I Posted This On The DUC, But Thought I Would Post Here Too.


I am starting to research building my next DAW. I currently am not using ProTools, but would like to make the switch. Money is on the tight side, but I don't want to skimp on something that I will regret later. I have made up my mind that I will get an 002-Rack. I've been looking at the 2 different Allenstein machines , and have been wondering what the real world performance differences are, and if I would be OK with the cheaper system, or if I'll kick myself later. If I go with the cheaper system. I would definitely add a second hard drive, and I guess I wouldn't feel too bad if after I had the system, I come to find that I should add another 512mb of RAM.

I'm looking for guidance as to whether I can get by with the cheaper system. I will need the machine to be able to be stable with up to 32 tracks of 24bit/48k. I guess I would like to know if I can expect 32 tracks of 24bit/96k if I decide to move up in the resolution chain. I am planning on using this system primarily for mixing, with the occasional overdub. My mix sessions are usually around 24 tracks, but I'd like to be reliable at 32. I don't use any soft synths, don't plan to either. I do plan on using the UAD-1 card from my old system in this new system. I also have the Waves Platinum bundle, which I will get transferred over to the new system. My mixes usually wind up maxing out the UAD-1 card. I generally don't use a ton of the Waves plugins. Maybe a Ren-Reverb, a couple of Ren-Comps, a gate or two, and a couple of Q-4's and delays. That's about it.

I don't have any real experience performing a full mix in Pro-Tools-LE and don't have a real good idea of what kind of plug-in counts I can expect. If I go with the cheaper Allenstein machine, would I be able to go as far as to use, say, 20 Waves Q-4's, 15 Ren-Comps, a couple of Ren-Verbs and a few delays, all while playing back 32 tracks of 24bit/48k audio?

Sorry for the long post, but I would really appreciate any feedback from someone who is using these machines.

Thanks,

Greeting Eric,

I myself mix in PTLE and I strongly suggest the Allenstein. I have built 5 already and all have been great. I am part of the 'Ultimate Allenstein Challenge'. If you search the DUC you will find us. There are a few of us who have an overclocked system that now performs at an HD-1 level or better. It is based on the DFI 250GB Lan Party MB and Athalon moblie chip. Some of us have been getting DaveC test results from 32+40 to 32+50. NOTHING else out there can even come close to those track counts. I'm in the process of building 2 at the moment.

For your plugin count above I would recommend the over clocked system. The cheapest Allenstein classic will not be able to give you that plugin count you are looking for above. You will have to do many submixes etc.

The Ultimate Allenstein with a couple of UAD-1, Powercore Cards, and Waves APA hardware Audio Processing Accelerators and you'll be smokin' heh heh

The DUC is probably a better place to get all your answers.

Come check us out on the DUC. I dont think Digi expected there own host based system to be catching up to HD so fast. But it is. WE ARE the beta testers and front of the line for this amazing host based system in PTLE even though Digi has yet to acknowledge us. Hope to see you on the 'Ultimate Allenstein Challenge' thread.

Shane

i would go for a turnkey system from either sweetwater or dawbox.com.

erick....
ive made a number of tech computer pc config recommendations over the past year. just search under my name as i dont want the mods all over me.
one cheap alternative you might want to test out out before buying a higher end processor system is an amd sempron 3100+ with 1gig ram and two hard drives with 8 mb cache. in summary - its not just processor thats an issue in computer
architecture. a good procesor is no good if one uses hard drives with small caches. i mention the sempron as its often overlooked - and in my area can be had for 400 bucks with two fast hard drives if you shop wisely.
And youll find a sempron can really come alive with excellent hard drives from my tests.
On the other hand if you anticipate very huge track/plug in needs you might want to consider a dual amd processor approach.
In summary - if you want to save money - i would at least test your audio software on a sempron just in case it does meet your needs. you might end up saving some money you can put into signal chain.

I see no reason to pay a premium for a turnkey system from a dealer. The Allenstein machines come highly recommended, and are quite a bit cheaper than a turnkey system of similar performance. I have no fear of building the PC myself. I have done it before and find it to be a great way to save money.

I didn't think the cheaper Allenstein machine would run the above plug-in counts. And I don't think I need a machine to run that many plugs. I am jsut interested in getting a real world idea of how many plug-ins I would be able to run on the cheaper Machine.

Thanks for your reply.

If you haven't built PCs and can afford it get a turnkey system. That way if something is wacky you can get them to fix it. If you build it yourself its up to you to troubleshoot, and that can be tricky sometimes.

If your on a tight budget and are patient and adventurous then build it yourself. I will never buy a prebuilt system ever again.

Please read post #5 of this thread. I am comfortable building PC's, and I would like to save money.