I have a setup like that, on a Mac running Logic but that makes no difference. I have a RME HDSP 9652 pci-card which gives 24+2 digital ins & outs. 3 optical in/out which are 8 channels each and a stereo spdif. It works on PC aswell and is a very nice problem-free soundcard. If you need more ins or outs you can add up to four cards for a total of 96 channels. It has wordclock in/out aswell. It also has some power so playing the audiotracks takes no load on the computer cpu. Check http://www.rme-audio.com

Then choose an AD/DA that has optical (adat lightpipe) connectors. I have Apogees (DA16 and Rosetta) and I can't recommend them enough. Very nice, smooth and open. Tight, deep bass and open top end. Detailed and wide stereo image. You can't go wrong with them. I clock the system from the Rosetta.

For a little extra dsp I added the TC Powercore and the Universal Audio UAD-1 powered plugins.

It works like a dream and sounds awesome.

Marcus,

Thanks.

How about the new Rosetta 800...which sports an X-Firewire option card slot for use with Mac OS X & Windows XP computers?

How are the converters on those (if you've heard)? (Close to the DA16 or original Rosetta?)

That would save me grabbing an interface from an outside mfg. (although...I've heard great things about the RME software controls & diagnostics.)

Thanks again,

mark4man

please stop using the word hi-end about every piece of pro gear out there....

Haven't heard the Rosetta 800 but I have a hard time believing that they have made it worse. I'm thinking about getting one too for more ins&outs. The Firewire-thing might be an option but one word of warning: if you use external firewiredrives for recording the Firewire-bus might get very busy. I have a friend who has problems with that. He needs to record on an internal drive when using a firewire-interface to avoid glitches and cracks in the sound. Personally I have no experience of firewire-interfaces.

:)

yes.... i'm actually a guy who loves alot of things....

analog tape, a manley vari-mu, low jitter, my mother, apple computers, great sound in general, girls at springtime.... i could go on!

but this forum is filled with people using cheap soundcards on pc's on genelecs.... and nothing wrong with that.... they probably make great music.... but that doesn't mean that they're hi-end guru's or even know what the word means....

i don't write about "hi-end" tremolo system on a guitar forum..... i know s**t about guitars...... but i know about hi-end...

peace :D

Hi Mark4man and Marcus Black,

I think you guys entered in an interesting dialogue, which is comparing the Apogee converters to the RME's.
What's interesting, Marcus, is that you chose the RME card to go with the Apogee converters. Why not the RME converters ?
Are the Apogees really so much better ( there is a considerable
price difference ) ?
And Marcus are you running Logic in Core audio when you are working with the TC powercard and UA plug-ins ? using DAE at all ?
Anybody else had the chance to compare Apogee to RME ?
Thanks.

Turner...

Good idea !!!

Hey, everyone...which is better & why...Apogee or RME?

mark4man

(Or...which is more high-end, eh?)

:lol:

Personal insults and observations only drag the threads off topic. Please don't do that. Stick to the facts and keep the personalities out of it please.

Also, refrain from the use of coarse language. As one of the most viewed sites of this type on the net, it's a lead pipe cinch that there are some young people out there viewing the threads. I don't want their parents to be checking what the kids have been looking at and see a lot of inappropriate language and then in turn locking RO out of the family computer. Thanks guys, K.

I'll bump this, as I use RME conversion and PCI cards (Multiface + PCI DSP card + ADI-8 Pro via ADAT). I'm happy with them (especially since I got them for below 1/2 of retail price off eBay :wink: ). They are CERTAINLY better than my VS-2480 converters.

I have not worked with Apogee or Lavry stuff, so I can't really guess what I'm missing. I know my room is in dyer need of treatment WAY before I can rationalize $3000 on new converters. Anyway - would a $3500 "upgrade" to Apogee be noticeable considering I already have $2500 worth of RME conversion (that I paid $1200 for!). Opinions?

:cool:

Turner, I chose the Apogees because I like the way they sound. I had used Apogees (and lots of other converters aswell) in mixing rooms and by the time of my own upgrade I was just very convinced that I wanted the Apogees, out of my own experience with them. I chose the RME card because I think it's one of the best for a native system. Yes, I'm one of the "dare to say no to ProTools"-guys.
Yes, I run Logic in Core Audio and the dsp cards provide all the power I need, especially since i mix outside the box.