One of the things Ive also done is purchased 3 units that I have an option to return. I wanted to physically try them out.
1st unit Ive tried and got a feel for and returned it. Presonus Faderport.
2nd unit will be the Presonus Faderport Version II coming mid September.
3rd unit is the Behringer xtouch One coming end of september.
2 and 3 are fairly new hence the wait.
Im trying this to see if there is a way to stay in the box and in the meantime been looking at working on a multitrack.
I saw the Tascam unit that I was talking about, although I cant use it no lightpipe, and truthfully I found everything to be quite cheap on it, but thats just me
well see were this goes.

In the realm of Surface controller, there is a lot of cheap and few good high-end.
You could look for a used Mackie Control. It's working with all softwares and is rock solid.
I had one MK1 version that did it's time and decided to take a chance with the Icon ProX. Mainly for the level meters.
After nearly a month I can say it's not perfect but it works for what I need to do. Love the meters tho..
But I wouldn't hesitate a bit to buy a Mackie again.

Of course controlers aren't to be taken as a mixer. I mainly bought one to ease the automations available in my DAW.
But Track volume, pans, solo mute rec, are all very usefull.

https://mackie.com/products/mcu-pro-and-xt-pro

http://iconproaudio.com/product/qcon-pro-x/

Thanks precord, however I just finished selling the Behringer X-touch with 2 controllers and had 24 tracks.
I thought that was the answer and when I mixed it was pretty cool. before you know it I was noticing that I barely ever use it, so I thought just a small controller
to have record, play ff, punch in etc may be better money well spent. I did like the faderport. I would only do automation 1 track at a time, but I do like to have a fader.
Im still not convinced this makes my workflow that much more productive. In the portastudio realm when I think about those days, I would turn on 1 button
and hit record all in 5 seconds. By the time I turn all my gear on and power everything up my idea is already gone. So I started using my phone, but not a fan.

So many will say why a multitrack in 2018. Today is a perfect example.
Gremlins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turn on my system today, one of the only days I have the time to record all day.
Computer is on
Clarett is on
ISA 428 is on
Everything is synced
Audio is coming in at the clarett digital mixer
Audio is coming through wavelab and reaper
the clarett has sync and the volume is up
computer checked 3 times everything up
no different than what I do everyday
NO AUDIO through monitors
ok check monitors
un other signals CD perfect the Mackie big knob show audio and comes through
it does not in any daw or wavelab
tried a cassette recorder plays perfect
play my daw nothing in the big know and nothing coming out
This is exactly my point
Since 10am ive had no audio or headphones so I cant record
This might be a one off but its a good one and the timing couldnt be worse
Stopped working on it
Will try again later

So far this looks like the best option
Akai DPS24 24-Track/24-Bit/96kHz Workstation
Followed by the
Korg D32XD 32-Track Xtended Definition Recording Studio

https://www.soundstore.co.nz/p-2511.aspx?searchEngineName=korg-tp-2-dual-tube-preamp

Which basically looked like this

Attached files

phantomvintagegear, post: 458704, member: 40493 wrote: So many will say why a multitrack in 2018. Today is a perfect example.
Gremlins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Turn on my system today, one of the only days I have the time to record all day.
Computer is on
Clarett is on
ISA 428 is on
Everything is synced
Audio is coming in at the clarett digital mixer
Audio is coming through wavelab and reaper
the clarett has sync and the volume is up
computer checked 3 times everything up
no different than what I do everyday
NO AUDIO through monitors
ok check monitors
un other signals CD perfect the Mackie big knob show audio and comes through
it does not in any daw or wavelab
tried a cassette recorder plays perfect
play my daw nothing in the big know and nothing coming out
This is exactly my point
Since 10am ive had no audio or headphones so I cant record
This might be a one off but its a good one and the timing couldnt be worse
Stopped working on it
Will try again later

Half way through the day back on. no explanation. Works again.

phantomvintagegear, post: 458719, member: 40493 wrote: Half way through the day back on. no explanation. Works again.

