8 converters and a sound card for $2000?

[Ianneve]

I have a buddy who is building a DAW rig and this is what he has asked me to find him. I'm thinking RME or Maybe Lynx but what do you guys think?

[dhughes]

You might want to consider the Motu HD line. The 192 is their flagship unit and the converters and pretty good. the 896 is a firewire device which makes it nice if you want to go portable and it comes with 8 pres (nothing spectacular but it is a nice feature).

[Ianneve]

Hey thanks for the reply. I was just looking into Motu last night. Not a big fan but I hear the new stuff is pretty good. He wants 12 converters actually so the motu might be the one. Don't they make one with 12 A/D? I haven't found it yet but the one with 24 might be it then. ? Thanks.

[dhughes]

I'm not aware of a 12 A/D Motu. They do have 8 channels of ADAT and 2 of AES built into the 896. I have a MiniMe which gives me 10 channels of highly portable conversion. In a six space rack I have the Motu, a Big Ben, 2 RNPs & RNCs, and a Furman conditioner. It makes life easy.

I really love the Motu unit. When I get the money, I'm probably going to buy another one.

[AlphaDingo]

lynx over motu every time for me.

[Ianneve]

Can you get 12 in from Lynx for that? Or close to it? The lynx cards confuse me. I haev the aes 16 card which is great but their converter cards seem confusing somehow. Must be all the drugs in high school. Their Lynx 2 C maybe? 2 of them? Can you run 2? See, I'm confused already.

:>)

[Ianneve]

The Motu HD 192 is only around $1700 for 12 in and 12 out. He doesn't need the 12 out but that's a good price and people say they sound good. Same as Pro tools HD. So,,,,, Lynx card converters sound better then HD? I'm a Hedd and Mytek snob so what do I know about Motu? Nothing thank goodness. :>) This is why I'm asking. I don't know. I do know that there are probably more cd's made these days on PT HD then anything else. So,,,, He would have that.

[dhughes]

The Motu looks like what your friend is looking for. It sounds really good. I don't own a Lynx but do know that people around here like 'em a lot - and I've also heard a lot of complaints about set up, etc.

The Motu is a very nice core system to build off of. I think it can grow nicely - with additional units or by adding higher end converters and running them through the AES or ADAT.

But as usual, it's just MHO. We probably all like to talk up the equipment we own since we made the investment and have to live with it.

[Ianneve]

Well he snoozed and lost out on one on ebay today. I don't think I have him sold just yet as he was wanting to mirror my set up and get a Mytek but there is just no way he can afford that so he's dissapointed but yes I think that HD box is for him. It's perfect. Thanks

[nasty]

What you want is a metric halo 2882.The convertors are great-definately better than motu and the preamps are pretty good if you're not recording quiet stuff.I think they're around $1300.

[Ianneve]

HUm,,, interesting but he really needs 12 converters. Just like everyone does whos' recording drums. So that HD thing is pretty cool for him.

[dhughes]

"definitely better than the Motu"

Lucky for you, Ianneve, you've got a crack team of scientists on the case.

[Ianneve]

Yes, thanks everyone for helping out. :>) Still looking.

[ozraves]

I'd look at the newer Alesis 24 unit. It's hard disk recorder unto itself but you can use the converters for a DAW computer.

[Ianneve]

BUt how good could those converters be? For that kind of money? If they are as good as the Motu HD then yes it's a great idea but if they aren't it's not. Simple as that. They are concerned about audio quality as well. :>) Does anyone know? What that Alesis box sounds like? I would asume it's enrty level A/D's. Which would not be in the same class as the HD Motu. Even though I know the Motu is not world class at all. At least I think it's good enough for what they are doing.

[Rab]

Originally posted by Ianneve
Even though I know the Motu is not world class at all. At least I think it's good enough for what they are doing.

I guess that's pretty much the crux of the matter... you're not going to get 12 top A/D/A's for $2000. How far do you have to go to get a "world class" converter anyway? The HD192's sound great for the money... I doubt your guy would be disappointed. I don't know what else he's got in the chain, but if his mic/pre/comp etc aren't up to much it's academic after a point anyway.

