Metric Halo

[henryrobinett]

http://www.mhlabs.com/metric_halo/

Check it out baby! May your recording and mixing never be the same!

[Funkster]

Whoo Hoo!

Thanks Henry! I'd been checking their site regularly for awhile, but then got out of the habit.

I can't wait.

[A440]

That is good news

[Chucho]

I've been waiting and waiting for this thing. Looks very promising.

[Ricey]

Dood, is that a reverb plug i see? on their DSP?

[Johnkenn]

So - what's the big revelation in this? What is it bringing to the table that we can't get elsewhere? I'm not slagging, just asking...

[henryrobinett]

I wish I could say . . .

[A440]

Originally Posted by Ricey

Dood, is that a reverb plug i see? on their DSP?

I can definitely see 'HaloVerb' on one of the plugins...taken a while but looks like it's finally here!

Fingers crossed that we'll be able to insert the plugins directly into our DAWs...come on MH you know it makes sense.

[henryrobinett]

http://www.mhlabs.com/metric_halo/

Introducing 2d

This is the most revolutionary thing I've seen in recording audio products. They took an already great audio interface and made it greater. Built in non-obsolescence. I have the card in my 2882+dsp and a ULN-2. It's incredible.

[henryrobinett]

You got to check out summing from DP or Logic in this box! I just basically use the DAW app as a launching pad. I use the record panel in Metric Halo Box to record to. You can access this stuff "inside" the Daw with Console Connnect. Recording using the best plugins I've ever used. I used to think UAD was the bomb.

The mixer is set up like a big console. You can route pre AND post fader. There's a great reverb built in - HaloVerb.

For those of you with a 2882 or ULN-2 the 2d upgrade card is a no brainer. If you are fairly handy, it's pretty easy to install.

Check it out.

[tyro]

WOW! That is truly an amazing offer from MH Labs. I've been kicking myself for 3-4 years now, because I chose to go a cheaper route with my 828mkII I bought 5 years ago. I think it's time to upgrade...

Henry, a couple of questions you might be able to set straight for me... As I read it, ALL their new extended interfaces (not only +DSP ones) have access to some DSP like HaloVerb and MIOstrip. The +DSP part can be bought at a later date and is just a licence you buy (no parts to install since the 2d card is already there on the new units). Am I correct? If yes, then that's just great.

Also, from what I can see I can buy two 2882's, add +DSP on one and when the 2 interfaces are on the same system, I can use the +DSP plugins on ANY channel - including the ones on the "non +DSP" interface. Right? If so, even more YAY! and even better value.

I guess I'll be living cheap the next months... until I can afford a couple of these babies.

[henryrobinett]

Yes, I believe you are correct on all counts! You can upgrade on any Metric Halo units +dsp or not. If you have a +dsp license already you have the license for all of it. If you have two boxes and only one license that will work on the remaining box without the license. You just need one license! But even without buying the license you have some basic killer plugins, including Haloverb.

But CHARACTER is the stuff! You can apply character to any channels, -- and there are something like 15 different character emulations. They add a tube, or Neve-like or transformer, various emulations to the recording. "SoftSat" is awesome.

There ain't nothing else like this. I've been beta testing this for the past year or so. It's been hard for me to keep my mouth shut. Now, for the most part, I can talk about it all.

This has completely changed the way I record and mix. I can't go back to the old way. Nothing else I've used sounds this good.

[slaves666]

Pretty sweet.....

[hakanai]

the +DSP is an actual card with DSP chips. the dsp power is only available to the box with the card installed. it can, however, be installed to an existing box.
one issue that i am especially interested in is mixing signals between two boxes. on v4 two boxes used in aggregate could not mix or monitor each other's audio. or if they can i haven't figured it out. also playback across two boxes was always a bit weird if not non existent.
i love mine though and look forward to getting the upgrade.

[cynics1207]

how many channel of dsp you can run with the 2d card? kind of confuse..but amazing upgrade consider MH is just a small company compare to UA or Digi.. great job MH!thumbsup

[henryrobinett]

Originally Posted by cynics1207

how many channel of dsp you can run with the 2d card? kind of confuse..but amazing upgrade consider MH is just a small company compare to UA or Digi.. great job MH!thumbsup

Basically there are 18 Firewire channels to play with per box. It's very, very flexible. I can sum 18 separate tracks from my Daw, in my case either DP or Logic. Or I can record 18 analog, digital, DAW tracks. I can add boxes for more.

Yeah -- I think THIS is the PT killer, if one were looking for one. I'm not. PT does that PT thing well, but Metric Halo does it in a different way. AND it sounds stunning.

[computa]

I looked at site but it was way too much info for me. a few questions:

dsp and mixer is on way in only?

can u use card's dsp within ur daw?

if u use dsp, ie- character & channel strip how is the latency?

summing within card? please explain.

[henryrobinett]

DSP is both in and out. The terminology is different. Firewire (FW) is the term used to record audio from the box into the DAW or from the DAW into the Box/Rec Panel. DAW is the term used to indicate coming from the app. You can use DSP{ to record into the DAW or the Rec Panel. Or you can mix with it from inside the DAW using the Console Connect. It's really a little like summing inside the Daw, like a sub application or plugin. You don't have to sum with the Metric Halo Mixer, - you can just access the plugins if you like!