I spent a lot of time troubleshooting the mavkie d8b digital console we had at the studio. We piped audio thru it via the optical connections between the motion interface and the mixer. It was cool because I could use the mackie internal dsp for real-time effects, and the faders to control individual tracks or groups/busses from the Mac pro/motu/digital performer. It made the computer function like a tape machine would. I could also write 8 faders at a time worth of automation to Digital performer via the Hui mode on the d8b. I could also use pluggins in DP which would process the audio before it got to the computer . for mixing down everything summed thru the mackie 2 bus and was recorded to a stereo track back into DP via the spdif connections. When it worked it was really wonderful, very tactile and the best of both worlds. Most often it was glitchy and fussy at least 50% of the time and often took ssrveral boots to boot up correctly. I got tired of being embarrassed in front of clients, re booting, re seating dsp cards, and driving it to NY for repair, so I ended up just mixing ITB and using the console as a volume knob for the speakers.

You can get d8bs dirt cheap these days. Should you be interested. The next closyws thing would be a bereinger x32 mixer which has all the automation and Hui functions you'd need to have a similar setup to what we had.

The owner ended up replacingn the worn out mackie MCU units (4 linked) with a slate raven controller at the main studio.

The problem with controller sirafecs is you still need to mouse around for pluggins and editing unless your on the touchscreen raven.

You can use the free Eucon app for your iPad if you have one which makes shorcits for mundane tasks and looks very useful.

The novation nocturn has a glorious speed knob that let's you hover the mouse over a pluggin knob or slider and use the nocturn knob to adjust it. We had a nocturn at each studio and I had one at home. Not sure it it has drivers for 64bit.

You can also use the softube hardware controller to control the fantastic sounding softube pluggins which are great.

You can also possibly use the trackball on the mouse to adjust parameters, in DP at least.

As someone who Revere's his portastudio 424mk3 I feel your pain. ITB just isn't as integrated yet. You can't have the full Monty just yet. I am very used to the mouse now and I barely used the alpha track I had in my home setup for years. Eventaully it's all going to be touchscreen based, which I love for editing, and a fat channel for knobs and a faders bank(s) that's what I picture as the future. There's just too many variables for functions and pluggin parameters right now and no uniformity as there was in the standalone recorder/mixer/processing rack days. Those days had tons of maintenance and high electric bills, and expensive outboards units that needed racks and put you bent over, halfway across the room to change a setting.

As far as troubling shooting your rig gliches are bound to happen, I'd make sure no settings were changed in the OS, and once it works leave it exactly alone. Adding drivers and updates and new stuff software or hardware can often confuse the system. Keep it simple sir.

I'd also suggest you verify your humidity is at a decent level, and that your electrical is clean. I'd highly recommend an isolation transformer for your audio gear, I'll be ordering mine (triplite) when I get things unboxed over here in never ever land. You could be having issues of your computer is connected to the internet or your Ethernet card is not disabled.

There could be leftover drivers from the berringer, it could be anything. Really once you get your hardware / controller thing sussed out, you should do a fresh install of the OS on a new SSD, do the OS optimization if your using Windows, do a disc image back up/restore as soon as it works well, and be done.

I still think your biggest problem is unflattering room reflections which a couple of moving blankets on stands can clean up.

Maybe you d like a trackball instead of a mouse.

At the end of the day you have to pick either the ITB or the standalone route, as the middle ground is pretty much the worst of both worlds. There's nothing wrong with tracking 24 tracks to tape or hard disk, and flying them into a computer or bouncing to stereo, and then with doing the overdubs ITB or on the remaining analog tracks.

I spent a lot of time and energy trying to make my home setup something it couldnt be instead of using what I had to it's fullest. Audio is often full of gimmicks and the lower end stuff doesn't have nearly the relaibility it should have since the people using it often only have the weekends to use it.

