MH 2882 Vs ULN@ + DBOX ? Better sonics?

[Reborn]

Hey folks,

I am closing on possibly moving to a metric halo box. I do a lot of writing sessions and I need to monitor up to 7 inputs live. Two stereo d/I for keyz, vocal and talkback mic and guitar direct. I am hearing The ULN is sonically superior to the 2882. Question is should I plug my stuff into the D-Box like a line mixer before the ULN or just get a 2882 and go direct to it? Which one would yield superior sonics. In this economy it is important for a guy like me to get this right the first time, so opinions are needed.

Also if anyone wants to mention there favorite mic for females vocals to a LA-610 that would be good info too. I was thinking peluso p12.


Last, if anyone is using Metric Halo in L.A. and wouldn't mind me coming buy to check them out this could be really helpful as I have not been able to find a demo! I am as always grateful for any help!


Anyone decide between metric Halo and ensemble by Apogee?

Jazztone

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by Reborn

Question is should I plug my stuff into the D-Box like a line mixer before the ULN or just get a 2882 and go direct to it?

If the 2882 has eight line out's, just patch them into the D-BOX's summing section. OR, you could just use the stereo inputs to monitor a stereo pair. Also, since the 2882 has SPDIF, you can ALSO add TWO MORE channels to monitor via the D-BOX DAC. This is a very flexible and powerful monitoring controller for master buss send/return feeds. As far as superior sonics, well I would suggest the D-BOX is very transparent, and any good or bad between these boxes will entirely be preference.

Also if anyone wants to mention there favorite mic for females vocals to a LA-610 that would be good info too. I was thinking peluso p12.

Telefunken AK47 going into the Great River ME1NV. I have used the 610 with this application and it works well, but the Great River is much clearer and much bigger sounding. I'm sorry if this stays from your question, but its better in my experience.

[Reborn]

Originally Posted by Roc Mixwell

If the 2882 has eight line out's, just patch them into the D-BOX's summing section. OR, you could just use the stereo inputs to monitor a stereo pair. Also, since the 2882 has SPDIF, you can ALSO add TWO MORE channels to monitor via the D-BOX DAC. This is a very flexible and powerful monitoring controller for master buss send/return feeds. As far as superior sonics, well I would suggest the D-BOX is very transparent, and any good or bad between these boxes will entirely be preference.
Telefunken AK47 going into the Great River ME1NV. I have used the 610 with this application and it works well, but the Great River is much clearer and much bigger sounding. I'm sorry if this stays from your question, but its better in my experience.

The question was the Uln with the DBox in front sending digital in to the ULN
OR

the 2882 with with my gear plugged into it and no D-BOX?



Also you said the Great River sound bigger and clearer! Clear I like but maybe not bigger because we stack alot of vocals at times 32 tracks! I have been thinking of getting a transformer based pre as an alternative to the 60's sound of the 610. I heard the ADK pre and it sounded very clear and open. Also what about the daking? I recorded vocals on a A range one time. Fantastic vocal tone came out of that "A" Range. The Neve 1073 seems to be the hot piece for Urban sung vocals but I think it's mainly the transformer sound because people with less money are getting versions of this sound with Chameleon labs and ISA pres.
Jazztone

[Doc Mixwell]

Originally Posted by Reborn

The question was the Uln with the DBox in front sending digital in to the ULN
OR

the 2882 with with my gear plugged into it and no D-BOX?

The D-BOX does not have any digital outputs. It will allow you to sum eight channels and send the analog direct outputs to a L/R feed, which can feed the 2882 ADC, all the while you would monitor the return feed either using two channels of DAC from the 2882, or bypass the 2882's DAC using the D-Box on board DAC.

Also you said the Great River sound bigger and clearer! Clear I like but maybe not bigger because we stack alot of vocals at times 32 tracks!

You will have no problem stacking vocal tracks with the Great River!!! It was designed to combat this very problem of having too much mud/muck/low mid build up. It does not do that. I work at a studio where we stack just about that many vocal tracks, [against my will] but it always sound clear as hell with the Great River and no track fights any other track. I have also found these results with the API 3124+, [or API preamp in general] as it will give you a very good sense of depth and clarity between your overdubs. I do not think for one second that you would have the same results with the 610.

[Jimbo]

I own two 2882s and used to own a ULN2. I love them all.

Honestly, just get the 2882 by itself. The sonic superiority of the ULN2 is not that great a difference. The onboard digital mixing provided by the 2882 will be very useful in your setup.

Barry Diamant produced a direct-to-stereo recording (as both a CD and DVD) that used the 2882 preamps/converters on some songs and the ULN2 preamps/converters on others. I can't for the life of me tell which is which. He told me that, so far, no one else has guessed correctly either.

[Reborn]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

I own two 2882s and used to own a ULN2. I love them all.

Honestly, just get the 2882 by itself. The sonic superiority of the ULN2 is not that great a difference. The onboard digital mixing provided by the 2882 will be very useful in your setup.

Barry Diamant produced a direct-to-stereo recording (as both a CD and DVD) that used the 2882 preamps/converters on some songs and the ULN2 preamps/converters on others. I can't for the life of me tell which is which. He told me that, so far, no one else has guessed correctly either.

Excellent info. what do you use for Monitor control since there is no analog volume on the 2882? Have you ever used RME of Ensemble(Apogee)? What pre do you use for vocals (288 or something else)?

[Allen Rowand]

Originally Posted by Reborn

Hey folks,

I am closing on possibly moving to a metric halo box. I do a lot of writing sessions and I need to monitor up to 7 inputs live. Two stereo d/I for keyz, vocal and talkback mic and guitar direct. I am hearing The ULN is sonically superior to the 2882. Question is should I plug my stuff into the D-Box like a line mixer before the ULN or just get a 2882 and go direct to it? Which one would yield superior sonics. In this economy it is important for a guy like me to get this right the first time, so opinions are needed.

