (including upgrading all my software packages and buying a couple of extra goodies like an Isoraxx). I had so much money invested in Digidesign stuff already, I couldn't even bring myself to think about switching platforms. But i guess that's part of their plan!

Sigh - just when it seems I would be out of debt...
 
LD- How much have you had to bury into that ProTools system overall including convertors? Down the road I'll need to drop another $1700 for the better controller with meter bridges but I'll still be under $10K which seems pretty cheap compared to what I would need for a decent ProTools setup.
 
Tex:

There is no question that dollar for dollar, Pro Tools loses to just about any other platform you can name. I'm hoping that with the new HD system's converters, which some people have rated pretty highly, the need for loads of outboard converters will be less essential. And on critical tracks I've still got a pair in the Cranesong HEDD which I can use as alternatives.

I look at ProTools this way:

Purely on sound, I think there are a few brands that traditionally have been much more highly regarded than Pro Tools, like Radar or Fairlight, for instance. I know of one guy who even tracks with Sonic Solutions. But the advantage ProTools has over those systems is the ability to use plug-ins, which are also fully automatable and recallable. I get a lot of projects that get half done, and then sit on the shelf for a year, and then the client wants to pick up right where he left off. For me, automated plug-ins were a huge advantage - I open a session and it sounds exactly like it did a year ago.

Now, there are cheaper systems, (like Digital Performer) that also use plug-ins. But the raw real-time processing power of the TDM system is hard to beat.

So, part of the decision was a compromise of sound vs. functionality. But what nailed it for me was the fact that there are thousands of half-finished Pro Tools sessions floating around - it's been a more universal platform than any other. Because of certain amenities that my studio offers (like an 1897 Steinway B) i get a lot of people coming here just to track some piano onto their existing projects, or maybe lay some vocals with my L47. Having ProTools has made that process very easy. And sometimes they like the vibe so much they stay and do the mix here as well.

I can't tell you how many calls I get that start out with: "Do you have Pro Tools...?"

So it's worked out pretty good for me. Everybody's got to find their market niche, I guess.

Anyway, keep us posted as to how your studio is coming together. Good luck!
 
wow... nice piano, Little one... I gotta tell ya..I had an upstairs neighbor when I lived on Beacon street back in the days of yore. He lifted his Steinway into his apartment on the 2nd floor with a crane after taking his windows out...because, of course it wouldn't fit up the stairs. Needless to say, he was planning to stay there awhile, I believe. Dang fool musician types!!!
 
LittleDog,
how do you like the HEDD? I'm thinking of purchasing one in the future for my daw.
 
Scriabin said:
LittleDog,
how do you like the HEDD? I'm thinking of purchasing one in the future for my daw.
Click to expand...

and....what might be better?? I've been given the assumption that that is more or less 'top of the line'...
 
mixmkr:

actually many piano moving companies prefer using a crane for upper floor moves to negotiating the stairs - even when the stairs are quite wide. It actually is a lot healthier for the instrument as well as being easier for the movers.

I can't say exactly where the HEDD's converters rank in the total universe of converter options, but I do know they are highly regarded. And, of course, the HEDD can do far more than just conversion as well. Kind of like the reason people buy the L2.

As far as the actual HEDD processing, I always at least try it out and see if it helps. Sometimes I prefer the unprocessed sound. Other times it sounds great really cranked. It's hard to predict.
 
Off topic but, I have a 7'-2" Grand Piano, and it's upstairs.
They didn't use a crane though. 5 big ole muscle men drug it up the stairs. REALLY wide stairs, with a nice big landing at the top.
Scariest damn thing, watching them do it!
I would have been much more comfortable with a crane, but the windows to the room simply weren't accessible.
 
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