METRIC HALO + DSP or APOGEE ENSEMBLE?

[Beastie]

HELP?

which and why?

peace

[Beastie]

Anyone in?

[dnaflr2]

Originally Posted by Beastie

Anyone in?

Never heard the Ensemble, but I do have the MH 2882 and a HEDD 192. Definitely prefer the HEDD, however the MH is not too far off. In addition MH drivers and routing software have been solid since OS 9 days.

[thermos]

The Apogee should be on another level. Haven't heard it, but I once did drums through the RME Fireface 800, and the MH 2882. The 2882 ran out of headroom immediately, and sounded veiled in comparison to the Fireface. The D/A on the units was closer, but the Fireface was still better. The consensus is that the Ensemble is on a higher level than the Fireface.

[Beastie]

thanks guys

so apogee if in the budget? or fireface as a worth second place?

i was lookin forward to the dsp on the MH?

but thats not a good vibe?

peace

[rnbeatz]

I had a rosetta 800 (which is suppose to be a step up from the Ensemble) and sold it years ago for a 2882. I never missed the Apogee at all. Not that it didn't sound good, but at the time I needed a firewire interface and Apogee was struggling to get their firewire options to market.

I'm not so sure there is that big of a difference between the better converters today for most peoples needs. If you can swing it, buy from a place that will let you demo all three and keep the one you like. I think they all are excellent units and if you are picky about how they sound, no one's opinion should be your determining factor.

I record vocals, a Moog Voyager and some classic drum machines through mine and I haven't run into any headroom problems whatsoever. I personally don't think you could go wrong with any of them but I prefer the 2882+dsp.

[ddageek]

I havent really spent much time with the apogee, but Demoed a 2882 as I am thinking of dumping the PT MIX24 system and going native. All the otherapogees I have spent more time with Have had "that apogee sound" the ensamble seams to have it too and while I like it the 2882 came across as more transparent the 8 pres seamed useable and according to MH Most Modern macs will let you stack 4 of them for 32 i/o on a single FW bus!

The metric halo was not my lavry DA10, but I think a 2882 or 2 and a 4 channels of lavry ad and da and I would be more than happy!

[pace]

Yeah, I'd definitely take thermos' advice and listen first. IMHO the Ensemble (and certainly the Rosetta) kiks the panties off the Metric Halo stuff. If you are lookign for the best stereo imaging the Apogees are the way to go.

Also, with a current computer, Mac Pro or even MacBook, you probably don't need dsp. There is a crapload of power in these machines. (i have a Mac Book Pro Intel Core 2 Duo that is scary powerfull).

One more thing to keep in mind is Apogee's connection with Apple- they had immediate compatibility when the Intel Mac Pro's were forst announced. I'm sure you can count on the same thing when Leopard ships- they will be compatible right away. You also get such great implementation into Logic with Ensemble which is such a nice feature.

[Beastie]

yeah my system is macbookpro 2.4 w/7200 160gig HD

i run glyph 500gig drive fw 800

and was ussing mbox2

but am sick of digi!

and wanna go logic and NI

lol

so i think apogee makes most sense on papaer

however what about expresscard 3/4 solutions?

or should i run esata through expresscard slot?

thoughts?

[pace]

Symphony Mobile uses the expresscard slot in the MacBook Pro. One of the writers I work with uses it with a Rosetta 800 and the performance is incredible. With that rig we can leave the buffer set to 256 samples with no perceptable latency. Plus, Rosetta sounds even better than the Ensemble. Those are the real advantages of Symphony Mobile. It will cost more than the Ensemble, however.

[Beastie]

cheaper options? :o

maybe rme fireface 400 or 800?

anything else?

for my MBP?

my budget is tight can go up to 1300 max i think - but cheaper is better!

however dont wanna compromise quality esp as im running PMC's

peace

[grahluk]

Another MH user here. I bought mine something like 5 years ago. Still works fantastic. Still sounds fantastic. Rock solid reliable. Several very usable free updates that actually increased functionality. A user base and mailing list population with a very high signal to noise ratio. On that list there are also some very well known names in mastering that are vocal supporters of the MH stuff as well as Sonic Studio is using them as an OEM for their hardware. If you went MH I doubt you would regret it. On the other hand you probably wouldn't regret the Apogee either. I would definitely take a listen to both if you can. There will be supporters and detractors for either. I've not heard the Ensemble but the consensus I've heard (not from the MH fanbase) is the 2882 is a bit more pleasant than the Ensemble but the AD16x/DA16x are better still. To each their own.

I'm amazed at how many other things have come and gone in upgrades and obsolescence since I got my 2882+dsp. The last thing I'm thinking of is new AD/DA.

[thermos]

The fireface conversion was pretty decent (now have a Lynx Aurora which is much better). I would just get the Ensemble though, if I were you. Reason being, the Fireface pres are really bad. Unuseable. I plugged one in once, and never did it again. From what I've heard, the ensemble pres are pretty good. I'm getting a Duet, so I'll be able to chime in soon.

