Thinking about an EC-2 upgrade for HD24..

[XLR2XLR]

Is it a good upgrade?

Thanks

[talbe1019]

Originally Posted by XLR2XLR

Is it a good upgrade?

Thanks

I am extremely happy with mine. I only record at 48k but the converters seem to sound better. I think the general concensus is that it is a good way to spend $700 US.

[Remoteness]

We have a few HD24XRs and love them much.

I grabbed a HD24 on eBay a while back for no money.
I found an EC-2 kit on eBay for $600.00 USD with a "Best offer" bid and I also had a eBay/PayPal coupon for $100.00, so I ended up paying $500.00 USD for the kit.

We haven't installed it yet, but plan to do it this week.
The eBay HD24 has very old firmware (1.04) and the kit needs at least 1.05 to work.
I believe Alesis is up to 1.20 which was last updated in 2004.

So, we need to install the firmware than install the EC-2 kit for everything to work properly.

I'm looking forward to the update and upgrade since I really like the sound of those converters.

[XLR2XLR]

That seems promising

thanks

[edwinhurwitz]

It's the best thing you can do for an HD24. I did the upgrade for mine and the difference was not subtle, even at 44.1 or 48. It brings the machine up to a whole other level of performance.

I say go for it and don't look back.

Edwin

[GordZilla]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

We have a few HD24XRs and love them much.

I grabbed a HD24 on eBay a while back for no money.
I found an EC-2 kit on eBay for $600.00 USD with a "Best offer" bid and I also had a eBay/PayPal coupon for $100.00, so I ended up paying $500.00 USD for the kit.

We haven't installed it yet, but plan to do it this week.
The eBay HD24 has very old firmware (1.04) and the kit needs at least 1.05 to work.
I believe Alesis is up to 1.20 which was last updated in 2004.

So, we need to install the firmware than install the EC-2 kit for everything to work properly.

I'm looking forward to the update and upgrade since I really like the sound of those converters.

Man.. I'm jeleaous as hell

I have been keeping my open for an EC-2 kit on eBay off and on for over a year... very rare that you see one. Been rather busy of late, so I have not had a chance to check for one lately, and sure enough, one comes up... oh well Looks like you got it for a real good price too... good on ya

[Corran]

I seem to remember seeing EC-2's often? Or maybe it was from a dealer which would be higher prices.

I just got an HD24XR and so far have really liked it. I didn't use the regular one though so I have no point of comparison.

For reference I paid exactly $1000 for my HD24XR. I think I got a good deal! (Came with two hard drives, a 250gb and 80gb as well and the remote.)

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by GordZilla

Man.. I'm jeleaous as hell

I have been keeping my open for an EC-2 kit on eBay off and on for over a year... very rare that you see one. Been rather busy of late, so I have not had a chance to check for one lately, and sure enough, one comes up... oh well Looks like you got it for a real good price too... good on ya

The cat I bought the EC-2 on eBay had three of them to start.
No one bid on the best offer, so I got it at a great price...

The rest finally sold at a higher price if I'm not mistaken.

Originally Posted by Corran

...I just got an HD24XR and so far have really liked it. I didn't use the regular one though so I have no point of comparison.

For reference I paid exactly $1000 for my HD24XR. I think I got a good deal! (Came with two hard drives, a 250gb and 80gb as well and the remote.)

That's a great deal, especially with the two drives.
Did the drives come with the caddies too?
If so, that's a very nice deal indeed.

[Corran]

Yep, caddies included!

I think it was installed in a church for a year and they never used it...

[Remoteness]

That's a pretty sweet deal!

[GordZilla]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

That's a pretty sweet deal!

+101 on that!! $1k for all that is phenominal

I paid over $1800 CDN for my plain Jane HD24 (back in '05). Bought it from a bigger Canadian outlet (Mothers). This was way before I had discovered eBay

[XLR2XLR]

Well I bought the EC-2 and installed it today. No musical testing as yet, I will run tone and FST connect them to my PC later to test they work ok.

All boots and can see 88.2kHz and 96kHz options, it has AKM converters and I see the Opamps are mc3307's or something on the A/D board with some polyprop caps replacing some of the electrolytics. In additiona the manual states that the i/o is now true differencial and not impedance balanced.