I'm personally more about being able to control my fully ITB sstip from any room on the house or thru the www wherever I may be. I'm thrilled with the new crop of BFD expansions and don't miss running thru 3 rooms to move a mic an inch then running back to hear it. Or hitting record and sprinting to the drum room, slamming the headphones on, and hoping the track didn't start before I did so.

Even with 42 channels of MCU and the dedicated transport controls and undo buttons, I usually always used the qwerty keyboard since it was closer to me. The MCU had toigh to read meters, bum faders, in exact pan position markers, and took it a lot of space, worsening the acoustics, and making automation downright confusing, even for me who is supposed to be a pro. Fuck all that. I can use object editing in samplitude instead of automation, the free Eucon app in samp, and their own app for Android which I believe is transport control.

I can do this from the couch with nothing but glorious air between me and the speakers, and a projector showing me a huge image of my daw. Then when I go to bed and lie awake, I can pull out my laptop and run remote desktop to make those tweaks that I'm awake wishing i did.

That's the beauty of the modern ITB system based around samplitude or Sequoia. The beauty of my 4 track is cassttes are still available and it's charmingly lo Fidelity. Also beutiful is pulling it it of the box after 5 years and having it work the same way it did when I put it away last. Crappy is forgetting I that the tape can run out and I missed that last take.

It is unfortunately one or the other, or one at a time at least. I think it's a matter of becoming proficient with the daw and it's keyboard shortcuts and macros. And using templates. That will ease much of your pain. The rest you'll just get used to, like how undo is way faster than rewind, and some things will always suck like menu surfing, or the computer bugging when you have free time (which happens to me quite often). Punching in is usually a single button or you can set auto punch, and take management will make life enjoy able.

If the solution was a flimsy plastic faders unit that's what we'd all be using. If it works for you great. I'm interested in the fader Port myself for a pan knob. But I would not bank on that. The mk2 has a hold to track function so you can mouse to another track but still adjust the one you were on. Not sure if the original does that.

Acoustics and monitoring are where the best dollars and time are spent, then the analog input chain, especially the conversion, the instrument, the mic, and the pre, in that order. When that is it's best, there's far less need to touch anything since the recording sounds so damn good. The art of fighting is not fighting, the art of recording is having the best possible source, and hearing it properly.

Hey K-metal thanks for all of this I will respond.
Question. Ive seen spdif connections with the rca type jacks
but now Ive seen the adat type spdif connections on a Korg D3200
will that carry 8 channels? could I use that to record from the 428
I just found a unit in good shape works perfect for a few hundred dollars

phantomvintagegear, post: 458727, member: 40493 wrote: Hey K-metal thanks for all of this I will respond.
Question. Ive seen spdif connections with the rca type jacks
but now Ive seen the adat type spdif connections on a Korg D3200
will that carry 8 channels? could I use that to record from the 428
I just found a unit in good shape works perfect for a few hundred dollars

S/PDIF is a 2-channel protocol that can be carried on coax copper wire or on an optical fibre. The coax conventionally terminates in RCA (UK: phono) connectors. You can buy coax-optical converters that will convert between one form and the other without interpreting the protocol.

Of the common multi-channel protocols, an optical fibre can carry either the two-channel S/PDIF or the 8-channel ADAT. You can't tell by looking at the optical jack what protocols are in use, and the optical jacks on some equipment can be switched to use one protocol to the other. Most 2-channel gear only has S/PDIF, where switching (if available) is between the coax and the optical jacks.

Ok it was a steal at 200 but the Akai DPS24, Roland VS2480 and the KorgXd32 seem to be the contenders if I decide to do that.
But were looking anywhere from 700 to 1300 ish

both machines are pretty long in the tooth. be careful to get one in good shape and then pray it doesn't break down. i would guess they are difficult to get repaired. the Akai is the better imo but the Korg is a more recent product and probably easier to get serviced.

Here is a shot. Im guessing that you can only record 2 tracks from the 428 at a time.

