Best 8 channel preamp with ADAT

[djdeef69]

im after some advice on the best 8 channel preamp with ADAT in and out, so i can get an extra 8 inputs and extra 8 outputs ? ? what are my options ? ? any help would be great

cheers

MD

[antiguru]

pretty sure there arent any

[djdeef69]

really ? ? so you can only get somthing that will do either in or out ? I've got a behringer ADA8000 that has ADTA in and out but thats the problem it's behringer, i need somthin that sound's killer and will do the same job the ADA8000 does with upto96k sample rate

[funkdrmr]

Mackie Onyx 800R
Presonus Digimax
M-Audio Octane
Focusrite Octopre

I think there's a few more, but I'm drawing a blank on their names.

Also, you posted this in High End, and from what I've seen in my limited "high end" 8 channel pre research, is that there are only a few units around and they are pretty darned expensive. Sorry if those were the responses you were looking for, but the 8-channel pre question is usually a low end (my world ) question.

[warhead]

Those Onyx are quite worthy, the pres and the converters.

War

[Jim vanBergen]

The Focustite Octopre sounds nice, as does the DigiMax. I'd compare those to one another.

JvB

[George Necola]

you mean the nicest?

it's from the company AUDIENT.. called ASP 008

http://www.kmraudio.com/catalogue/im...SP008front.jpg

I have one hooked up on my RME multiface II via ADAT. nice preamps, also DA-88 tascam output and AES optional if you want.

the pres are clean, good transient response, massive built, highpass, 2 Instrument DI's and its an AUDIENT!

cheers George

[kurt]

One ISA 428 with digi card + one without.

[aussie_techie]

best to give both in and out, any high end pre connected to an apogee, lynx or RME converters
no single box will give you pres AD and DA at 96K

[mosrite]

I agree about the Audient 8. I have sessioned with it and found the pres nice and clean. Not a huge ammount of character but certainly workable. From an ergonomic point of view it was a little tight between the controls though. Good price as well from what I remember.

[tnjazz]

There really aren't any. The Behringer has ADAT in, but only goes out to the analog outs.

Why would you want ADAT in anyway? That should be on your interface, not on your preamp. If that's what you're looking for, the only thing I can think of is the Metric Halo 2882. 8 analog in with preamps, 8 ADAT in, SPDIF in, firewire, Mac only.

Dirk

[Raw-Tracks]

Originally Posted by tnjazz

There really aren't any. The Behringer has ADAT in, but only goes out to the analog outs.

The Behringer has both ADAT in and out. The output of the preamps goes out of the ADAT out. The ADAT in feeds the D/A and comes out the XLRs on the back.

[hrn]

The Digimax is just A/D. The pres are on the clean side and nice I think. I think it's better to keep the pres and AD/DA's as separate units.

Hans

[PlugHead]

If you can find one, Ramsa WZ-AD96M has solid pre's (60 dB gain) and up to 96k converters with ADAT/AES out...

Getting harder to find than hen's teeth nowadays, but they show up now and again.

Can't comment on the other stuff, but the Ramsa is in my remote rack, and I often forget how good they sound till I play the sessions back - they really do sound great, and work flawlessly.

YMMV,

[UPRYZ]

somebody correct me if i'm wrong but ADAT can only do 48Khz max unless you're using SMUX which requires double the channels when at 96Khz.

To answer the original question - you said "best". None of the all in one boxes that have been mentioned are IMO "best". If you're willing to live with 2 single rack space devices how bout Apogee Rosetta 800 (you'll have to stay at 48Khz - big whoop) and a true systems 8 channel pre?

Dan Fox

[Raw-Tracks]

Originally Posted by PlugHead

If you can find one, Ramsa WZ-AD96M has solid pre's (60 dB gain) and up to 96k converters with ADAT/AES out...

Hey, that's what I'm running. I do believe it will do 96kHz on the ADAT out using S/MUX. I can't use S/MUX with my Digi-002-Rack though.

[PlugHead]

Originally Posted by erick21

Hey, that's what I'm running. I do believe it will do 96kHz on the ADAT out using S/MUX. I can't use S/MUX with my Digi-002-Rack though.

Correct - PT is the problem (002 etc), not the Ramsa...

[aussie_techie]

S/MUX is not part of the ADAT standard. the problem is interfacing a device that goes beyond the standard with one that does not.

[allencollins]

hmmmm.....

ADAT!

[bostero]

Originally Posted by hrn

The Digimax is just A/D. The pres are on the clean side and nice I think. I think it's better to keep the pres and AD/DA's as separate units.

