PTHD & Lynx Aurora 16/LT-HD Card in the house.

[amost]

PT Haters stay out.

Blah blah blah etc. Just sold an 002R w/Toolkit and on a Mac Pro for me... performance was over the top with that combo but it lacks what it lacks. Native Plugin count ain't one of the things it lacks however. I had a Lynx Two A once & was a fan so this combo intrigued me although I've seen many a 192 in very nice studios in town despite the negativity you read here. The Aurora 16 seemed like a good deal though so I went with that. Plus they actually will talk to you on the phone.

PCIe Card...Jeez! Digging around in this spendy gear wears ya out. There's about a gnat's hair of extra space getting that thing in. Flexing the LT-HD card to make the pins fit is semi frightening also.

The Aurora sounds excellent. What can ya say...that alone is probably making the biggest difference. Pulled up a PTLE session and the timing was weird. Forgot to pull all the Time Adjuster Plugs off....aaahhh! No more Time Adjuster. A thing of beauty plus the Blue instead of Brown sphere alone is worth the extra coin. iLok authorization still sucks though.

Thanks to the assistance of many here.

[kittonian]

Glad you're digging the Aurora16+LT-HD. It's an amazing sounding solution for sure and works incredibly well with PT|HD. However, I have to question where you purchased the Aurora16 and the LT-HD from if you purchased at the same time because I always make sure that the LT-HD is pre-installed into the Aurora16 and tested as such prior to shipping a unit out. I've heard from people that they had to install firmware updates, the LT-HD card, etc. when they got their equipment delivered. That just seems like a silly way to do things because it introduces so many possibilities of things going wrong and customers having problems.

[amost]

They were from different places. One place didn't sell both pieces. Lynx advised for me to send to them and they'd install. The firmware on the Aurora was flashing 1-6 so I dunno that seems like the latest version? So far so good but yeah I have hardly anytime on the rig so we'll see. Thanks for the warning though.

[barryjohns]

Congrats man!!!!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by kittonian

I've heard from people that they had to install firmware updates, the LT-HD card, etc. when they got their equipment delivered. That just seems like a silly way to do things because it introduces so many possibilities of things going wrong and customers having problems.

i recently switched over to pro tools HD, and decided to keep my auroras. i just went through the whole firmware update routine after installing the LT-HD cards in the 2 aurora units (16 and 8). fortunately the lynx tech support was very helpful in getting it all done, and it's working great with the HD2 system. one thing i've noticed is that when pro tools is launched the second aurora is never clocked properly - i always have to go into the hardware setup menu and designate the clock setting (the aurora 8 is slaved to the aurora 16). other than that, it has been solid as a rock.

[kittonian]

Originally Posted by magellan

i recently switched over to pro tools HD, and decided to keep my auroras. i just went through the whole firmware update routine after installing the LT-HD cards in the 2 aurora units (16 and 8). fortunately the lynx tech support was very helpful in getting it all done, and it's working great with the HD2 system. one thing i've noticed is that when pro tools is launched the second aurora is never clocked properly - i always have to go into the hardware setup menu and designate the clock setting (the aurora 8 is slaved to the aurora 16). other than that, it has been solid as a rock.

That should not happen and doesn't happen with my Aurora16+LT-HD setup. Have you enabled advanced routing mode by powering up the computer/Aurora (not yet starting PT) and holding the "To Analog Out" button for a second or so until the Aurora flashes? That will enable advanced routing mode and give you 16x16 analog AND 16x16 AES/EBU all at the same time, plus it will show up in PT as (2) Digi 192 i/o's (each with 16 channels). Bear in mind that 192 i/o #1 is 1-8 (analog 1-8) and 9-16 (digital 1-8) whereas 192 i/o #2 is 1-8 (analog 9-16) and 9-16 (digital 9-16). The clocking will be no different no matter what the port is that you are using on the Aurora. Set it in PT and that's all there is to it.

Should this not work for whatever reason, unplug the Aurora (physically unplug the power cable) and hold the power button down and plug the power cable back into the Aurora (basically immediately applying power). This will reset the Aurora and then you can re-enable advanced routing mode and should be fine.

You should be running BNC wordclock out of the 1st Aurora (the 16 which is being used as the master clock) into the BNC wordclock IN on the Aurora8. Both should have LT-HD cards and the Aurora16 should be connected to the CORE card and the Aurora8 should be connected to the 1st Accel card in your system. Set the Aurora8 to slave and the Aurora16 to internal. All should be well.

Hope that helps!

[amost]

Been an interesting day trying things out. I don't have many TDM plugs so been trying to get a handle on how it does with RTAS. Toggled back and forth on the Lynx between 16 & 32 mode. Everything seems to be working as advertised...and that thing does sound good. It also gets hot as advertised!

[barryjohns]

Download the Massey Demo plugs, they are a good start to just play around. Remember, the TDM plugs that came with your HD1 as well.

Remember:

You have to turn on Delay Compensation if you want it on; it is off by default
Turn the view on to show the compensation
RTAS Plugs 1st
TDM Plugs 2nd
Keep Aux Tracks to TDM Plugs

[amost]

Originally Posted by barryjohns

Download the Massey Demo plugs, they are a good start to just play around. Remember, the TDM plugs that came with your HD1 as well.

