24 Track HDD Recorders?

[tourtelot]

There is the JoeCo, the discontinued Alesis HD24XR, the Mackie, and the Fostex. Oh, the really expensive Sadie. Am I missing any other good choices for a 24 track backup recorder? I prefer AES inputs on 25D but would be okay with analog or ADAT (lightpipe) inputs.

D.

[gareth.h.rees]

Radar and Tascam X-48 come to mind, although more expensive than most

[Gerax]

I've been using a Mackie SDR2496 for about 6 or 7 years now and it never let me down; I've dragged it in every location gig I've done and I've never had any issues. It comes with both analog (Db25) and ADAT I/O. If you want AES I/O you could as well look for an MDR or HDR also from Mackie that could be configured for multiple I/O options, AES being one of those.

Hipe this helps

[gareth.h.rees]

Oh and don't Genex (or someone like that?) make HDR's?

[Bixby]

The Alesis is discontinued?

[ajcamlet]

Originally Posted by Bixby

The Alesis is discontinued?

Seemingly, yes. they dropped support for it, and the box only takes IDE/ATA drives which are extremely hard to find now a days. They said they have no plans to update it to SATA, nor plans to support the fireport software.

[bkbirge]

Originally Posted by ajcamlet

Seemingly, yes. they dropped support for it, and the box only takes IDE/ATA drives which are extremely hard to find now a days. They said they have no plans to update it to SATA, nor plans to support the fireport software.

They still list both models on their website. If it's discontinued they haven't officially stated that. IIRC some guys on the HD24 list have gotten SATA drives to work. I love mine but I'm a dinosaur and can't stand making music with a mouse and I can't get 2" tape anymore. The HD24 is poor man's RADAR and sounds great.

[Bixby]

Newegg still has some IDE/ATA drives. I should probably just purchase a couple and keep them on the shelf. We use ours as a backup, so most of the times the files get deleted after our primary recorder files are checked. Though I did just use fireport with no problems on a Mac with Leopard the other day.

I think I would go with the JoeCo box if the Alesis stops working for us. Though I do wish the monitoring was better.

[Tommy-boy]

I thought that Mackie discontinued their HD recorders a while back. I don't think you can get them anymore, unless you buy used.

[BFSound]

IDE drives are not hard to find so anyone with an alesis is fine, plus if you just backup with firewire then erase and reuse your good any how.

[d1rtynyc]

You can still find the Alesis HD24's new, just the XRs have been dropped.

As mentioned by Bixby,
You should also look at the JoeCo Blackbox recorders.
24bit/96k, 1 rack space, 24, Solid State & tons of I/O options.
JoeCo - Home of the BlackBox Recorder

[pkautzsch]

Fostex D 2424 LV hasn't been mentioned yet.

[Remoteness]

Originally Posted by Bixby

The Alesis is discontinued?

The HD24XR has been dropped and I bet the HD24 will also be dropped once they run out of parts to build more units.

It's a crying shame someone didn't buy the rights to that device and continue the development.
It has been a serious workhorse for us.

Originally Posted by ajcamlet

Seemingly, yes. they dropped support for it, and the box only takes IDE/ATA drives which are extremely hard to find now a days. They said they have no plans to update it to SATA, nor plans to support the fireport software.

This is why I purchased every EIDE / IDE drive I could find - Staples was blowing out 320 gig drives for small money; I travelled to every Staples in my area and bought them all. I have plenty of 320 gig EIDE drives w/ caddies ready to record.

IMO, Alesis, like many other manufacturers have turned away from producing professional products to producing much more profitable products...

They are now part of the ever grown toy manufacturers we sometimes call audio manufacturers.

Originally Posted by bkbirge

They still list both models on their website. If it's discontinued they haven't officially stated that. IIRC some guys on the HD24 list have gotten SATA drives to work. I love mine but I'm a dinosaur and can't stand making music with a mouse and I can't get 2" tape anymore. The HD24 is poor man's RADAR and sounds great.

FYI, the HD24XR is officially discontinued.
Check any online store and you will see that they listed it as a discontinued item.
My new hunt is to buy every HD24XR (at a reasonable price) I can find...

I just found two in great condition; I'm waiting for delivery.
I believe we now have at least five HD24XRs in our shop.
Well, one is actually a HD24 with the EC-2 upgrade.

Originally Posted by Bixby

Newegg still has some IDE/ATA drives. I should probably just purchase a couple and keep them on the shelf. We use ours as a backup, so most of the times the files get deleted after our primary recorder files are checked. Though I did just use fireport with no problems on a Mac with Leopard the other day.

I think I would go with the JoeCo box if the Alesis stops working for us. Though I do wish the monitoring was better.

Not a bad idea. Extra drives just sitting on the shelf is a simple solution for sure.

We also usually delete our IDE drives once they're successfully transferred and/or delivered to the client.

We also have a few Fireport just because I like to have extras sitting around.

It's good to hear that the Fireport software works with Leopard.

Originally Posted by d1rtynyc

You can still find the Alesis HD24's new, just the XRs have been dropped.

As mentioned by Bixby,
You should also look at the JoeCo Blackbox recorders.
24bit/96k, 1 rack space, 24, Solid State & tons of I/O options.
JoeCo - Home of the BlackBox Recorder

Yep on both counts!

[MichaelPatrick]

There is now a short period of time to get new equivalent of HD24XR by buying what's left of HD24recorders and EC-2 upgrades from dealers. Who knows how long they'll last?

I think JoeCo's market timing is either lucky or impeccable.

[noamraz]

Magic Sound offer some kind of a solution for the HD24's incompatibility with SATA drives:
Magic Sound SATA24

They have provided a list of compatible SATA drives.

I personally, still use IDE drives for my unit but thinking about this direction as i am about to host an additional hd24xr unit later on this year.

Best regards,
Noam.

[Croaker]

Originally Posted by noamraz

Magic Sound offer some kind of a solution for the HD24's incompatibility with SATA drives:
Magic Sound SATA24

They have provided a list of compatible SATA drives.

I personally, still use IDE drives for my unit but thinking about this direction as i am about to host an additional hd24xr unit later on this year.

Best regards,
Noam.

Yes,
I use SATA drives all the time in my HD24XR with the Magic sounds SATA caddies...no problems. Alan at Magic Sound is a great guy. They cost a bit more but a 500GB has a lot of recording time.

I recently picked up some Seagate 500GB SATA drives for 54$ at Newegg.
_________________

[cheu78]

Yes, It's a shame that they discontinued the xr...
Thx Noam and Tom for letting us know this Sata option (I'm dumb and I didn't know them )
If you want an upgrade give your xr to Jim Williams.. It will come back better sounding and quieter!

bests,

Cheu

[Plush]

Also remember that the HD 24 has the same performance audio wise as the
XR if it is used with good converters. Endorsed!

[Croaker]

Originally Posted by cheu78

Yes, It's a shame that they discontinued the xr...
Thx Noam and Tom for letting us know this Sata option (I'm dumb and I didn't know them )
If you want an upgrade give your xr to Jim Williams.. It will come back better sounding and quieter!

bests,

Cheu

not dumb at all! I found out about them from someone here. One of the main reasons I like GS is the amount of helpful people here. I have a unit modded by Jim and it does sound good and is really quiet.

I agree its a dam shame they discontinued. Great product. I love it, dependable, good sounding, easy to use and relatively cheap to buy and use.

I have both versions. I should probably have Jim mod my other one, get a XR converter pack and store it for use as a backup unit. No computer here so I really rely on it.