PT Front-end conundrum. Any help would be appreciated..

[MikeC]

Hi there, folks,

I've been shuffling around at the back of the forum for a while - thought I'd make my first post.

I'm looking for a decent "front-end" to a Mix+/ADAT bridge combo. I have a Presonus Digimax on loan at the moment which is ok but not something I feel comfortable with for the longer term. Initially I thought to get a multi-channel AD converter but I'm finding that I never track more than two channels at once. And even then, I'm running most synth/samplers through the spdif input of the bridge so I'm also happy to look at a quality mono channel.

So, what's to be had? In my mind, there are two routes to consider:

a) a channel strip with a spdif/ADAT output
TC Gold Channel
Focusrite ISA 220 + digi-board
SPL Channel One + digi-board
Any others?

b) a converter + channel strip
AD converter, eg. Rosetta + TL Audio C1
Any others?

The second option tends to be more expensive but I suspect a better configuration. However, at this level I start to wonder whether it's worthwile putting the cash towards the HD upgrade.

Any thoughts or advice?

Thanks in advance,

Mike

 

[wrobbiegee]

Hi Mike,

If you are likely to branch out and add different pres in the future for variety, vintage colour or for stereo micing then it might be better to have a standalone AD converter .....

if not, the all-in-one concept is pretty neat and
I have been eyeing up the new slimmed down ISA220 myself

what about quality DA's for monitoring ? Are you sure you won't want any DA conversion at some point ?

try and project what your needs might become in the future to shape your decision now ....

 

[anonymous]

With a Cranesong Hedd or Apogee PSX100, you could record in stereo and use the D/A section independantly to send your mix out to monitors...

Option b seems coolest to me... but "spendy"!

 

[MikeC]

Thanks for replies.

Option b is my favourite too. The bitter pill is that for about the same cash as a PSX100 + mic-pre, I could be looking at the HD2/96k upgrade. It wouldn't have been an issue if Digi hadn't changed the goalposts. Doh!

Hmmmm. Not sure. At the moment, I'm mostly editing/mixing and using the stereo out of the ADAT bridge for monitoring. Not really a problem yet but I'll be needing to be gear up for some vocal sessions within the next few weeks. Decision time......

Cheers,

Mike

 

[groundcontrol]

How about a Lucid AD9624? It is quite good sounding, really affordable and you could connect it to your adat bridge spdif i/o. Hell, it's 96k ready so you will still be using it when you upgrade to HD/96. Eventually you can add the DA9624 to really upgrade your monitoring chain. All for a fraction of the cost of a PSX-100. (Before I bought my first AD9624, I did a shootout with the PSX-100 and chose the Lucid on the basis of sound alone...)

Best of all, it will leave you some money to get your micpres and you can upgrade your DA later on.

I would personally stay clear of an all in one micpre/converter (except obviously a Spider!) because you can't upgrade easily parts of your chain and you might well end up with an unused portion of that combo unit sooner than later. :w:

 

[Allen Hallada]

I just bought a new Cranesong HEDD 192 ADA from Todd at http://www.soundpure.com for 2,700.00. That was about 500.00 less than the next lowest price I could find on it. It just came about 3 hours ago so I haven't even had the chance to check it out yet. Thanks to Brad and all the guys here for recommending it to me.
Allen :w: This guy is cool!

 

[anonymous]

Post back when you have heard it!