Radar 24 Classic vs. Alesis HD24XR

[Frenchie Smith]

Originally Posted by soundwarrior

My masterlink has been very reliable before and after the upgrade. No complaints here.

Dear Slutz
I've seen 4 Masterlinks die in 5 years.
My hd24 has been a champ.
Even the inboard a/d has been fine for me, it's sweeter clocking to Lavry a/d.
It FFreaks OOUT being near loud sources/vibrations.
Get it far from drums/bass rigs.
I've tried commando recordings, where I was in the middle of the band recording on my rig, the Alesis threw out error message after message, killing it's drive too.
Yes, the music was LOUD!!
The fan is noisey.
It's a bummer, because you really need to unit close to you to move quickly.
The remote is ironic.
Affordable solid ass piece!!!
Masterlink?
It needs therapy
ps, radar in my dreams now, reality this summer!
Frenchie

[Frenchie Smith]

Update slutz
I'm now working with a Iz Radar 24, using it at 48k/24 bit.
I'm using the ad/da in it.
No external clock.
The radar punishes the Alesishd24 in a cruel way.
The Radar is great sounding.
Frenchie

[skybluerental]

Originally Posted by Frenchie Smith

Update slutz
I'm now working with a Iz Radar 24, using it at 48k/24 bit.
I'm using the ad/da in it.
No external clock.
The radar punishes the Alesishd24 in a cruel way.
The Radar is great sounding.
Frenchie

have you had a chance to listen to the side by side?

i love my radar.

[zakco]

Originally Posted by skybluerental

i love my radar.

ahem...

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by Frenchie Smith

Update slutz
I'm now working with a Iz Radar 24, using it at 48k/24 bit.
I'm using the ad/da in it.
No external clock.
The radar punishes the Alesishd24 in a cruel way.
The Radar is great sounding.
Frenchie

What console are you using with it?

[skybluerental]

Originally Posted by zakco

ahem...

thanks zak.
: )
your old radar 24 is purring away and my old radar 2 is already sold.

do you know anybody who wants an IZ UFC 24???

i have used HD 24's a bit and always thought they sounded pretty good.
i have never heard a RADAR and an HD 24 side by side but i am very interested in what the differences would be. something tells me that the RADAR might sound a little better, but i have to say, the stuff i have heard on HD 24's sounded quite good. they seem like good machines.
still, something about the way stuff sounds off the RADAR still keeps me working on it or at least through it for AD/DA.

my analogy is that the HD 24 is like a toyota camry and the RADAR more like a BMW. both are fine man made machines, but one is just a bit nicer and much more expensive.

[Frenchie Smith]

Originally Posted by skybluerental

have you had a chance to listen to the side by side?

i love my radar.

Hi SkyBlue
My point of view is in an aural sense.
The HD 24 served me well.
It capuled vocals great, and Guitar.
However, drums and Bass felt distant.
My consoles are just used as line returns.
(neve 8816 and Neotek Elan)
My input chain is usually BAE 1084.

I agree the HD 24 is similar to a Camry, and Radar is more boutique, a BMW, that's great!'

The way Radar sounds is super.
It kinda wows me.
The work flow is more in tune with my music.
Cutting basics to Radar and bouncing to analogue back to Radar is blowing my mind.
The export to PT is quick!!!

With the HD 24, I didn't want to explore another a/d stage.

When legends like Mike Chapman use Radar, I knew it was the right choice for me.
Frenchie

[marty lester]

Originally Posted by Frenchie Smith

Hi SkyBlue
My point of view is in an aural sense.
The HD 24 served me well.
It capuled vocals great, and Guitar.
However, drums and Bass felt distant.
My consoles are just used as line returns.
(neve 8816 and Neotek Elan)
My input chain is usually BAE 1084.

I agree the HD 24 is similar to a Camry, and Radar is more boutique, a BMW, that's great!'

The way Radar sounds is super.
It kinda wows me.
The work flow is more in tune with my music.
Cutting basics to Radar and bouncing to analogue back to Radar is blowing my mind.
The export to PT is quick!!!

With the HD 24, I didn't want to explore another a/d stage.

When legends like Mike Chapman use Radar, I knew it was the right choice for me.
Frenchie

congrats Frenchie. don't know Mike Chapman, but if you like it that's
good enough for me.

marty.

