The ULN-8 is here!

[danger]

USB3 supports isochronus transfer.... so it's a real FW killer...

[Denis Goekdag]

well, there'll always be some sort of technology that's better/faster/cheaper that makes an existing technology obsolete in digital land. the point is: will the device pay for itself untill then and do you need it *now*?

anyway, i think that *if* the sound is really up there where the claims are, given the fact that you can
a) access the pre-amps before the AD = 8 pre-amps
b) use the box in stand-alone as 8 channel AD *and* 8 channel DA to and from AES
c) use it as a dual 10 mega Ohm DI (which impedance, to my knowledge, only Avenson Small DI and Millennia TD-1 offer)
d) use it as a monitor controller in stand-alone

would make it a pretty safe investment even if FireWire were to be dropped soon (which i highly doubt).....as it would *not* be made obsolete by FW disappearing from the stage, something which you can't say about other devices out there. And even then....there's bound to be somebody releasing a USB 3 <> FW box the very moment Apple drops FW support (if ever).

I'll be doing a testing session with the ULN-8 next week. I'll post back but i don't think it'l be possible to post sound examples as the material we'll be using is all commercial production stuff.

[burnhard]

I have it for a week now..it's an addition to my two 2882s...I'm using it as my main output where it replaces my benchmark dac1....it's really way better!!it is my input converter for the main out of my shadowhills summing...I used one of the 2882s for that and tried the lavry ad10...it's way!! Better!!..I used to work with systems with PCI cards...I do get lower buffersizes over fw than with these.... Hope that helps

[Dave Davis]

FW isn't really a limitation for the ULN8 - it can carry any practical system load the box can produce. You can add busses when you max it out, and manage denser interfaces to get more boxes/bus.

With mac laptops there is a practical limit, since they only have 1 express card slot, and USB on a mac isn't a great way to move data to hard drives (while the ULN8s consume FW bandwidth).

As for USB3: I recall USB2 was supposed to be the "FW killer". How's that coming, Intel? For many pro applications outside audio, FW continues to thrive, while USB continues to be ignored in all it's flavors. Isochronous transfer is a great leap into the late 20th century for them.

-d-

[Jam]

Originally Posted by Dave Davis

As for USB3: I recall USB2 was supposed to be the "FW killer". How's that coming, Intel? For many pro applications outside audio, FW continues to thrive, while USB continues to be ignored in all it's flavors. Isochronous transfer is a great leap into the late 20th century for them.

-d-

Excellent !! Made me chuckle especially the last sentence.

James

[sirthought]

Originally Posted by Dave Davis

As for USB3: I recall USB2 was supposed to be the "FW killer". How's that coming, Intel? For many pro applications outside audio, FW continues to thrive, while USB continues to be ignored in all it's flavors. Isochronous transfer is a great leap into the late 20th century for them.

-d-

Dave,

If you look at the overall computer/technology industry USB has already killed FW. Even Apple is moving away from it. The main areas where FW is still in use is Pro Audio and Video -- and that's about it.

It was just a couple years ago when consumer printers were connecting with FW and now most are going back to USB or trying wireless technology. Almost every other "flavor" of consumer electronics gear uses USB. MP3 players, mobile recorders, digital cameras, scanners, etc.

Face it, we'll be able to buy FW cards for those who really need them, but if you go to any consumer computer manufacturer and look down their line the FW option is vanishing, especially on laptops.

I'm sort of surprised we haven't seen more of a USB3 roll out at this point, since it seems like forever ago that they announced it. I guess these things take time to get everyone on the same page.

[nigel saunders]

I read on the MH site somebody quoted as saying the uln-8 had breathed new life into an old pro tools mix system - is that right and if so how is everything configured?

[James Lehmann]

Originally Posted by sdevino

Its already available at dealers.

Yes

Originally Posted by littledoodler

Will it be cheaper than $6000?

No.


At least not if you want the pre 15th June discount which is only available if you order from the Metric Halo online store.

[clonewar]

Originally Posted by James Lehmann

At least not if you want the pre 15th June discount which is only available if you order from the Metric Halo online store.

That only applies if you qualify for the MH owner's discount.

[DanRock101]

This is a great thread here! Good info on the whole "Firewire issue" which is NOT redundant as Metric Halo seems to be going full steam ahead with Firewire on their interfaces....they seem to want to maintain their customer base and all and have been good about doing so, but again, how long will Firewire be an option (even on the Mac Pros)?!?

Now, SOUND, MIO Mixer?!?! Any experiences to share?!?!

[julieslick]

Well i can't speak for the ULN-8 (yet), but I will say that the MIO Mixer is AMAZING. Audio in Logic has never sounded better - I always hated the mix engine and with 2d, I barely have to use it. Like other users, I just wish there was a better way in and (more importantly) out of PT.

[clonewar]

Originally Posted by DanRock101

...how long will Firewire be an option (even on the Mac Pros)?!?

Firewire will always be an option on the Mac Pro.. even if Apple drops it you can add a port with a PCIe card. You could do the same thing on a Macbook Pro with a firewire ExpressCard, but you'd have to choose between that and whatever else you might be running there (eSata, DSP card, etc).

[edwinhurwitz]

I think the mixer is the same as it was in the 2882 and ULN-2, which is to say, excellent. I haven't really noticed any difference.