Latency is miniscule. I don't know what it is, but it's comparable to Apogee Symphony.

I'll have to explain the summing part later. I'm about to go to bed. I've been up since 4 am.And I'm on th eeast coast now. I started out on the west coast this morning.

But there are many ways to sum with the V.5 Mixer. I take mono channels out from DP or Logic. Or stereo channels. The tracks are labeled DAW 1-18 per box. I can set up several busses in the V.5 mixer with various reverbs and diffusion, MIOStrips, EQs, distortion plugs, delays. It sounds MUCH better than the summing engines of either Logic or DP TO ME.

So configure your DAW outputs to reflect how you want V5Mixer to see them, open the Mixer WITHIN your DAW. The signal is now summing in the V.5 Mixer with all the Character, you want. You can use your favorite Native plugins as well as UAD in addition to the V5 plugs. It's a no loose situation. Total win because it simply is awesome.

Nighty night.

[bmonroney]

Originally Posted by hakanai

the +DSP is an actual card with DSP chips. the dsp power is only available to the box with the card installed. it can, however, be installed to an existing box.

Just to clarify, for new MIO boxes (which are all 2d-expanded), or any 2d-expanded legacy box, +DSP now refers to a software license. If you upgrade a box that is already +DSP equipped, you automatically get the +DSP license, which includes many more plugins than the base 2d package - and the ability to "roll your own" DSP processes. The 2d upgrade replaces the old +DSP with approximately 5 times the power. A non-DSP MIO upgraded with 2d gets a basic complement of plugins, and the +DSP license can be added at any time for an extra fee. It is correct that one +DSP license applies to all 2d-equipped boxes connected at the same time...

Brian

[dannygold]

I want to drink the Kool-aid... I mean buy a Metric Halo. JUST KIDDING KOOL-AID DRINKERS! How is HaloVerb? Can someone post a test of something summed in the DAW vs in the MH (no effects, levels matched, settings the same in both mixers)?

[bmonroney]

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

Total win because it simply is awesome.

I can echo Henry's enthusiasm for mixing in the MIO. I've also been testing this beast for some time, and I have adopted the same approach: DP channels direct out into MIO (up to 18 channels per box, even on ULN-2!). I use a combination of my fave native plugins and plus MIO processing, CHARACTER judiciously applied on various channels, and record the results right back into my DP session or into the MIO Record Panel. Sweet!

Brian

[dogma]

One thing with the character plug in. To my ears the 2882 pre's are serviceable but not "ultra low noise" - so is this only really of use using the ULN2 pre's or with your other fav outboard pre's - pacifica's and the like, and then across the 2882's converters? I own a 2882 not a ULN2 and have some decent outboard pre's.
Sorry if that is confusing - the character plug sounds very interesting

[audiothings]

is there console surface support for the mixer?

[arimaka]

EuCon and Mackie Control on the mixer should be a feature they should consider. I like the idea of having a great DSP mixer on your interface! This opens many great possibilities.

[remo]

pfft, the Creamware Scope environment was doing this 5 years ago...

[splitbrain]

The 2882 has not new pre amps I think, I can´t find any information about it in the homepage. Are they really that bad? So I'm back into buying a Apogee Ensemble instead?

Scope looks nice but I can´t beta test it for a year until sonic-core goes bankcrupt. I used to like the sound in the Pulsar system. And then OSX came ...

The decision would have been easier with a MH card with Apogee pre amps built into it, and MH drivers ..

I really need the 4 pre amps to be good, and the drivers to be even better.

What do you think?

[macleodgrant]

Originally Posted by splitbrain

The 2882 has not new pre amps I think, I can´t find any information about it in the homepage. Are they really that bad? So I'm back into buying a Apogee Ensemble instead?

Scope looks nice but I can´t beta test it for a year until sonic-core goes bankcrupt. I used to like the sound in the Pulsar system. And then OSX came ...

The decision would have been easier with a MH card with Apogee pre amps built into it, and MH drivers ..

I really need the 4 pre amps to be good, and the drivers to be even better.

What do you think?

i own the ensemble but am thinking of sending it back and not trying a replacement. i'm considering the metric halo cos it's feature rich. i don't really use converter pres since i have other high end ones but i can't imagine the Metric Halo pres being bad since top professional acousticians use this combination with spectrafoo for analysis so you would expect the pres to be rather good. with this release it appears that the interfaces themselves have not been updated - just expanded

[01010110]

splitbrain: I'm pretty sure there is no new preamps in the new 2882, but the preamps in them are "ok" compared to many other fw-interfaces. Even so, i really prefer to line in some external preamps (same when using an ensamble).

An alternative: MH ULN-2 + a good ADAT-converter and two external preamps? The ULN-2 got alot better preamps. They are even available with jensen input transformers.

[henryrobinett]

The preamps are the same. I think the adat converter is a brilliant option. The pres in the 2882 are fine except when you need a lot of gain. Line inputs are great. But a ULN2 with an Adat converter is a great idea. The V5 mixer give a lot of gain/character options for those extra 8 channels without having to opt for outboard pres or to get an adat with built in pres. That's 10 great channels of analog I/O.

I've used the Adat on the ULN2 card. Glitch free.

[splitbrain]

Thanks for the replies.
I think I trust you guys and some at the Logic users group and buy the new 2882.