I know its a crap shoot. and people can say they work perfect but they are quite old. If the new tascam had lightpipe I would go for that for the longevity

This is still being sold : 8-channel ADAT Optical I/O Option for Yamaha 01V, AW4416, AW2816, and 02R96
You could try to find one of those mixers
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/MY8AT--yamaha-my8at-8-channel-adat-i-o-card

One thing to consider : 1 x ADAT port can transfer 8 channel at 48khz and only 4ch at 96khz.
We can aggregate 2 adat port to get 8ch at 96khz.
(just in case you didn't know)

Thx Pcrecord, I was just going to look at the yamaha stuff cause it kept popping up
yes I know it cuts the track count in 1/2 as Ive been reading so I know now.

Wow the 02r looks amazing but around 2k to 3k
I love the look of the 4416 theres one here for $500 near me

600 bucks new!

https://www.zoom-na.com/products/production-recording/live-sound-recording/zoom-livetrak-l-12

Thanks Kurt, this was a huge contender, Im recording into my Focusrite ISA 428 pre and want to come out of that
with the adat lightpipe connections into a recorder that has the same. Record everything there. Dump to computer and mix
This and most new units Tascam etc, dont have Toslink and I want to take advantage of the 48k and 96k. But this was almost an option.

you can go into the ISA pre and come out of it analog into the Zoom on the line inputs. i seriously doubt you would be able to any difference in this way as opposed to the way you are describing.

i doubt you will find a potty-studio that has that capability.

I guess I was trying to maintain the quality using the toslink. Something to think about . Thanks

do a test. record to the DAW out of the ISA via tos link or digital outs and a porta studio out of the analog outs then import the porta studio tracks back into the DAW and put them all up side by side. maybe even do a null test. ?? my guess is the difference will so negligible it will be hard to hear.

Been doing a lot of reading, and some folks who seem to know what they are talking about are saying they wanted to purchase these type of units
to improve workflow and have said that in fact it has been the opposite experience. Too many manuals to read, too many things going wrong, too many sounds that dont compare to what we have in 2018.
This is the last thing I want.
So what Im wondering now is, do I get the new tascam or zoom unit and just come out of the ISa428 1/4 inch into those units just for recording? Or am I wasting my time.
I still have 2 controllers coming in that I want to give a whirl to help ease the In The Box pain. But Im starting to feel like dropping 800 to 1000 for a 10 20 30 year old unit
is asking for trouble when I can own another mic fro example.

The first question I ask is, is there a direct path to the converter or does my external preamp will go to an analog circuit (part of a preamp or not) before being converted to digital.
Also what will be the converter's quality...

I know Kurt's opinion is that going from the ISA to an analog input won't change the sound much. I would say it depends on the unit in question.
Half of my ISA preamps goes to a UA 4-710 direct to preamp converter inputs and the other half goes to again direct to converter inputs in my Fireface 800.
I did try one of my ISA Two via a Focusrite Saffire 56 preamp before getting the FF800 and when I made the switch I definitly heard the difference. The Saffire didn't have direct path, you could set the preamp input as line input but the signal still went through the same analog circuit of the preamp which wasn't very good.

I'm with you in being carefull. After spending 2k on a preamp unit, why degrading the signal with a wrong path to conversion?
I looked at the zoom 24 and see all inputs having gain knobs. This makes me believe they don't have direct path to converters.
Same thing with the tascam DP-24SD

Of course these are opinions and I'm not an expert. It's just that in my studio, I wouldn't take the chance.

Another possibility would be to find a digital mixer with Adat. Some can record on usb or SD cards (althought they sometime only record 2 tracks at the time)
Or find an audio interface that can work in stand alone mode and records via USB
Like this one : http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/fireface_ufx-plus.php

porta studios all share the same drawbacks which are the lo volt /amp power supplies and the included mic pres. mic pres designed to a price point are bad enough but when they are powered by low volts you get a double whammy and it ain't pretty. it takes a lot of energy to power a mic pre properly.

using a better mic pre into any porta studio will yield better results than using the built in pres but how much degradation is caused by using an analog mic pre input on said porta studio is any ones guess.

i believe the Korg has line inputs and i'm guessing the AKAI does too. any porta studio thing is a compromise between quality and portability / convince. but i have heard some very good sounding projects come off those things and there are lots of examples of hit recordings that were done on even cheaper cheeser porta studios than either a KORG or AKAI.

i personally think you should try to figure out a way to streamline firing up your DAW. you should be able to build a start session template with 8 or 10 track lanes already delineated and ready to arm , put an icon on your desk top and be able to boot up and get going in a couple of minutes at the longest.

