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eeklipz 6 March 2013

BAvid HD Native Thunderbolt wHD OMNI vs Duet 2B

Members,

I am an extreme novice when it comes to engineering (no mixmaster experience) I have "recorded" my previous album in the past, yet all my work gets sent to an engineer for mixing and master.

However, I just have done a complete rehaul of my brand new studio. Treating booth, buying high-end gear , and trying to make the best "sounds" I can. In a nut shell, I am going to learn to be a better "self" engineer, and possibly take classes to learn more. In addition, helping other artist record in my studio to create great music!

My questions

1. What are the sonic differences between recording with a Duet 2 and the Avid HD Native Thunderbolt wHD OMNI?

2. Does the built in preamp trump my Great River?

3. Is the built in Headphone amp trump my Duet 2's headphone amp?

4. What would the upgrade do for me in terms of staying ahead of the "industry standard" (shrug) curve?

5. Is it worth the extreme $5,000 coins? (Crazy) Since I am at beginner anyway! lol

6. Is the audio quality basically going to get lost in MP3 and Radio play anyways?

7. Latency differences? Different way to increase clock on Duet? Black lion?

My gear: Neumann U87 ai (Stephan Paul MOD)>Great River ME-NV1>Duet 2>Adam A5X wSub7>Macbook Air (i5 2011) Headphones (Byerdynamic DT770 Pro 250 OHMS, Ultrasone edition 8)

My Music: Hip-Hop, R &B, Reagge, and some alternative.

Note: I recently sold my Retina i7, so I understand I will need to upgrade my computer again if I choose the HD path. (Trsut me, I am kicking myself BIG TIME over here).

Any and all adivce is much appreciate. This forum is great and I thank everyone for helping me along my future endevours.

Regards,

eeklipz

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Comments

hueseph Wed, 03/06/2013 - 15:57

1: It's debatable. Mostly simultaneous input of 6 as opposed to 2, wordclock I/O, ADAT I/O, DB16 connectors, expandability.

2: No

3: Not necessarily

4: It won't necessarily keep you ahead of the standard. With Avid being on shaky ground, it might be a step backward. Wait a while before you buy. I'm not even sure that the Native Card will support HD 11. Logically it should but whether it will or not is yet to be seen.

5: For $5000 you could get an [="http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ApolloQuad/"]UAD Apollo [/]="http://www.sweetwat…"]UAD Apollo [/]fully decked out with all of the plugins, Thunderbolt connectivity and maybe even a Pro Tools HD license with an iLok2. ([[url=http://="http://duc.avid.com…"]You don't need HD hardware to run PT 10 HD[/]="http://duc.avid.com…"]You don't need HD hardware to run PT 10 HD[/], the limitations are almost entirely in the license.). Licenses were cheap earlier this year. I saw them going at $800 or less. The prices have skyrocketed since and may not be worth it.

6: Yes......maybe.....it depends. A high bitrate MP3 can sound just fine. Radio play is another issue altogether and for the most part is really inconsequential. People don't expect high quality from the radio.

7: Latency on the Native should be noticeably better but the Apollo should also be considerably better

TheJackAttack Thu, 03/07/2013 - 07:31

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Duet. It is a quality piece of gear. That said, if you require MORE than two inputs then obviously the Duet is not the ticket. The Apollo that was recommended by all accounts is very very good. I would rather send you that path than HD even if you stay with the PT software. The audio quality of the mix itself will come through in a lower quality format if the mix itself is quality. Basically, it is far easier to mix in a quality environment and hear what needs to be tweaked and adjusted. This is what will actually make the mp3 better.

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