There is quite a bit of better electronics on the board and I am looking forward to hearing them !

Call me fussy, but I wanted my sticker to show I have the EC-2 board installed there was
nothing in the box, shame about that. I wanted to show that "XR" sticker with pride !

cheers

[joelpatterson]

You could take a pen-knife and gouge "XR" into the faceplate...?

[Corran]

I know what you mean - it's nice to have the "XR" on the actual unit!

So I should mention I shopped for about 6-8 months looking for a deal on the HD24XR. I almost caved and got the regular one for like $700 a couple times but I waited, and I'm glad I did.

I'm recording an opera this weekend with it and will probably be sharing the results (and asking how to make it better) when it's done.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by XLR2XLR

Well I bought the EC-2 and installed it today. No musical testing as yet, I will run tone and FST connect them to my PC later to test they work ok.

All boots and can see 88.2kHz and 96kHz options, it has AKM converters and I see the Opamps are mc3307's or something on the A/D board with some polyprop caps replacing some of the electrolytics. In additiona the manual states that the i/o is now true differencial and not impedance balanced.

There is quite a bit of better electronics on the board and I am looking forward to hearing them !

Call me fussy, but I wanted my sticker to show I have the EC-2 board installed there was
nothing in the box, shame about that. I wanted to show that "XR" sticker with pride !

cheers

Awesome!

It's a very nice improvement for a inexpensive device.

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

You could take a pen-knife and gouge "XR" into the faceplate...?

Or, maybe laser engrave the XR emblem.

Originally Posted by Corran

I know what you mean - it's nice to have the "XR" on the actual unit!

So I should mention I shopped for about 6-8 months looking for a deal on the HD24XR. I almost caved and got the regular one for like $700 a couple times but I waited, and I'm glad I did.

I'm recording an opera this weekend with it and will probably be sharing the results (and asking how to make it better) when it's done.

Imagine what everyone would think when they hear that high quality sound and look over to the HD24 and there is no XR on the box...

They are going to think you're a master at your craft.

[mixedupsteve]

I've started looking recently and would kill for that deal. Looks like I'll have to go the Sharpie route. I'm running no backup now!

[XLR2XLR]

Yep, run tone through it for 30 secs per channel, transfer seems to suggest
all is in order.

Running it in / testing it today, I also need to check if 2 HD24's will run on my single UPS. (I am hoping it will run for a few mins just so I can press stop if need be)

My next job involves running 2 x HD24's, 24 channels only, I have a standard unit (back up!) and the
upgraded unit. I am multing direct outs on this job (splitting TRS to both HD24's)

I am wondering if there could be an issue with the output of the desk seeing
2 diff input stages, one impedance balanced and 1 true differencial?

Input impedance seems to be the same for both upgraded and standard.

Any ideas?

[mixedupsteve]

I don't think the methods of balancing will matter. Two line level devices with an impedance of 10k each would be seen as 5k by the desk which should also be no problem. You might detect a slight tone shift but I doubt it.

[matskull]

How are the converters on a regular HD24?

How do they compare to let's say m-audio or digi002 converters?

I saw a used HD24 for sale locally for 1300$ CAD, the new HD24XR are 2600$ CAD, so the used HD24 is half the price of a new HD24XR, I could eventually upgrade the converters but I'm curious to know how they sound "stock"...

Here's what I want to do, I want to use my DAW as a recorder only and for basic editing and midi sequencer if needed.

I'll put the screen aside and get a console to mix OTB, please don't start a debate here.

I work in post-production, in front of nuendo or protools 40 hours a week, when I come back home at night and want to record my stuff, I really don't want to be in front of a computer again, I want to hit record and push the faders up.
I rarelly record other band but it happens sometimes.

So I want to either get more i/o for my DAW and set a minimal recording template in it, get a smaller screen, put it somewhere I won't see it all the time or get a multitrack recorder like the HD24 and let the DAW shut down unless I really need it.

The DAW is really holding my inspiration back, I used to love to play arround in a DAW but I'm now sick of it.

I'd get a tape machine if I could but I don't have the space for it.

So what do you think about the HD24, does it sound good, anything else in this price range would be better, what's a good price for a used one?

Lots of questions but I'd really like some answers.
thanks a lot

[matskull]

Those HD24 don't seem to be easy to find on the used market...