As promised here are 2 clips. The labeled analog I recorded direct into the ISA 428 input and out of the TRS output into the Clarett 4pre input in the rear, not the front with the pres. The second I recorded direct into,the ISA 428 out of the lightpipe connector into the lightpipe input on the clarett 4pre. A tiny bit of reverb on the right solo track. thats it. No compression or anything else. Here they are. what do you think?

[MEDIA=audio]https://recording.o…

[MEDIA=audio]https://recording.o…

Attached files 428-Analog mp3.mp3 (1.9 MB)  428-Lightpipe.mp3 (1.9 MB) 

i can hear a difference even on cheapo desktop speakers. more lo end on the analog.

pcrecord, post: 458746, member: 46460 wrote: The first question I ask is, is there a direct path to the converter or does my external preamp will go to an analog circuit (part of a preamp or not) before being converted to digital.
Also what will be the converter's quality...

I know Kurt's opinion is that going from the ISA to an analog input won't change the sound much. I would say it depends on the unit in question.
Half of my ISA preamps goes to a UA 4-710 direct to preamp converter inputs and the other half goes to again direct to converter inputs in my Fireface 800.
I did try one of my ISA Two via a Focusrite Saffire 56 preamp before getting the FF800 and when I made the switch I definitly heard the difference. The Saffire didn't have direct path, you could set the preamp input as line input but the signal still went through the same analog circuit of the preamp which wasn't very good.

I'm with you in being carefull. After spending 2k on a preamp unit, why degrading the signal with a wrong path to conversion?
I looked at the zoom 24 and see all inputs having gain knobs. This makes me believe they don't have direct path to converters.
Same thing with the tascam DP-24SD

Of course these are opinions and I'm not an expert. It's just that in my studio, I wouldn't take the chance.

Another possibility would be to find a digital mixer with Adat. Some can record on usb or SD cards (althought they sometime only record 2 tracks at the time)
Or find an audio interface that can work in stand alone mode and records via USB
Like this one : http://www.rme-audio.de/en/products/fireface_ufx-plus.php

Yeah not gonna out the money out but have a line on a D3200 for 200 in working condition. Im ok with springing for that to see if it is something that I would enjoy using.
And if it is hope that something in the near future comes with toslink as a feature. Its only 200 compared to 700, 1000, 1500 and 2000 units Ive been looking at.
itll be easy to get that money back. When my controllers come, those 2 and the unit I buy will determine what I should use and which way it will go.

Kurt Foster, post: 458747, member: 7836 wrote: porta studios all share the same drawbacks which are the lo volt /amp power supplies and the included mic pres. mic pres designed to a price point are bad enough but when they are powered by low volts you get a double whammy and it ain't pretty. it takes a lot of energy to power a mic pre properly.

using a better mic pre into any porta studio will yield better results than using the built in pres but how much degradation is caused by using an analog mic pre input on said porta studio is any ones guess.

i believe the Korg has line inputs and i'm guessing the AKAI does too. any porta studio thing is a compromise between quality and portability / convince. but i have heard some very good sounding projects come off those things and there are lots of examples of hit recordings that were done on even cheaper cheeser porta studios than either a KORG or AKAI.

i personally think you should try to figure out a way to streamline firing up your DAW. you should be able to build a start session template with 8 or 10 track lanes already delineated and ready to arm , put an icon on your desk top and be able to boot up and get going in a couple of minutes at the longest.

