Audio Interface for External Equipment

[Brosefski]

One BIG thing with RME is continued driver support for legacy hardware. I was seriously looking at a Mackie ONYX mixer with audio interface (over FireWire), but Mackie dropped driver support a few years ago! RME sold me on that aspect, so I’m not worried about the Digiface USB becoming obsolete anytime soon. USB 2.0 is perfectly fine for the bandwidth of 32-in/34-out.

Yes, another factor to consider: driver support. I think RME is the way to go here.

[DJMaytag]

The Alesis ADAT, the tape-based multitrack recorder, is indeed rather rinky dink now. The ADAT Lightpipe interface protocol introduced by the ADAT machine, has FAR outlived the machine itself, and is pretty much a de facto standard now. The Tascam DA-88 was its main rival, but you don’t see ANY audio interfaces today using their TDIF digital audio protocol.

ADAT’s limitations are that it’s an 8-channel format (or 4 channel at 192KHz), using fiber optic cables that can break if bent at too much of an angle.

MADI can carry a ton of channels at a higher bandwidth rate, and it can do so with copper wires (BNC coax or Ethernet cable), and can go pretty long distances plus there’s not a concern about the bend angles (a consideration in a multi-room setup).

[bxbrkrz]

Your list is a reminder to yourself. Dante/MADI/AVB solution. Do you need 256 channels @192 kHz running on extremely long ethernet cables, across multiple rooms now?
Only you can answer that question

That's true. When I was looking at this and researching a bit, I found people's opinion on ADAT being "rinkydinky" and somewhat unreliable. Without context I guess it's hard discern exactly what they meant by this but the going word is exactly what you said here, how big is your room? A huge ass cathedral or something? I don't need Dante/MADI solution but if ADAT had it's vulnerabilities maybe I should consider it? Those were the questions I had when I was looking at these protocols. For small rooms and a rig of a few synths I think it's overkill and ADAT appears fine and reliable in smaller spaces. I think these people were just dealing with big rigs.

I don't know the full context, and pros here can help you there but troubles with ADAT start when you don't have one good master clock. RME products are fantastic as masters.

[Brosefski]

I don't know the full context, and pros here can help you there but troubles with ADAT start when you don't have one good master clock. RME products are fantastic as masters.

*sigh* He's from Germany. Germany is great. They are coming out with high quality products. Behringer's being made in Germany too, I can see why their quality has gone up. Engineering there is top notch. I wanted to live there indefinitely for a while. Zone out in Berlin's clubs, hang out with my friends in Hamburg and of course hit up the saunas because their sauna infrastructure is badass. Party til like 7am and have a computer job there. It's a dream. Oh well... *sigh* . I'm getting too old for that shit anyway.

[Brosefski]

The Alesis ADAT, the tape-based multitrack recorder, is indeed rather rinky dink now. The ADAT Lightpipe interface protocol introduced by the ADAT machine, has FAR outlived the machine itself, and is pretty much a de facto standard now. The Tascam DA-88 was its main rival, but you don’t see ANY audio interfaces today using their TDIF digital audio protocol.

ADAT’s limitations are that it’s an 8-channel format (or 4 channel at 192KHz), using fiber optic cables that can break if bent at too much of an angle.

MADI can carry a ton of channels at a higher bandwidth rate, and it can do so with copper wires (BNC coax or Ethernet cable), and can go pretty long distances plus there’s not a concern about the bend angles (a consideration in a multi-room setup).

I'm looking at the digiface, babyface vs fireface.

The babyface also solves my problem but in a limited capacity only 4 ADAT inputs and 2 line inputs. This solves my need. In fact this may be the only thing I'll need for some years so it's a major consideration. The digiface solves my problem but its niche is in hooking up older gear. The Fireface seems to the professional grade of getting something like the scarlet I mentioned earlier. I'm not so sure what my final decision is and I'm not buying immediately so I can chew on this a while, while I'm planning out the studio I want. I have some gear I know I want already and I have to update my desk first. I might end up going with the Fireface 802 or the UFX II since I'm now considering upping my budget for this.

Bottom line is I think RME is the way to go if I want to be at the edge of precision and professional quality without traipsing into audiophile price points.

[EnochLight]

*sigh* He's from Germany. Germany is great. They are coming out with high quality products. Behringer's being made in Germany too, I can see why their quality has gone up.

Behringer is NOT made in Germany; it's all made in China (which is also why it's so affordable). Behringer is just based out of Germany, is all.

[Brosefski]

*sigh* He's from Germany. Germany is great. They are coming out with high quality products. Behringer's being made in Germany too, I can see why their quality has gone up.

Behringer is NOT made in Germany; it's all made in China (which is also why it's so affordable). Behringer is just based out of Germany, is all.

Oh jeez you're correct. I could've SWORN I saw that, it's engineered in Germany. I just checked my Model D. I stand corrected.

[EnochLight]

Oh jeez you're correct. I could've SWORN I saw that, it's engineered in Germany. I just checked my Model D. I stand corrected.

Still, Behringer has come leaps and bounds in quality these past years. I remember a time when their manufacturing was so bad, it was a real risk buying any of their hardware. I remember buying a brand new in the box mixer in the early 2000's, and the power supply cable wasn't secured all of the way inside of the sleeved insulation (?!!!) and the color cap on one of the knobs was loose inside of the box just rattling around.

But not anymore - they really stepped up their game. Whoever they got to turn around their manufacturing quality deserves a massive pay raise.

[Brosefski]

Still, Behringer has come leaps and bounds in quality these past years. I remember a time when their manufacturing was so bad, it was a real risk buying any of their hardware. I remember buying a brand new in the box mixer in the early 2000's, and the power supply cable wasn't secured all of the way inside of the sleeved insulation (?!!!) and the color cap on one of the knobs was loose inside of the box just rattling around.