Sounds like you need a 2882 to me.

The difference in sonic quality between the ULN-2 and 2882 is in the mic pres- the ULN has 2 boutique quality mic pres with 72 dB of gain, the 2882 has 8 VERY good pres with 42 dB of gain. The 2882 has all the inputs you need direct in, and you could always put your mic pre of choice in front of the vocal channel down the road. Most bang for your buck in the short term.

Anyone decide between metric Halo and ensemble by Apogee?

This argument goes back and forth, and people have strong opinions in both directions. Keep in mind that our interfaces come with a flexible mixer, monitor controller and built in dsp along with 8 good pres, 8 analog outs, ADAT & AES/SPDIF I/O, rock-solid drivers and seamless integration with all DAWs including ProTools.

Allen

[Allen Rowand]

Originally Posted by Reborn

What do you use for Monitor control since there is no analog volume on the 2882?

Both the 2882 and ULN-2 have a dsp based Monitor Controller. It can be controlled via the keyboard, or an inexpensive ($50-80) USB device and can be configured however you want.

My controller setup gives me 2 source inputs that can be switched between headphones, stereo and 5.1 outputs. It also has dim & mute, level control and switches window visibility of the MIO Console. I've also put in some transport control for Logic Pro.

Allen

[Reborn]

Originally Posted by Allen Rowand

Both the 2882 and ULN-2 have a dsp based Monitor Controller. It can be controlled via the keyboard, or an inexpensive ($50-80) USB device and can be configured however you want.

My controller setup gives me 2 source inputs that can be switched between headphones, stereo and 5.1 outputs. It also has dim & mute, level control and switches window visibility of the MIO Console. I've also put in some transport control for Logic Pro.

Allen

excellent info. I am a little hesitant about doing monitor control in the digital realm. On two occasions I had full scale noise go through my speakers when a malfunction occured. I rushed to unplug the box before I damaged my hears because the signal was loud enough to damage my speakers. The next time this happened (only been 3 times ever) I had a analog control on my mackie to cut the sound instantly. Probem is the mackie really colors the signal and in a negative way! Thanks for the additional info it is really helping.

Still looking for someone to help me check these boxes (2882 ULN) out locally.

Also 2882 compared to ensemble?


Jazztone

[Reborn]

Also I'm a little confused as to what plug come with the expanded versus +DSP license.

[Allen Rowand]

Originally Posted by Reborn

Also I'm a little confused as to what plug come with the expanded versus +DSP license.

2d comes with: Character (22 types), Mutlibus Mixer, Surround Support, Monitor Controller, MIOStrip, M/S Decoder, Short Delay, Dither, and HaloVerb

+dsp adds: MIO EQ 6, MIO EQ 12, MIO State Variable Filter, MIO Comp, MIO Limit, Delays Family(15 plugins), MIO Simple Pitch Shifter, Allpass filters (2 plugins), MIO Soft Clip Family (3 plugins), MIO Nonlinear Map Family (4 plugins), MIO Volume Control Family (16 plugins), MIO A/B Switch Family (16 plugins), MIO M/S Processor, Static Matrix Family (5 plugins), Channel op Family (5 plugins), Oscillator Family (6 plugins), MIO Mod Delay

These plug ins can be inserted in your audio channel or used in a graph- an object oriented plug in "sandbox". You can put in whatever plugs you want, route them however you want (series, parallel, loops etc.) and save the entire setup to be reused whenever you need it.

You also get amp simultaions, effects (tremelo, flange, etc.), more reverbs, pedal simulations, cabinet simulations and prebuilt mastering tools like parallel comps and limiters.

Allen

[Reborn]

Originally Posted by Allen Rowand

2d comes with: Character (22 types), Mutlibus Mixer, Surround Support, Monitor Controller, MIOStrip, M/S Decoder, Short Delay, Dither, and HaloVerb

+dsp adds: MIO EQ 6, MIO EQ 12, MIO State Variable Filter, MIO Comp, MIO Limit, Delays Family(15 plugins), MIO Simple Pitch Shifter, Allpass filters (2 plugins), MIO Soft Clip Family (3 plugins), MIO Nonlinear Map Family (4 plugins), MIO Volume Control Family (16 plugins), MIO A/B Switch Family (16 plugins), MIO M/S Processor, Static Matrix Family (5 plugins), Channel op Family (5 plugins), Oscillator Family (6 plugins), MIO Mod Delay

These plug ins can be inserted in your audio channel or used in a graph- an object oriented plug in "sandbox". You can put in whatever plugs you want, route them however you want (series, parallel, loops etc.) and save the entire setup to be reused whenever you need it.

You also get amp simultaions, effects (tremelo, flange, etc.), more reverbs, pedal simulations, cabinet simulations and prebuilt mastering tools like parallel comps and limiters.

Allen

Fantastic. Thank you!

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by Reborn

Excellent info. what do you use for Monitor control since there is no analog volume on the 2882? Have you ever used RME of Ensemble(Apogee)? What pre do you use for vocals (288 or something else)?

I was using the pots on the ULN2 to control monitors/headphones. I sold the ULN2 to help purchase an API/ATI 8MX2 which has monitor and headphone controls -- I found myself needing more high-gain preamps. I use the ATI preamps for vox (it's pretty clean). I use the 2882 preamps for line-inputs, DI, and mics for loud sources.

I miss having the convenience of the ULN2 for remote overdubs and such. A ULN2, mac book, and two mics is a powerful combo!