Yes been working on this as we go along creating templates etc.

I can hear the same difference Kurt can on this terrible sounding phone.

The berringer x32 does 32 I/o via it's USB connection. It also has an adat and Madi expansion, can be remote controlled via phone, tablet, and pc/Mac/Linux, and has a HUI mode for hands on control. Looks like Sweetwater has one going for 1500$. Feature wise this thing looks tough to beat. And you can bypass it's Sonic's by using the digital adat io.

https://m.musictribe.com/Categories/Behringer/Mixers/Digital/X32/p/P0ASF

Also, having used the mackie big knob quite a biy, I can attest that is one of the worst pieces of audio equipment available. Nothing will mess up your signal chain more than that thing. I'd rather monitor thru an iPhone. It really is one of the few things mackie makes that is garbage. Audient and Coleman both make monitor controllers that are good, not the cheapest, but the lowest prices points available for a monitor controller worth having. Plug your speakers directly into the clarett then thru the mackie and you'll notice a significant degradation in the sound. I a/b things putting them in the chain one at a time and the different between a motu and apogee Rosetta and iPod was not as significant as the difference between the big knob in the chain and without.

kmetal, post: 458756, member: 37533 wrote: I can hear the same difference Kurt can on this terrible sounding phone.

Me too now that it was mentioned. So what does that mean?

kmetal, post: 458757, member: 37533 wrote: The berringer x32 does 32 I/o via it's USB connection. It also has an adat and Madi expansion, can be remote controlled via phone, tablet, and pc/Mac/Linux, and has a HUI mode for hands on control. Looks like Sweetwater has one going for 1500$. Feature wise this thing looks tough to beat. And you can bypass it's Sonic's by using the digital adat io.

https://m.musictribe.com/Categories/Behringer/Mixers/Digital/X32/p/P0ASF

Ill have to take a closer look, but correct me if Im wrong its s digital mixer not a multitrack digital recorder?

kmetal, post: 458759, member: 37533 wrote: Also, having used the mackie big knob quite a biy, I can attest that is one of the worst pieces of audio equipment available. Nothing will mess up your signal chain more than that thing. I'd rather monitor thru an iPhone. It really is one of the few things mackie makes that is garbage. Audient and Coleman both make monitor controllers that are good, not the cheapest, but the lowest prices points available for a monitor controller worth having. Plug your speakers directly into the clarett then thru the mackie and you'll notice a significant degradation in the sound. I a/b things putting them in the chain one at a time and the different between a motu and apogee Rosetta and iPod was not as significant as the difference between the big knob in the chain and without.

I will do that and yes Ive heard that about the big knob. I suppose because the clarett was in my rack I have to keep walking back to turn the volume up and down and also wont have access to 4 sets of monitors to switch to.

So the issue I posted days back about the interference that sounds like some digital noise and I recorded it. Cant believe I figured it out.
Not sure why, but at least I know now and I have options. The ISA 428 when it is at 48khz thats when that noise shows up in the speakers and the meters.
Even with no mics plugged in. The second I change to 88, 96 even 44 all the way up to 196 the noise disappears and the meters are clear.
Soon as I put it back to 48khz. There it is.

phantomvintagegear, post: 458760, member: 40493 wrote: Me too now that it was mentioned. So what does that mean?

To me it means everything in the chain makes a difference, just to be aware of it.

phantomvintagegear, post: 458761, member: 40493 wrote: Ill have to take a closer look, but correct me if Im wrong its s digital mixer not a multitrack digital recorder?

Yes it's a digital mixer. It plays very nicely with a daw as it's designed to be integrated with one. I like that it's designed with daws in mind. It's much better than trying to integrate something like an 02r that can be integrated, but not necessarily designed with that in mind.

Plus you get the features of the mixer, the real-time effects ect.

phantomvintagegear, post: 458762, member: 40493 wrote: I will do that and yes Ive heard that about the big knob. I suppose because the clarett was in my rack I have to keep walking back to turn the volume up and down and also wont have access to 4 sets of monitors to switch to.