Remember:

You have to turn on Delay Compensation if you want it on; it is off by default
Turn the view on to show the compensation
RTAS Plugs 1st
TDM Plugs 2nd
Keep Aux Tracks to TDM Plugs

Thanks yeah I've have the CT4 and checked the delay out. Yeah I'm all about the compensation. You know I'm really not finding a problem with RTAS on auxes...as far as mixing. Everything seems fine. Recording I'm trying to find the edge of unacceptable for plugs on..just to try it. I don't really record with plugs anyway...a little verb maybe. Thanks for the tips.

[magellan]

Originally Posted by kittonian

Should this not work for whatever reason, unplug the Aurora (physically unplug the power cable) and hold the power button down and plug the power cable back into the Aurora (basically immediately applying power). This will reset the Aurora and then you can re-enable advanced routing mode and should be fine.

ya, i had to do the full reset on the auroras, and now everything works perfectly - thanks for your help!

[amost]

Okay, another PCIe card later I'm now officially HD2. Extra horsepower & voices good. Say whachu will....this thing performs really well.

[barryjohns]

Right on Man! I ended up selling my Aurora 8 and bought an Aurora 16. Just got a dual 14 space rack from Argosy and a new TT / DB25 Patchbay and cables from Redco, got everything re-racked/re-wired. I bought Logic 8 to check it out, found it interesting at first, but after a week with it, now not too much. With the power of a MacPro and an HD2, it really is enough to do about anything. Plenty horsepower to use lots of RTAS Plugs and TDM Plugs. You can't beat hardware compression, and HD allows me to insert my hardware, something I found too hard in the Native world when primarily mixing ITB.

Thinking about getting another Aurora 16 to use just for inserts. I’ve still got a few channels of outs left on my main unit, good for a couple of head phone mixes, but am out of In’s. I really like my Pre’s hardwired directly without patching.

Sometimes I just have to pinch myself, my home studio is a dream come(ing) true. I have been blessed.

With all this talk about Logic 8, glad to hear you are still happy with your purchase, I know that I am.

Take Care,

Barry

[CorkyTart]

Can you explain the improvement of the converters comparted to the 192s?

Originally Posted by amost

The Aurora sounds excellent. What can ya say....

[danocaster]

I also made this leap recently - from a fully expanded LE rig to a Mac Pro powered HD2 / Aurora 16 rig and the difference is pretty huge in my opinion

I know I have new converters - and now , like Barry everything is racked up and in a Redco Patchbay but my life is transformed !!

It all SOUNDS much better, I can easily patch in 1176s and other outboard hardware, track count is a NON issue, delay compensation, nicer plugs that arent available as native

As someone who make a living doing this, frankly, I can believe i waited so long !!

SUPER SUPER happy w/ the new rig

And Kittonian :

I bought my Lynx / LT-HD from GC Pro and I had to install the card myself.. No problems, seemed relatively painless, and everything is working without a hitch

I've been tracking and mixing for nearly 3 weeks and not a single bug or issue

Sessions w/ 60+ tracks and tons of plugs arent even BEGINNING to tax the new rig !!

Best thing I ever did ( besides marry a hot chic who's a musician also )

[amost]

Originally Posted by CorkyTart

Can you explain the improvement of the converters comparted to the 192s?

Well if I could have found a deal on a 192 I might have bought it but I owned a Lynx Two A once and liked it so I thought the Aurora 16 was a no brainer. I'm not a 192 hater though...most studios that I see have them - just that the Aurora was do-able for me.

[Jack Ruston]

Feeling the love here too...

Recently ditched 2 192's for an aurora 16 and I'm very happy with it indeed.

J

[dave-G]

Is there any way with the Auroras to get something akin to the "Encl AES" I/O on the 192? Do they even have AES I/O on them too? (I'm not clear on whether you forfeit AES I/O to get the LT-HD card in there)

-dave

[kittonian]

Originally Posted by dave-G

Is there any way with the Auroras to get something akin to the "Encl AES" I/O on the 192? Do they even have AES I/O on them too? (I'm not clear on whether you forfeit AES I/O to get the LT-HD card in there)

-dave

Dave,

The Aurora16 with the LT-HD set to advanced routing mode gives you:

16x16 analog
16x16 aes/ebu

both at the same time, full channel count up to 192khz. It's like having two fully populated 192's and a digital 192 all at the same time in 1U of rack space with no noisy fan.

[Byrne]

I love my HD / Aurora setup. The guys at Lynx were also great the one time that I had a small hiccup (that turned out to be operator error, anyway) so props to them for that.

Also Dave, I believe that the AES and analog inputs function simultaneously. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, I'm at my other job and don't have the manual handy...

GO LYNX

[dave-G]

Originally Posted by Byrne

Also Dave, I believe that the AES and analog inputs function simultaneously.

Simultaneously as mults of what's going out the analog section, or independently-simultaneously? And -- in the "Advanced Routing Mode" mentioned above, is that controlled within PT as if it were a pair of 192s?

32x32 via 16 analog and 16 digital would indeed seem pretty nice. I have heard from friends that these things sound very good, so if they do, and do all this, it would pretty easily push me to selling my 192s. Hard not to doubt what's being said here though as too good to be true.

-dave

[bassie12]

Simultaneously and independently. The Aurora 16s deliver everything they promise. Rock solid, beautiful detailed sound, and flexibilty. I'm loving my HD3 rig with 48 analog i/o via 3xAurora16s. The extra 48 ch of AES i/o is icing on the cake. I can send a mix or a reference signal (extenal digital meters or FX gear) anywhere, anytime. Diggin it big time