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Nate Najar Nate Najar is offline
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Default upgrading my DAW setup

It looks like after the new year I'll be in a position to afford to upgrade my DAW setup (thank you soundexchange!). I am anxious to do so in the interest of having a more accurate picture of what I'm working on. At home I mostly edit and mix, or do minor overdubs on production projects. I also do scoring work with virtual instruments. The majority of my real recording is done either on location or at a proper studio, but nearly everything comes back here for editing and mixing.

I have an maudio profire 2626 which has served me well and sounds pretty good too. I haven't upgraded because I don't want an incremental upgrade just to blow money on a shiny new piece of gear- I want to upgrade only if it is going to be a night and day difference. I am very happy with my True Precision 8 preamp, but i rarely need it at home- it generally is used for location recording or the one or two channels I need for an overdub here at the house. My computer will last another few years no problem (8 core mac pro 2008-ish with 16gb ram) and I have a euphonix 8 fader control surface I cannot live without. I'd like another 8 faders, but I don't NEED them enough to spend that money that could be better spent. I have K&H 0110 monitors and I'm very happy with them.

SO... the first thing I will be spending money on is room treatment. I don't know how to measure the room modes and comb filtering, etc... so I cannot comment other than I know there's some funny stuff happening. It is the spare front bedroom in my condo- 12x11x8. windows on one wall, bookshelves on another, closet on the back wall. Ethan Winer is getting about $1500 of my dollars, I figure he can best decide what to sell me and where to put it.

So I always think I would like a converter upgrade. I just don't know what and I don't really want to audition 3 or 4 pieces- I know at a certain level they'll all be good, but I need to weigh value against price. I keep thinking if I get a prism orpheus I'll be done- that's all I'll need and is a simple one box solution. But I also consider a mytex 8x192 but then I need a way to get it into the computer- aes pci card? usb? fw? and then there's the metric halo lio8 (remember, I already have preamps) and the RME ufx...... the benefit of the rme ufx is the front panel usb recording (for remote work) and the addition of a remote control for monitor control. But I understand it is probably a step down in converter quality from these other options.

What I want is an elegant easy to setup solution that is the absolute best sound I can get and easy to use. If I go with the mytek, it's a slippery slope of interface cards and monitor controlling, etc..., the orpheus seems like the most elegant solution but also a bit spendy. The RME has the most features and is a super elegant solution but may be not in the same class sonically as the other units mentioned.

I use Logic Pro mostly. I use Pro Tools to convert sessions to go between my place and proper studios. I'm still on PT8 although I may update to 9 or 10 to take advantage of the ADC and start mixing in there sometimes. So whatever I get has to play nice with all of the above.

I'm very much open to opinions here. thank you!

N
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hank alrich hank alrich is offline
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Default upgrading my DAW setup

Nate Najar wrote:

It looks like after the new year I'll be in a position to afford to
upgrade my DAW setup (thank you soundexchange!). I am anxious to do so in
the interest of having a more accurate picture of what I'm working on. At
home I mostly edit and mix, or do minor overdubs on production projects.
I also do scoring work with virtual instruments. The majority of my real
recording is done either on location or at a proper studio, but nearly
everything comes back here for editing and mixing.

I have an maudio profire 2626 which has served me well and sounds pretty
good too. I haven't upgraded because I don't want an incremental upgrade
just to blow money on a shiny new piece of gear- I want to upgrade only if
it is going to be a night and day difference. I am very happy with my
True Precision 8 preamp, but i rarely need it at home- it generally is
used for location recording or the one or two channels I need for an
overdub here at the house. My computer will last another few years no
problem (8 core mac pro 2008-ish with 16gb ram) and I have a euphonix 8
fader control surface I cannot live without. I'd like another 8 faders,
but I don't NEED them enough to spend that money that could be better
spent. I have K&H 0110 monitors and I'm very happy with them.

SO... the first thing I will be spending money on is room treatment. I
don't know how to measure the room modes and comb filtering, etc... so I
cannot comment other than I know there's some funny stuff happening. It
is the spare front bedroom in my condo- 12x11x8. windows on one wall,
bookshelves on another, closet on the back wall. Ethan Winer is getting
about $1500 of my dollars, I figure he can best decide what to sell me and
where to put it.

So I always think I would like a converter upgrade. I just don't know
what and I don't really want to audition 3 or 4 pieces- I know at a
certain level they'll all be good, but I need to weigh value against
price. I keep thinking if I get a prism orpheus I'll be done- that's all
I'll need and is a simple one box solution. But I also consider a mytex
8x192 but then I need a way to get it into the computer- aes pci card?
usb? fw? and then there's the metric halo lio8 (remember, I already have
preamps) and the RME ufx..... the benefit of the rme ufx is the front
panel usb recording (for remote work) and the addition of a remote control
for monitor control. But I understand it is probably a step down in
converter quality from these other options.

What I want is an elegant easy to setup solution that is the absolute best
sound I can get and easy to use. If I go with the mytek, it's a slippery
slope of interface cards and monitor controlling, etc..., the orpheus
seems like the most elegant solution but also a bit spendy. The RME has
the most features and is a super elegant solution but may be not in the
same class sonically as the other units mentioned.

I use Logic Pro mostly. I use Pro Tools to convert sessions to go between
my place and proper studios. I'm still on PT8 although I may update to 9
or 10 to take advantage of the ADC and start mixing in there sometimes.
So whatever I get has to play nice with all of the above.

I'm very much open to opinions here. thank you!

N


Take your pick of Metric Halo interfaces/convertors, depending on how
you've set up your rig. Start by looking at the ULN-2d

http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/prod...are/uln-2.html

If that's too costly, consider that earlier versions, also very good,
turn up used.

--
shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/
http://www.youtube.com/walkinaymusic
http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidri
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James Perrett[_3_] James Perrett[_3_] is offline
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Default upgrading my DAW setup

How about looking at convertors with ADAT digital interfaces? You will be able to use them with your existing interface and also with many more expensive interfaces that you might buy in the future. Being optical, it also means that your analogue signals are kept well away from noisy computer power supplies. I'd suggest looking at the Audient ASP008 as a good addition to your existing setup.

James.
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