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I am being sold on a Lynx Hilo for my mastering conversion and monitoring solution. Do any of you ME's have an opinion on this? I noticed the Aurora has 8 channels (instead of the 2- Hilo) and sells for ~$500 less than the Hilo. Is the conversion the same? I was also looking into the CRane Song HEDD.

Please help, because my head is spinning over this.

Thanks
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Comments

audiokid Thu, 04/19/2012 - 20:11

Looks like lynx is actually making something worth buying now but I wouldn't touch anything with a touch screen. I'd be interested in a comparison between the HILO vs Lavry Black. The Headphone quality sounds pretty impressive and that would be big on my list for mastering. Lots of bells and whistles you may not need. Sounds like a nice system other than some things I wouldn't be wanting. I personally think there is a lot of added Gearslutz hype around Lynx.

Crane Song and a few other choices too. Lots of fun and study buying a new converter. Good luck and please let me know how you make out? Quality ADDA are big on my must have list.

chasmar Thu, 04/19/2012 - 23:16

Thanks for the input. Much appreciated. audiokid: I too agree about the touch screen - it seems rather gimmicky and makes me think this will be a discontinued product soon. ....time will tell.

I just put in an offer on a Forssell MADA-2. This got really good reviews and they allow a demo time period. It can be returned for a full refund (minus shipping costs) if I don't like it. The only thing I don't like is that there isn't a firewire or USB interface on this. The digital inputs are: "

AES3 (AES/EBU) 110 ohm (XLR) and SPDIF 75 ohm (RCA)"

I'm not crazy about changing out my IO card for the inputs so I may look into some sort of USB3 conversion device for the SPDIF if I like it.

Thanks again.
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chasmar Thu, 05/17/2012 - 03:37

mstan, post: 389674 wrote: Well, how do you like the Forssell? I am considering it also after having demo'd the Hilo (which sounded nice but the left channel monitor out went bad after 3 days so couldn't really judge it).

I actually didn't get it. I got the prism orpheus instead and I love it.

I should note though that the Prism firewire functionality is a little fussy - I have to shut off my network card or I'll get pops and cracks in the audio. In a Windows environment I have always had this problem with firewire and audio production anyway.

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audiokid Thu, 05/17/2012 - 16:59

cool, I just got an Orpheus too! Its wonderful. I haven't noticed any issues with the firewaire at all. It hooked up and was running perfectly right from the get go.

PS,

The Lavry AD11 is awesome as well. What an excellent mobile product and and perfect 2 track mastering AD.

There is a Thunderbold option for the Prism mentioned here:

Great choice BTW!
http://www.prismsound.com/music_recording/studio_news.php?story=0259

chasmar Sat, 06/16/2012 - 17:13

audiokid, post: 389717 wrote: cool, I just got an Orpheus too! Its wonderful. I haven't noticed any issues with the firewaire at all. It hooked up and was running perfectly right from the get go.

PS,

The Lavry AD11 is awesome as well. What an excellent mobile product and and perfect 2 track mastering AD.

There is a Thunderbold option for the Prism mentioned here:

Great choice BTW!
[[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.prismsou…"]Prism Sound News: Thunderbolt solution for Prism Sound Orpheus and ADA-8XR interfaces[/]="http://www.prismsou…"]Prism Sound News: Thunderbolt solution for Prism Sound Orpheus and ADA-8XR interfaces[/]

Nice! Hope you're enjoying it as much as I am. (I suspect you are). I looked into that Thunderbolt option and it's only for Mac. ....yea I'm one of those PC audio guys. :cool:

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audiokid Sat, 06/16/2012 - 19:10

Looks like Thunderbolt will be available for PC

Looks like Thunderbolt will be available for PC:
[="http://www.extremetech.com/computing/125953-thunderbolt-for-pcs-a-reality-as-ivy-bridge-launch-nears"]Thunderbolt for PCs a reality as Ivy Bridge launch nears | ExtremeTech[/]="http://www.extremet…"]Thunderbolt for PCs a reality as Ivy Bridge launch nears | ExtremeTech[/]

If you’re a PC user dreaming of [[url=http://="http://www.extremet…"]Thunderbolt[/]="http://www.extremet…"]Thunderbolt[/], today’s news will be music to your ears. According to reports, Intel has begun shipping its second-generation Thunderbolt controller, which means motherboards supporting the technology (like [="http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/125373-intels-z77-ivy-bridge-chipset-debuts-but-is-unready-for-prime-time"]Intel’s DZ77GA[/]="http://www.extremet…"]Intel’s DZ77GA[/]) and the company’s next generation CPU will be able to ship. Cactus Ridge is Intel’s first Thunderbolt chip that supports Windows, and is expected to launch alongside the chipmaker’s upcoming Ivy Bridge CPU.

Intel’s PC Client group chief Kirk Skaugen said earlier this week at the Intel Developer Forum in Beijing that [[url=http://="http://intelstudios…"]he expects at least 100 Thunderbolt-capable devices[/]="http://intelstudios…"]he expects at least 100 Thunderbolt-capable devices[/] available at retail by the end of the year, increasing to the “hundreds” in 2013.

and

PC support is key. While HP may be a lost cause, Intel must focus on the rest of the market, especially Dell, to ensure that Thunderbolt does not go the same way that FireWire did. There too Apple had its hands in the pot, and created a standard that was too expensive to implement. Sounding like Thunderbolt yet? USB 2.0 was cheaper and easier (and also featured backward compatibility), and it won the day.

As ExtremeTech’s Sebastian Anthony [[url=http://[/URL]="http://www.extremet…"]pointed out last year[/]="http://www.extremet…"]pointed out last year[/], if Thunderbolt peripherals continue to cost $200-300 more, it doesn’t matter who supports it — nobody’s going to use it.

chasmar Sun, 06/17/2012 - 11:28

Ahhh...good news audiokid. Thanks a lot for looking into that. I'll then have to consider the "Prism" factor and consider how much that will cost. At any rate, it would probably be a good investment since I plan on keeping the Orpheus for a long..long...long..long time.

Hey, how are those preamps? Don't they sound fabulous? Everything sounds so "finished" with a simple recording. The built in limiters are soooo transparent.

Thanks again for checking this out.
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audiokid Sun, 06/17/2012 - 15:30

Now know why these cost what they do, they sound so smooth. I use mine right now as a mastering converter to a second DAW. So I am doing the hybrid thing and do not do any SRC anymore. My chain is like this now:

preamps> RME ADI-8 QS > AD> DAW > RME ADI-8 QS DA > Hybrid summing system > Orpheus AD to second DAW, Master and happy! I use the Lavry DA11 for monitoring. What a system.

Just wonderful sounding system now.

I haven't spent enough time with the preamps but they are definitively good enough for high end acoustic work. Its now my beloved mobile system.