Jim Williams Alesis hd24xr converter upgrade

[Mick@itc]

Originally Posted by loujudson

Both analog and digital outs are always hot.

so, yes.
L

Mirror of each other??

[loujudson]

Well, both are hot and carry the same signal except one is digital. So again yes. No confusion!

Not to hijack the thread, but there is a yahoogroup with many smart experienced people, including Jim Williams. So you can find out faster and more accurately there. It is part of my "brain trust" which makes me feel smarter...

L

[Mick@itc]

Originally Posted by loujudson

Well, both are hot and carry the same signal except one is digital. So again yes. No confusion!

Not to hijack the thread, but there is a yahoogroup with many smart experienced people, including Jim Williams. So you can find out faster and more accurately there. It is part of my "brain trust" which makes me feel smarter...

L

Thanks Lou.

Do yo uhave a link to the Yahoogroup?
Thansk
Mick

[loujudson]

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hd24/

You need to sign in or register. it is simple.

See you there! I love Gearslutz, but the group is very foscused and efficient - not thread diversions, but lots of straight answers from people who are knowledgeable (not that the same isn't true here!).

L

[Chris Kress]

Originally Posted by joninc

ok - will do. but still can you explain WHY it will be an improvement and can you describe the sonic change once i do this?

It will be an improvement because it is currently hooked up wrong. If you follow those steps, you'll verify that and also position yourself to hear the difference.. You need to hook your equipment up properly..

[loujudson]

Originally Posted by thermos

FWIW, Jim said the clock in the HD24XR is great.

Slight correction - the internal clock is indeed very good (perfect at 48k if you use that). For me, there is a problem though - it runs a tiny bit fast at 44.1! So if you load the tracks into a Mac (or other computer) and try to line them up with tracks recorded on the computer or an external recorder, they drift off and cannot be resolved.

I routinely record the house mix to my Sound Devices 744, while recoridng tracks on the HD24. If I don't send clock from the 744 to the HD24, the mix will not sync to the tracks!

I discovered this the hard way, by trying to use the house mix to cover a gap in the multitrack - had to streatch the mix to fit, and it wasn't pretty. I brought it up on the hd24yahoogroup and now it is common knowledge. Wish they has told me before!

Since I do all my recording at 44.1, I now always send sync to the HD24 from the very accurate 744T.

[joninc]

Originally Posted by Chris Kress

It will be an improvement because it is currently hooked up wrong. If you follow those steps, you'll verify that and also position yourself to hear the difference.. You need to hook your equipment up properly..

i really hate this condescending BS.

why do you guys not want to just help each other out with a little more in depth explanation?

i am not a TECH - i am a musician/aspiring engineer/producer. i have used it this way for the past 4 or 5 years nearly everyday and despite what you say - it does actually work. however i am wanting to get the most out of it and i am going to try this as soon as i can get the parts and my unit is out the shop.

BUT CAN YOU PLEASE TELL ME WHAT is the difference in SOUND that you hear once you have made this change?

thanks.

[The dman]

I was clocking my HD24xr to a lucid Genx6 and one day I decided to listen to the xr with it's internal clock and it sounded much better. The top end opened up

My 2 cents

[Matt Syson]

Hi
I can't vouch for any sound 'improvement' as I never use the things but technically when using a high frequency cable connection the impedances of the equipment and cable should match (usually standardised at 75 Ohm for coax and 110 Ohm for AES / EBU balanced). Paer of this regime is the requirement for a 'termination' of 75 (110) ohms resistive at the receiving end to prevent 'reflections' (equivalent to an audio echo) from occuring. If it is not terminated then reflections can happen (and will change with different cable lengths) with the effect that the receiver will get 'corrupt' data and jitter. If your input has a PLL circuit it will tend to 'smooth' and correctly recreate an accurate sample rate which of course is essential for high quality sound.
The problems get worse with higher frequencies and cables of different lengths and incorrect termination when used for video can be disasterous!
Soldering a suitable resistor inside your gear can be a solution to lack of termination if your setup is pretty 'static'.
Matt S

[Mick@itc]

Just so all you HD24 owners know (or am I just the last one to know) I joined up on the Yahoo group mentioned up a bit. It has really good focused info on the HD24, really worth a visit. All sort of tips and tricks, including the washer one...

Just so you know...thumbsup

Mick

[Fleaman]

Originally Posted by Mick@itc

Just so all you HD24 owners know (or am I just the last one to know) I joined up on the Yahoo group mentioned up a bit. It has really good focused info on the HD24, really worth a visit. All sort of tips and tricks, including the washer one...