And more along the MH verses the world; I was tracking drums with the MH for a client, and mid album I switched to the Fireface and he was like "what happened!" He noticed a big improvement.


FWIW, the 2882 pres were better than the Fireface ones I think. Still not great, but better.

[Beastie]

thanks guys!

i guess the thing is for me is more into the AD/DA quality rather than the pre's

coz if im doin any serious recording ill hook up and API or Focusrite ISA or Neve or something....

so for me its more about conversion...


and yes - if had DOLLARS i to, would get LYNX AURORA!

DAMNN!

thats very goodindeed!

peace

[bannerj]

re: the 2882 and MH...I just posted some new info about new releases from MH on the new products page here.

Their commitment to current owners is freaking amazing and I really like mixing stems back through their UI mixer, the MIO console.

[thermos]

Originally Posted by bannerj

re: the 2882 and MH...I just posted some new info about new releases from MH on the new products page here.

Their commitment to current owners is freaking amazing and I really like mixing stems back through their UI mixer, the MIO console.

Seems very cool, but why make a sub par hardware box if you are going to go in that direction? Sorry if I offend any owners, but I think having superior converters make more difference than an 80 bit summing engine.

[barryjohns]

Don't buy either. Buy a RME Fireface 800, they can be had for 900-1100 used all day long........Great converter, Rock Solid performance, FW800 can allow you to go with even lower buffer settings. Great digital I/O options.

[Beastie]

yes Barry - thats seems more affordable to me - however its also seems that you yourself use a LYNX AURORA - DAMN I WISH I COULD AFFORD ONE OF THOSE!

with regard to the ff800 what bout if later on i added a benchmark DAC to that?

good plan?

peace

[Beastie]

so what about buffer size?

im in logic - so how low can you go?

peace

[DanRock101]

I've had my Ensemble for almost a year now and love it! But my next purchase will be a 2882 to see if the DSP is really that good!.....we'll wait and see!

[astronmr20]

How could the MH "run out of headroom?"

BTW, the Halo +dsp stuff is incredible IMO.

[macleodgrant]

i initially bought the Ensemble but sent it back and got the 2882 - i'm much happier with the 2882 which has the latest 2d card

also, tracking with this baby is a dream as you can send reverb to the musician's, eq the signal, compress at high quality all with zero latency!!!
MH 2882 all the way - quality is more that i'll ever need

i also think there is far too much hype about converters though you do need to spend in the region of around $1200 to start getting excellent 8channel converters IMO

at the end of the day it also depends on your application - for recording and mixing, i see this as perfect but for mastering and some other applications, the best converters are more important

[DanRock101]

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

i initially bought the Ensemble but sent it back and got the 2882 - i'm much happier with the 2882 which has the latest 2d card

also, tracking with this baby is a dream as you can send reverb to the musician's, eq the signal, compress at high quality all with zero latency!!!
MH 2882 all the way - quality is more that i'll ever need

i also think there is far too much hype about converters though you do need to spend in the region of around $1200 to start getting excellent 8channel converters IMO

at the end of the day it also depends on your application - for recording and mixing, i see this as perfect but for mastering and some other applications, the best converters are more important

Do you do your mixing totally ITB? If not, how is the DA/AD when using outboard gear?

[macleodgrant]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

Do you do your mixing totally ITB? If not, how is the DA/AD when using outboard gear?

totally ITB, sorry don't use outboard for mixing, only recording
i do however use the +DSP for mixing sometimes and it's just really amazing

[DanRock101]

Any songs I could listen to?

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

totally ITB, sorry don't use outboard for mixing, only recording
i do however use the +DSP for mixing sometimes and it's just really amazing

[James Lehmann]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

Do you do your mixing totally ITB? If not, how is the DA/AD when using outboard gear?

I use a Drawmer 1968-ME and Speck ASC-T EQ's as outboard through which I frequently run individual tracks out and back from the 2882, and then again when mastering! If there is a conversion effect on the sound it is totally masked by the rich OTB processing I am employing, which is another way of saying I have never noticed degradation that I can attribute to the D-A-D process and so don't give it a second thought anymore!

[macleodgrant]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

Any songs I could listen to?

sure - used no external boxes for the mix - tracking was through preamps only
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...ou_my_love.mp3

[sashbash]

get the 2882....

1: its great (mio mixer/monitor control & 2d is excellent!)
2: lots of people seem to be flogging them off real cheap at the mo...i wish i was looking to pick one up now as there are some crazy deals in the 2nd hand forum.

[DanRock101]

Holy crap! That's more than decent, really good actually! You used the onboard preamps??

Originally Posted by macleodgrant

sure - used no external boxes for the mix - tracking was through preamps only
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/attac...ou_my_love.mp3

[gregwar]

use an ensemble and am pretty happy with it sounds amazing for what i do. i'd drop it in a heatbeat for a uln-8 but $6000 is putting me off if only it was $3000?! the 2882 +d2+dsp will likely go down much more in price (especially second hand) as slutz line up for the uln-8.