The clarett probably has a way to control the montitor levels via a window, in your computer.

You can hook up two pairs of monitors via the 4 line outputs, and you can probably get an adapter or fairly close to properly gain stage out from the headphone jack for the other pair or two.

Having 4 pairs of speakers hooked up to the big knob is no advantage. The big knob is audio destruction and not in a good way.

phantomvintagegear, post: 458763, member: 40493 wrote: So the issue I posted days back about the interference that sounds like some digital noise and I recorded it. Cant believe I figured it out.
Not sure why, but at least I know now and I have options. The ISA 428 when it is at 48khz thats when that noise shows up in the speakers and the meters.
Even with no mics plugged in. The second I change to 88, 96 even 44 all the way up to 196 the noise disappears and the meters are clear.
Soon as I put it back to 48khz. There it is.

You can try re-seating the digital card. Take it out, clean it by rubbing a clean pencil eraser over the connection part and blow away the rub off. You can also push the card in and out a few times after you clean it, before putting it back in for good. You have some oxidation on that card. Other than that I'm not site, maybe a clock/sync issue, or a electrical power issue.

You can hook this up two your second pair of line outs and have three speakers sets, or get two of them and use 4 sets of speakers.

http://www.radialeng.com/product/mc3/

kmetal, post: 458764, member: 37533 wrote: To me it means everything in the chain makes a difference, just to be aware of it.

Yes it's a digital mixer. It plays very nicely with a daw as it's designed to be integrated with one. I like that it's designed with daws in mind. It's much better than trying to integrate something like an 02r that can be integrated, but not necessarily designed with that in mind.

Plus you get the features of the mixer, the real-time effects ect.

The clarett probably has a way to control the montitor levels via a window, in your computer.

You can hook up two pairs of monitors via the 4 line outputs, and you can probably get an adapter or fairly close to properly gain stage out from the headphone jack for the other pair or two.

Having 4 pairs of speakers hooked up to the big knob is no advantage. The big knob is audio destruction and not in a good way.

You can try re-seating the digital card. Take it out, clean it by rubbing a clean pencil eraser over the connection part and blow away the rub off. You can also push the card in and out a few times after you clean it, before putting it back in for good. You have some oxidation on that card. Other than that I'm not site, maybe a clock/sync issue, or a electrical power issue.

Card was almost brand new, but Ill give it a shot.

kmetal, post: 458765, member: 37533 wrote: You can hook this up two your second pair of line outs and have three speakers sets, or get two of them and use 4 sets of speakers.

http://www.radialeng.com/product/mc3/

Kyle that looks absolutely awesome for me. Id be glad to get rid of the big knob. I like the fact that you can control the sub too. thats next on my list. Awesome thanks

kmetal, post: 458764, member: 37533 wrote: To me it means everything in the chain makes a difference, just to be aware of it.

Yes it's a digital mixer. It plays very nicely with a daw as it's designed to be integrated with one. I like that it's designed with daws in mind. It's much better than trying to integrate something like an 02r that can be integrated, but not necessarily designed with that in mind.

Plus you get the features of the mixer, the real-time effects ect.

I always like the x32. I remember wanting to buy it as a simply a s a controller, but it does so much more. too bad it doesn't record. Maybe one day something with that capability may come out or they may not be a market for it.

The clarett probably has a way to control the montitor levels via a window, in your computer.

You can hook up two pairs of monitors via the 4 line outputs, and you can probably get an adapter or fairly close to properly gain stage out from the headphone jack for the other pair or two.

Having 4 pairs of speakers hooked up to the big knob is no advantage. The big knob is audio destruction and not in a good way.

You can try re-seating the digital card. Take it out, clean it by rubbing a clean pencil eraser over the connection part and blow away the rub off. You can also push the card in and out a few times after you clean it, before putting it back in for good. You have some oxidation on that card. Other than that I'm not site, maybe a clock/sync issue, or a electrical power issue.[