I found one localy for 1300$ CAD plus taxes, it's 2 years old and have been used as a backup only 6 or 7 times.

What do you think?

[Remoteness]

IMO, it's a bit pricey especially since you still need to get the EC2 if you want the better AD/DAs...

As you folks have gathered from this thread I found one for a lot less on eBay.
I added the EC-2 kit and it cost a total of $1000.00 USD.

If you really need it grab it, but I would wait and see what's coming around next.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

IMO, it's a bit pricey especially since you still need to get the EC2 if you want the better AD/DAs...

As you folks have gathered from this thread I found one for a lot less on eBay.
I added the EC-2 kit and it cost a total of $1000.00 USD.

If you really need it grab it, but I would wait and see what's coming around next.

Good price!

Yeah I think I'm better to wait for a better deal.

How do you like yours, what would you compare it to soundwise?

[Remoteness]

A HD24 with the EC-2 kit sounds like a HD24XR without the XR badge.
I'm not sure if I answered the question correctly, but...

[matskull]

Originally Posted by Remoteness

A HD24 with the EC-2 kit sounds like a HD24XR without the XR badge.
I'm not sure if I answered the question correctly, but...

I was thinking about its sound compared to....lets say a fireface 800?

[bishopthomas]

The XR converters have been compared favorably with the Radar converters. If you have the HD24XR then the converters will probably be good enough for a while.

[matskull]

Originally Posted by bishopthomas

The XR converters have been compared favorably with the Radar converters. If you have the HD24XR then the converters will probably be good enough for a while.

Thanks, that's good to hear.

[BenJah]

My hd24xr sounds better than my old lynx2 card. I have zero thoughts on upgrading my IO now.

I'm not sure how the hd24 original converters sound but the hdxr converters are truley pro level.

I say by the EC-2 as it will impove every recording you ever do with the hd24.

Cheers

[talbe1019]

Originally Posted by BenJah

My hd24xr sounds better than my old lynx2 card. I have zero thoughts on upgrading my IO now.

I'm not sure how the hd24 original converters sound but the hdxr converters are truley pro level.

I say by the EC-2 as it will impove every recording you ever do with the hd24.

Cheers

I finally got to go in and mixdown some of the recordings I made with the XR converters and the ATI preamps (I had a Soundcraft Ghost previously) and there is a world of difference between what I was used to. I have no regrets spending the $ doing it.

[hughshouse]

I did the HD24 upgrade more than 3 years ago and had I known in advance the amount of improvement it would provide I could have saved the pile of $ I spent on a Pwr. Mac G5, Logic, RME HDSP9632, and a Fireport. I started out with a Mackie 24 8bus and used unbalanced insert cables to connect with my new unbalanced HD24 converters.. The perceivable distortion was increased with each ADA conversion for post tracking processing and the ultimate two mix. I contacted Robert Ray, a very bright and most helpful tech chief at alesis, and he suggested the converter upgrade. The installation was relatively simple but I ordered 24 new custom TRS balanced cables and took delivery on a new A&H 2800 series console (to be used mostly for SR concert work) and did not get the full system operational till one of the first ADL 600s came into my studio. (My new console set up required external pres. for overdubing) WOW--I could not believe the difference! I am certain I am creating a small measurable amount of distortion with multiple conversions for external processing: however they are not perceivable to my ears any more. Bottom line --I have not used Logic at all in the three + years I have owned it. I plan to purchase an ADL 700 when they are released this summer in order to better process vocals before they are fed to the very clean AKM converters in my HD24.
Hugh
(There are only two kinds of music--BLUEGRASS & zipidy do da)

[matskull]

ok guys, it's really tempting to get in debt again to get one lol

Do you think it'd be worth it to get one (XR or not) to replace my m-audio delta-1010 and possibly ditch the daw completely, would the hd24 (not XR) be a little improvement over the 1010 or pretty much the same?

I'd like to keep the daw around just for when I'd need more editing features but I wouldn't need my delta-1010 anymore so I could sell it.

What would be a good and cheap adat lightpipe interface, firewire could be nice, to transfert from the hd24 to the daw (and the other way arround)?

I want to know how much exactly I would have to spend, what I could sell and what I could not....stuff like that.

thanks