ad/da Soundcard Converters Advice

[DP40oz]

Hey guys im selling off my 2 Hoontech DSP2000's because they stopped driver support about a year ago. For those of you who don't know they use the same converters as the Delta 1010. I owned 2 of them so i had 16 channels.

Basically i'm looking for at least 16 channels and a PCI based system with good driver support for the PC. I was looking into the Motu 24 i/0 or possibly the 2408mk3 and then adding on another motu box to get 8 more channels. I've heard that some Motu stuff is problematic with PC's. Is this true? Also are the Motu converters at all a step up from the Delta 1010's. I figure if im buying something new might as well be slightly better.

Let me know any other suggestions guys im not totally sold on the Motu stuff. Im trying to keep the budget around $1000 so any help would be much appreciated. Thanks fellas

[warhead]

Creamware A16 Ultra would be 16 i/o of really decent stuff for a price. Get an ADAT card that'll handle it and you're good. RME makes some very solid PCI cards and their drivers are extremely rock solid.

War

[DrDeltaM]

I 2nd warhead's RME + convertor solution

[I play in a ban]

Just to throw in another option the Lynx 2 stuff is really popular.

[DP40oz]

The Creamware Ultra 16 with an RME card sounds right up my alley but how do i go about hooking the 2 up. Forgive me for being naive but until now i've only dealt with pci cards and expansion boards from the same company.

Which RME card would be right with the Ultra 16. Would the Digi 96/36 make use of all 16 ins and outs? Do i connect it through the adat connectors? What difference does having the HDSP 96/32 have? I don't quite get the concept of DSP on a soundcard.

Im sorry guys im really not as much of a newbie as im sounding right now i just have never needed to deal with soundcard and expansion board stuff and im realizing im totally clueless about it.

[r0ck1r0ck2]

16i/o is what i'm thinking tooo
i'm waiting for the reviews of the Multiface II to come out....
was gonna get one card and one xtra multiface...

[DrDeltaM]

Originally Posted by DP40oz

The Creamware Ultra 16 with an RME card sounds right up my alley but how do i go about hooking the 2 up. Forgive me for being naive but until now i've only dealt with pci cards and expansion boards from the same company.

Which RME card would be right with the Ultra 16. Would the Digi 96/36 make use of all 16 ins and outs? Do i connect it through the adat connectors? What difference does having the HDSP 96/32 have? I don't quite get the concept of DSP on a soundcard.

Im sorry guys im really not as much of a newbie as im sounding right now i just have never needed to deal with soundcard and expansion board stuff and im realizing im totally clueless about it.

You can connect via ADAT yes. The RME card you choose needs to have 2 ADAT out and 2 ADAT in to fully connect the Creamware A16Ultra.
The Digi9636 you mention would also have the required I/O, but it's an older card which they may stop to support soon. The RME HDSP9652 would be a better (tho more expensive) choice.

[Youn]

Originally Posted by DP40oz

I've heard that some Motu stuff is problematic with PC's. Is this true? Also are the Motu converters at all a step up from the Delta 1010's. I figure if im buying something new might as well be slightly better.

Well I've used an older 828 for years with PC and never really had problems. Never liked it but it worked. Of course that's just me. I would think the newer units would be better now, though you should download current drivers for any device.

I also have Delta 44 for a couple years on another computer. Not sure if one is slightly better then the other, never did any tests, but from experience the MOTU seems kinda dark, muddy, and edgy, while the Delta just seem plain edgy and maybe more brittle in the top end. Again, the newer MOTUs have better converters I believe.

Another option, for around 1000, is an RME Multiface and a Behringer ADA8000. You would be able to use this for either laptop or desktop (an extra attachment to buy for the RME) but also you'll have some flexibilty with the Multiface for more, or better, conversion later on if you decide to go further - which is true for lots of interfaces I guess, but maybe not 36 inputs (or whatever the count is for the multi).