But not anymore - they really stepped up their game. Whoever they got to turn around their manufacturing quality deserves a massive pay raise.

I used to play bass guitar when I was in high school and was in a band. I remember being at other people's places with music gear. We were all young and poor so whatever gear was available for the budget people had. I was at this place and I remember looking at the mixer, it was stained, looked crappy. The guy was like, "Yeah it's a Behringer, it's shitty." He complained about channels not working right and the connections being real bad. In those days no one liked Behringer. They had a bad reputation for equipment that would go bad fast.

Now it's like wow, a couple decades pass and they turned around fast. They have decent stuff for a really good price point now. I used to feel kinda sorry for that company but now I feel good for them. I'm glad they stepped up their game. I'm happy with my Model D. It has good sound and it's pretty sturdy. Thumbs up to Behringer. Their deep mind synth has been on my mind as a possible buy.

[EnochLight]

Their deep mind synth has been on my mind as a possible buy.

I got really close to buying the Deepmind 12 when I sold my Roland Juno 106, as I really wanted a modern replacement. At the end of the day I ended up getting a Roland System 8, just so I could get my Juno 106 back plus a Jupiter 8, JX-3P, and System 8 synth all rolled into one without the mechanical fan that the Deepmind 12 has. I do miss having a big LCD screen, though. This is pretty bad ass:

deepmind_12_screen.jpg (155.81 KiB) Viewed 1937 times

Compared to this:

system_8.jpg (43.23 KiB) Viewed 1937 times

[diminished]

Are you talking about the actual fan inside the Deepmind? You can turn it off or set it to inaudible levels, did you know? Perfectly fine for everyday use, the fan is just there for hot stage performances and maybe tropical climates.

[jam-s]

Behringer is NOT made in Germany; it's all made in China (which is also why it's so affordable). Behringer is just based out of Germany, is all.

Oh jeez you're correct. I could've SWORN I saw that, it's engineered in Germany. I just checked my Model D. I stand corrected.

They might still do most of the engineering in Germany and they've also most likely set some quite rigid QA standards for their manufacturing plants in China as well. They also bought quite some good quality gear makers (like Midas) and assimilated their knowledge. Thus the quality is on par with less affordable competitors by now.

[bxbrkrz]

I don't know the full context, and pros here can help you there but troubles with ADAT start when you don't have one good master clock. RME products are fantastic as masters.

- - -

*sigh* He's from Germany. Germany is great. They are coming out with high quality products. Behringer's being made in Germany too, I can see why their quality has gone up. Engineering there is top notch. I wanted to live there indefinitely for a while. Zone out in Berlin's clubs, hang out with my friends in Hamburg and of course hit up the saunas because their sauna infrastructure is badass. Party til like 7am and have a computer job there. It's a dream. Oh well... *sigh* . I'm getting too old for that shit anyway.

Circa 2007

[Brosefski]

Circa 2007

I think it's because of "false memory", a lot of the gear I've been looking at is made in Germany so I think that's what happened. It's a real scientific phenomenon. No one's perfect.

[bxbrkrz]

Circa 2007
- -

I think it's because of "false memory", a lot of the gear I've been looking at is made in Germany so I think that's what happened. It's a real scientific phenomenon. No one's perfect.

The "Mandela Effect"

[EnochLight]

Are you talking about the actual fan inside the Deepmind? You can turn it off or set it to inaudible levels, did you know? Perfectly fine for everyday use, the fan is just there for hot stage performances and maybe tropical climates.

Yeah, I'm aware it can be shut off or set to a lower RPM. I have just have a stigmatism with analog gear when it has mechanical things that move. I plan to keep it forever, so having an actual moving part inside bothers me - it's just another part to go bad. And yeah, I realize it could likely be replaced if necessary some years down the line, but I don't want to have to plan for that.

And while I like the larger LCD screen on the DeepMinds compared to my System 8, it has a ton of menu-diving from what I understand, and being mono-timbral doesn't attract me. The System 8 is bi-timbral. The DeepMinds don't do audio over USB like the System 8, either. Additionally, I get 3 classic Roland synths with the System 8 in addition to the actual System 8 synth engine (for a total of 4 synths in 1), I can switch 3 of those out with other classic Roland synths if I want, and I prefer the look of the System 8. It just seemed to win all around for my needs.

And no fan needed. Ever.

Plus, it integrates with my Roland MX-1 via USB (audio and MIDI) quite nicely:

[Brosefski]

The "Mandela Effect"

I remember looking up the Berenstain vs. Berenstein phenomenon. It really tripped me out. I've come to the conclusion that it's simply the mind switching the letters. However I did mull around the idea parallel alternate realities for a while and that the choices you make out of an infinite series of choices one could make puts you on alternate dimensional paths, like going between different states of parallel realities. It was really trippy to think about.

https://www.snopes.com/news/2016/07/24/ ... la-effect/

[Brosefski]

Dude that looks great! Nice setup!

[Brosefski]

Their deep mind synth has been on my mind as a possible buy.

I got really close to buying the Deepmind 12 when I sold my Roland Juno 106, as I really wanted a modern replacement. At the end of the day I ended up getting a Roland System 8, just so I could get my Juno 106 back plus a Jupiter 8, JX-3P, and System 8 synth all rolled into one without the mechanical fan that the Deepmind 12 has. I do miss having a big LCD screen, though. This is pretty bad ass:


deepmind_12_screen.jpg


Compared to this:



system_8.jpg

I haven't done much analysis on Roland gear tbh. I know they're top notch so I should give some time to it. The synths I covet are the moog line and the Virus TI 2. I really want that rack mount.