Just so you know...thumbsup

Mick

They usually know that latest rumors on the remote controller....any mention of it?

What's the washer trick?

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by Fleaman

They usually know that latest rumors on the remote controller....any mention of it?

Yes, Alesis abandoned it earlier this year.

What's the washer trick?

The washers are used to space the IDE receiver mounting inside the HD24 slightly forward (closer to the front of the unit), which means it makes better contact when you slide the HD caddy in. As my caddies seat very well, I've never had to do this.

Cheers,
--
Don

[Chris]

So just a couple working questions for people that own these.

If I buy one of these JUST to use the converters is this how it would work?

The inputs and outputs are all hot, so I have the lightpipe in and out from a soundcard. So I don't have to hit the record button to activate them, right?

Meaning I can connect everything, arm all the tracks, then just hit record on my DAW (where the lightpipe is going) to record it, right?

And I can have the 24 analog outputs going to my board to monitor while recording?


Sorry for such basic questions.

[tnjazz]

Originally Posted by Chris

So just a couple working questions for people that own these.

If I buy one of these JUST to use the converters is this how it would work?

The inputs and outputs are all hot, so I have the lightpipe in and out from a soundcard. So I don't have to hit the record button to activate them, right?

Meaning I can connect everything, arm all the tracks, then just hit record on my DAW (where the lightpipe is going) to record it, right?

And I can have the 24 analog outputs going to my board to monitor while recording?


Sorry for such basic questions.

yes.

you will have to build a project file and arm tracks, but you won't need to press record - it will pass signal.

if you're going lightpipe in you're not using the converters of course. if you're going to do that you might as well just buy the stock HD24. the only reason to pick up the XR model is if you're using the analog inputs.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by tnjazz

yes.

you will have to build a project file and arm tracks, but you won't need to press record - it will pass signal.

if you're going lightpipe in you're not using the converters of course. if you're going to do that you might as well just buy the stock HD24. the only reason to pick up the XR model is if you're using the analog inputs.

I didn't mean lightpipe into the hd24, I mean using the analog ins on the hd24 then lightpiping to my computer (and when I monitor tracks already on my computer I use the lightpipe out to the analog outputs to my console).

Thanks for the response! I can't really find anything of this quality with 24 converters in this price range. One is definitely in my future.

[tnjazz]

Originally Posted by Chris

I didn't mean lightpipe into the hd24, I mean using the analog ins on the hd24 then lightpiping to my computer (and when I monitor tracks already on my computer I use the lightpipe out to the analog outputs to my console).

Thanks for the response! I can't really find anything of this quality with 24 converters in this price range. One is definitely in my future.

Gotcha. Yes, it sounds like it will do exactly what you're looking for. We have 2 of them we use for field recording. Rock solid.

[Jannikg]

[quote=Chris Kress;1534033]I am getting prices on the Alesis EC2 update for the HD24 which makes it into an XR. I believe this makes it -exactly- the same as the XR model.. If so, this may be a cheaper and easier route..


Can someone vouch for this? I'm planning on buying a hd24 and later on upgrading it with the ec-2 mod. If this makes it EXACTLY like the XR Jim Williams should'nt mind modding it right? - as he has stated that he no longer mods the hd24 ... right Jim ?

thanks in advance

Jannik Gade

[zulusound]

I've got an EC-2 converter (turns your Alesis HD24 into an HD24XR) for sale, brand new in box, never installed.. PM interest.

Evan

[loujudson]

Originally Posted by thermos

FWIW, Jim said the clock in the HD24XR is great.

Yes, the clock is good and accurate, but nobody has mentioned here that the 44.1 clock is slightly off speed - if you import tracks into a DAW and try ti match them up with somehting recorded at the same time without sync, they will drift off within a minute.

Thus for 44.1 I ALWAYS run the HD24 from external clock...

For the best information on HD24 and XR try HD24@yahoogroups.

Lou

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by Jannikg

Can someone vouch for this? I'm planning on buying a hd24 and later on upgrading it with the ec-2 mod. If this makes it EXACTLY like the XR Jim Williams should'nt mind modding it right? - as he has stated that he no longer mods the hd24 ... right Jim ?

thanks in advance

Jannik Gade

First off, yes, the EC-2 kit is exactly the same converters as those found in the XR, so once installed you have an HD24XR.

I believe Jim still mods the XR version of the HD24 by upgrading the power supply, using different caps in other parts of the circuit, and a few other component upgrades.

Cheers,
--
Don