[LX3]

Hope no-one's trying to compare the standard HD24 with a Radar. I don't think the standard HD24 bears comparison with anything... it's not good IMO.

(Okay it's better than my old Fostex 8-track... And you could certainly make a great record on it. But it's not the best sounding digital multitrack ever made.)

The HD24XR on the other hand is a whole different ball-game. We've done a bunch of stellar-sounding live releases on the XR. And while I've never been in a position to AB it with a Radar, I've A-B'd it with other recorders, some four times the price of the Alesis... and the Alesis was better. In fact, the XR at 48kHz was clearly preferred over the 4x more expensive hardware recorder running at 96kHz.

I'd summarise thus:

If you're on a budget and you can survive with some of the limitations, the XR rocks. It's blissfully easy to use too.

If you have $10,000 to spend, and need timecode and/or the kudos that comes with the Radar, get a Radar.

[Frenchie Smith]

Originally Posted by marty lester

congrats Frenchie. don't know Mike Chapman, but if you like it that's
good enough for me.

marty.

Mo,
Nice to visit with you.
You are a class act in life and music.
If u want to hear me Radar, I'm in session this week!!
Frenchie

[noamraz]

The only major downside of the hd24 is the IDE caddys - IDE drives are hard to get nowdays..

IMO

[skybluerental]

Originally Posted by Frenchie Smith

Hi SkyBlue
My point of view is in an aural sense.
The HD 24 served me well.
It capuled vocals great, and Guitar.
However, drums and Bass felt distant.
My consoles are just used as line returns.
(neve 8816 and Neotek Elan)
My input chain is usually BAE 1084.

I agree the HD 24 is similar to a Camry, and Radar is more boutique, a BMW, that's great!'

The way Radar sounds is super.
It kinda wows me.
The work flow is more in tune with my music.
Cutting basics to Radar and bouncing to analogue back to Radar is blowing my mind.
The export to PT is quick!!!

With the HD 24, I didn't want to explore another a/d stage.

When legends like Mike Chapman use Radar, I knew it was the right choice for me.
Frenchie

frenchie,
there is no question that the RADAR sounds amazing.
interesting to hear your conclusions about the differences in sound between it and the HD24. it seems like drums and bass are always the thing that separates the good from the great. its the same way with tape vs digital. the drums and bass are the things that always sound better off tape.

if i have a bunch of really good players performing live i will cut basics to the RADAR and dump to pro tools also. much of the time i am just using the RADAR as AD/DA though.

nice to have you on the forums. i see you have worked on some nice sounding records.
well done.

[Unique]

Whether to select a nice sounding reliable pro piece of gear (backed with support) or going with low cost MI stuff? Was there a question?

[Remoteness]

We use low cost MI stuff (which happens to sound nice) and get great results.

IMO, there is no right or wrong here.
For many it's about the amount of machines they may want to own and their budget to make that so...

It's all good, as long as your strategies are in place.

Originally Posted by Unique

Whether to select a nice sounding reliable pro piece of gear (backed with support) or going with low cost MI stuff? Was there a question?

[idylldon]

Originally Posted by noamraz

The only major downside of the hd24 is the IDE caddys - IDE drives are hard to get nowdays..

IMO

Not anymore.

Magic Sound SATA24

Cheers,
--
Don

[LX3]

Ooh-hoo, if those caddies will work with an SATA SSD, I might just pull my HD24XRs off the "For Sale" forum and put them back into service.

I sometimes miss the ease of use of the HD24. And from time to time the ADAT interfacing is really handy. And they do sound fantastic.

BTW, if anyone's desperate for IDE drives (in the UK I guess), I have a number of Seagates going.

[noamraz]

True thumbsup

It's the time to get these SSD going, It's been out for a while and would be perfect for us who work outdoors..

If any1 has any experience with these sata caddys with standard or SSD drives, Please let us know.

[cheu78]

Originally Posted by noamraz

True thumbsup

It's the time to get these SSD going, It's been out for a while and would be perfect for us who work outdoors..

If any1 has any experience with these sata caddys with standard or SSD drives, Please let us know.

I asked the same question in a couple of threads around here..
Hopefully somebody from the hd24 yahoo group (or somebody else who tested it) will chime in..

Bests,

Cheu