As far as the sound goes, well, I've only done one session with it and used it to monitor some mixes, but I'm really pleased. I recorded a jazz/funk improv band (drums, electric bass, two keyboard rigs into amps, sax and trumpet) in a local club and it went without a hitch. The sound was as smooth and clean as I would have possibly wanted. I've always enjoyed recording with the 2882, but this seems to be a whole new level of clarity. Most of the time I've recorded with character plug ins, but in this case I wanted to hear (or not hear as it seems) what the pres and converters would sound like. All in all, I think in fact it was just about overkill to have this amount of clarity in a club gig.

I love this box!

Edwin

[androne]

Any idea of converters or anything that can be used or plugged into the AES inputs for recording up to 16 analog channels at the same time ??

[Bartosz Idzi]

Originally Posted by burnhard

I have it for a week now..it's an addition to my two 2882s...I'm using it as my main output where it replaces my benchmark dac1....it's really way better!!

what would you say is the difference between 2882 (clocked 2d or not) and benchmark dac1?

[Musician]

Is there sample rate conversion in the ULN8 ? I believe the Prism Orpheus has it...

[gbevin]

Originally Posted by Musician

Is there sample rate conversion in the ULN8 ? I believe the Prism Orpheus has it...

Yeah, the ULN-8 has SRC, but at the price of a Prism Orpheus, you might just as well add some more and buy another ULN-8

[gbevin]

Originally Posted by gbevin

Yeah, the ULN-8 has SRC, but at the price of a Prism Orpheus, you might just as well add some more and buy another ULN-8

I'm sorry, I assumed that the ULN-8 has SRC since both the 2882 and ULN-2 have it. When I checked in the MIO console I can't find a switch for SRC on the ULN-8 though. I've asked the official Metric Halo list for input on this, will post back with the info.

[rouslan]

OK. Looks interesting. So if I wanted say 24 or 32 channels of AD and DA simultaneously would it be achievable with, say a 32ch AES card or two 16ch AES cards? Would there be any bandwidth issues of running audio at say 96K bi-directionally? Apogee claims high channel count with their Symphony system, how would that work with several ULN-8 units?

Rouslan

[Musician]

Originally Posted by rouslan

OK. Looks interesting. So if I wanted say 24 or 32 channels of AD and DA simultaneously would it be achievable with, say a 32ch AES card or two 16ch AES cards? Would there be any bandwidth issues of running audio at say 96K bi-directionally? Apogee claims high channel count with their Symphony system, how would that work with several ULN-8 units?

Rouslan

Been thinking of possible expansion myself
That can be done with 2 ULN8s as base input devices:

each ULN8 has 8 analog (mic/line) inputs and 8 digital (AES/EBU) inputs to record, so 16 inputs, so with 2 ULN8s its 32 inputs.
Put a convertor like the RME OctomicII in the AES connection each time so you have 32 ADs and DAs !!

Or go mad and spend dope on 4 ULN8s ...

[rouslan]

I guess, what interests me is getting, say 3 or 4 units and seeing how they perform. I'm mainly interested in their converters.

Rouslan

Originally Posted by Musician

Been thinking of possible expansion myself
That can be done with 2 ULN8s as base input devices:

each ULN8 has 8 analog (mic/line) inputs and 8 digital (AES/EBU) inputs to record, so 16 inputs, so with 2 ULN8s its 32 inputs.
Put a convertor like the RME OctomicII in the AES connection each time so you have 32 ADs and DAs !!

Or go mad and spend dope on 4 ULN8s ...

[henryrobinett]

I'm waiting to receive my third ULN-8 today.

[Dr Gruv]

nice

[rouslan]

Are you running two ULN-8 units through firewire or AES/EBU? Keep us posted on your progress. I'm curious to know how several units work together.

Rouslan

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

I'm waiting to receive my third ULN-8 today.

[henryrobinett]

The answer is yes. It's no different than what we do when we run multiple MIO boxes. Firewire and AES. For now you must monitor through AES. But if you use the Record Panel, for instance, you can record all MHlabs boxes together, no problem.

Right now I run two ULN-8s and a ULN-2. I used to run two ULN-8s, a ULN-2 and a 2882+dsp/expanded all at once.

[rouslan]

Henry,

So, you are running two ULN-8 and one ULN-2 through firewire at 96K without any issues? I ask because I never had more than one UNL-2 and it was connected through firewire. I just keep hearing warnings about running 24 or 32 channels of 96K audio through firewire, which is why I would think that with that kind of track count AES might make more sense.

Rouslan

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

The answer is yes. It's no different than what we do when we run multiple MIO boxes. Firewire and AES. For now you must monitor through AES. But if you use the Record Panel, for instance, you can record all MHlabs boxes together, no problem.

Right now I run two ULN-8s and a ULN-2. I used to run two ULN-8s, a ULN-2 and a 2882+dsp/expanded all at once.

[henryrobinett]

No issues. I have to split the firewire across two busses - one a card the other the internal FW bus.

[rouslan]

Well, that's what I was mentioning in my previous post. My question is why don't you use AES instead of FW400. My other question (directed at Metric Halo) is why use FW 400 instead of FW 800? Thanks for your input on this, Henry.

Rouslan

Originally Posted by henryrobinett

No issues. I have to split the firewire across two busses - one a card the other the internal FW bus.

[DanRock101]

Originally Posted by androne

Any idea of converters or anything that can be used or plugged into the AES inputs for recording up to 16 analog channels at the same time ??

BUMP on this question....What would the AES be used for?!?!? What interface use them?

[henryrobinett]

I've got my eyes on the AD D96 for the Millennia HV-3D.