RME ADI8DS is also cool... but if you need 12 I/O's the MOTU is kind of on a plate. Both the units are easy to install and are reliable. Haven't had much experience with the Lynx so can't comment on that...

[Ianneve]

I told him that when he was wanting Myteks that his pre's sucked and it wouldn't make that much difference. He did his last record on the Tascam 2424 and those converters I think are pretty good and that sorta saved it as he was useing Mackie converters mostly I think. I was maybe going to be there to help him track their next cd and bring my Neves and such though so,,,, Yeah I think they are pretty much sold on the Motu HD. I think it's a cool option for them.

[void]

Good luck in the quest. I have no idea on HD as I have never heard it. I did get down and dirty with Motu ( cant remember exactly which one) and a Lynx card. The Lynx card was clearly surperior to me. Mucho extended top end and Much tighter bottom. I think this where the Lynx cards excel, in the bottom end. Anyway, I am very happy with my card, no complaints.

[Ianneve]

Yes but like I said the Lynx is much more expesive and they would haev to buy 2 Lynx 2 c's and I don' t even know how that works but I guess it does. But that would be about 2 grand I think. ?? I forget exactly how much but it seems messy. BUt if it sounds much better it would be worth it I suppose. Maybe I'll call Lynx and investigate for them.

[void]

Ok, not sure what the price in $US is fir the Lynx, though I have a feeling it is under $1000. Anyway, worth checking out. Good luck :0)

[void]

BTW, yes..you can use multiple Lynx cards for up to 16 ins and outs, also a ADAT card available. Of course, it depends on how many PCI slots are available to...

[Ianneve]

Yes $900 for the C I think but can you run 2 of the Lynx 2 c cards together? They need at least 12 tracks going in.

[dhughes]

Do bear in mind that his comparison was with pre Motu HD equipment. I moved up from the MOTU 828 to the MOUT HD826 and the difference was also huge.

I think there are a few good threads around here with many pleased MOTU HD customers. Though, there are certainly a lot of Lynx posts too.

You're a good friend to look so carefully into the matter.

[Ianneve]

Well this guy is like my brother. We grew up together and when I tour he plays bass with me and he is just a very good old friend so I want to make sure he does the right thing. Thanks though. :>)

[lomola]

My understanding is that you can use multiple lynx cards together. Why don't you contact them yourself to verify - if you interested?

http://www.lynxstudio.com/contactus.html

[Ianneve]

Last conversion he's going Motu HD. Makes sense to me. haven't heard it but i've heard the PT HD and thought it sounded good. Supposed to be the same box so,,, SHould be rockin.

[Maston Thrust]

The new Alesis, the xr, is worth a listen. from what I have heard it is real solid mid level conversion. Easy on the budget.

[jabney]

Consider an RME ADI-8 converter and a Creamware Scope system with the ADAT lightpipe ports. You gain all kinds of flexibility with a DSP based system such as the Scope, and the RME converters sound good.

[Ianneve]

I used to have that box. It's ok. For the money. Never heard of the scope though. BUt after all this he has decided against it. He's holding off for now. :>) I was thinking of dumping my UAD 2-610 though and maybe getting a converter/mic pre box that's decent to ad to my pre's and converters for drums. I only use the 2 610 on overheads and its great for that but it seems a waist for just overheads. I don't know? I prefer the Neve's over the UA.

[edmann]

save yourself and your friend wasted hours of work = forget the MOTU stuff. I speak from experience. There are infinitely better solutions.

for ex:

Creamware AD16 Ultra (even better if reclocked)

Alesis HD24XR - (check out their yahoo user-group for lots of feedback)

Lots of MOTU tracks, when mixed. only amplifyng the inherent problem of bad clock (?) or whatever it is that causes the soundstage to shrink and the defintiion to go out the window - again more apparent on lots of mixed tracks than with a single stereo pass

now that I think of it I do remember a friend saying that when they reclocked their MOTU boxes the performance did improve considerably

Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades has good things to say about the Alesis units - that means something