That's the idea I have but, what ad/da there are in the market?? Any idea? I've seen a couple of toys of SM but I don't kow if trust them or not.

[big country]

ADAT- he probly wants that cool tape sound.
just had to say it . JK

[jslevin]

Originally Posted by bostero

That's the idea I have but, what ad/da there are in the market?? Any idea? I've seen a couple of toys of SM but I don't kow if trust them or not.

I trolled around in this market just looking for a spare 8-channel AD-DA, without getting something crappy, and without spending too much.

I considered the SM Pro thing, the Frontier Tango thing. Also the Alesis AI-3. Poked around for some used Sonorus / Swissonic stuff, which pops up on eBay from time to time. Read about the Panasonic, which never pops up anywhere and probably has been overly romanticized at this point. (Let's face it, if anyone using a Ramsa mixer had tried a Mackie Onyx 800R eight years ago, he would have been drooling uncontrollably. The bar has moved.)

I eventually arrived at a Presonus Firestation, which I got used for $220. As a FireWire/mLAN interface, this thing never worked right and caused Presonus and their customers a lot of headaches and embarassment.

However, it has a standalone AD/DA mode that works just great -- no computer needed (or recommended as it turns out). It also has two preamp/DI channels, comparable to their MP20 preamp, that function independent of the converters. And word clock in/out, and S/PDIF in/out. And some kind of line mixer, too.

Anyway. It's a hell of a thing for $200 and change. Considering what an MP20 goes for, or an Alesis AI-3, the Firestation is kind of a bargain even at $400. Even if the Firewire doesn't work at all.

JSL

[jslevin]

Just realized I didn't really finish answering the original question. Pick up a Presonus Firestation, or something comparable, and you can use whatever preamps you want.

If you want 8 channels of pretty good and damned cheap, I'd look into a Yamaha MLA8. Considerably more headroom than the Mackie Onyx, though I think those sound good, too. Didn't care for the Focusrite Octopre, though it worked. Most of these products only have the AD, not the DA.

If you really need 96K, that's a whole other discussion, and it probably ends with you getting a second interface. Metric-Halo 2882 is a popular solution and an excellent value. I owned a Focusrite ISA 428 and liked it fine. Sold it reluctantly and may own one again someday. But there is no good reason to own two of them.

JSL

[ricknaqvi]

The Digimax is just A/D.

We have a new preamp being released this month that does both A/D and D/A and uses SMUX to do up to 96kHz.

http://www.presonus.com/digimax_fs.html

Cheers,

[lucey]

Originally Posted by djdeef69

im after some advice on the best 8 channel preamp with ADAT in and out, so i can get an extra 8 inputs and extra 8 outputs ? ? what are my options ? ? any help would be great

cheers

MD

SH Gama and Mytek 8x192


you said "best"

[DrDeltaM]

Originally Posted by lucey

SH Gama and Mytek 8x192


you said "best"

Best is very relative and personal at such price points. And that's defenately more then the thread starter is willing to spend, or he would have chosen the High End forum

[Mount Cyanide]

The onyx 800 does sound pretty damn impressive.
If you're absolutely stuck on going to a all-in-one unit, this may be the one.
Or else, I'd go with 2 Daking mic pre iv and a Rosetta. Wrong forum though.

[tnjazz]

Originally Posted by jslevin

Read about the Panasonic, which never pops up anywhere and probably has been overly romanticized at this point. (Let's face it, if anyone using a Ramsa mixer had tried a Mackie Onyx 800R eight years ago, he would have been drooling uncontrollably. The bar has moved.)

Hmmm, I don't know about that.

I own both. I like both. I like the Panasonic better though. Don't get me wrong; the Mackie sounds wonderful. The Ramsa just seems to sound a little more pleasing to my ear, especially on certain instruments.

It's unlikely that I would sell either - they complement each other quite nicely in my 24 channel rig.

YMMV though, as always. I will say that I was surprised by the Firestation when I first heard it. If not for the nightmare of computer connectivity that they became, I'm pretty sure I would have bought one. Then again, I like the sound of Presonus preamps anyway.

Dirk

[Synth80s]

Originally Posted by George Necola

it's from the company AUDIENT.. called ASP 008

The only thing that kept me from seriously considering the ASP008 is the silly 44.1/48KHz limit on the ADAT output. For $2,000, they could have supported S/MUX for 88.2/96KHZ.

-Synth80s

[MIKEHARRIS]

the Focusrite Octopre is both 8 in and 8 out..its something we have supplied to O1V96 users...giving them both 8 mic pre in...and 8 line out...without the additional cost of a MYcard...or using the only expansion slot available