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Originally Posted by naethoven  So, is there any way to have 24 channels recording going to tape, monitor those, and monitor 24 off tape at the same time? . |
I send 24 channels of audio via various external preamps into the analog of a Alesis HD24 recorder. I then monitor via the lightpipe outputs of the HD24 into a Yamaha 01V96 mixer. The lightpipe returns are zero-latency, so I can set up 4 seperate headphone mixes (5 counting the control room mix) via the 4 aux outs of the 01V96. I'm monitoring input and playback, just like you would on a real tape deck.
When it's time for overdubbing/mixing, I transfer tracks into the DAW via lightpipe into a 2408, which will do all 24 tracks in one pass. (Try that on an 003!) Plus, with ADAT sync, you can slave-sync the DAW to the HD24 - handy for using loops as click tracks, or for overdubbing to existing DAW tracks.
I believe this is the only way you're going to get latency-free monitoring of 24 inputs, other than getting PTHD or trying an Apogee with Logic, which is supposed to be close to zero latency. It's possible that the newer motu interfaces give you latency-free monitoring of 24 inputs, but on my 2408MK3, I only get that on one selectable bank of 8 inputs (unless I missed something in the manual.)
The converters on the HD24XR are actually pretty good, (comparable to RADAR, they say) and the upgrade from standard HD24 to the XR is only about $600. Compare that to a PTHD system, or a second analog mixer for monitoring inputs, and the HD24 looks like a pretty good choice. Plus, the HD24 is crash-proof.
Actually, you could get a cheap mixer to monitor your inputs via splitters coming off of whatever preamps you're using, (or split off of a patchbay) but then you'd have one mixer for monitoring inputs, and a second one for monitoring playback. Come to think of it, that might look really cool in your studio, having all those faders...
(edit to add) If your DM24 is the same as the 01V96, you can take direct outs from the mic preamps via the insert jacks to the input of the recorder without affecting those channels for tape monitoring, assuming your using digital inputs on those channels. In other words, when using the digital inputs, the mic pres still work, but they're not routed to the mixer.