:) I use one, AW-4416, there is no way I will ever use all the features. I am still learning mine. But, step by step I'm getting it. No glitches yet. It's the real deal all bundled into one thing.

Go to Yamaha's website and check the features and options. Quite a machine, and I'm turning mine on right now. Ready to roll. The other you mention may be nice as well, maybe easier, I dunno, but you can find good deals on the Yam around.

--Rick

the top of the line yamaha sounds great, I think the akai dps24 has 24 tracks (24 bit 96k) so it depends on your needs, the yamaha has up to 16 @ up to 24 bits

I use the 4416 and am quite happy. I haven't used the Akai but have heard good stuff about it. I think you can pick up a used 4416 on ebay for around $1200 and for that price you definately can't go wrong. The converters and pres are probably your weakest link on any stand alone recorder and I can't imagine that there is a lot of difference in sound quality between the two. As far as expansion options the Yamaha appears to be a sure thing.

Rob

Originally posted by Rob Chittum:
I use the 4416 and am quite happy...As far as expansion options the Yamaha appears to be a sure thing.

Rob

Hi Rob, and all! All these stand alone HD recorders appear to be nice Re: Fostex/Roland/Akia etc. Do you have the apogee cards for your aw-4416 system?

Do you ever use the remote (host computer) connection, and for what?

Finally, would it not be GREAT if Yamaha provided a video output for a monitor like the old S-50 sampling keyboard had? Only higher res of course.

--Rick

I have a DPS16 and it is a killer for sound. But it can be a little cranky, and the fan is too loud. If you can handle the fan noise, look for a late production DPS16 with a 20 G or better drive and a v. 3.02 OS installed; should be available on ebay for under a grand. You will have to pick up an external SCSI CD/RW; ebay is good for that, too, as there is a vendor who has done the research and matched the drive to the DPS.

The Yammi has all this onboard (and is more convenient), but the DPS16 is the first (and I believe, still the only) true 24 / 96 portable multitracker out there. The A/D converters and the preamps are extremely quiet, and the thing is nearly indestructible. The sound is amazing.

If you really want something with an onboard burner, I'd pay close attention to the Korg units, particularly the 1200 with its USB connectivity.

I have the AW4416 and love it. One issue comes to mind the moment I think of my AW4416. I like to bring multi-tracked recordings from my AW4416 to my computer where I use ProTools or Samplitude to mixdown and master. The AW4416 seems to make it a bigger task then it should be. The EXPORT function seems to take hours for one track. And the only digital out is RCA which mean if you were to bring it over via the digital out you would have to bring one track at a time. My suggestion is this, I highly recommend the AW4416 unless you plan on bringing over wavs to your computer.

My two sense. I am sure some AW4416 Guru will correct my analysis.

Originally posted by JeffGeb:
My two sense. I am sure some AW4416 Guru will correct my analysis.

:) I am a guru, NOT! I am still learning. Have you looked at all the cards available? There is the SCSI port also. Can anything be done with that?

--Rick

Rick,

Great question. I actually thought about the SCSI port and went running out to buy a SCSI card for my computer thinking that I may be able to write directly from my AW4416 to my Computer. NOT

It was wishfull thinking. I was unsuccessful with that but I can not say I am well versed in all the extra cards AW4416 makes available for purchase. There could be a magic card out there somewhere.

I actually had a huge problem with my AW4416, which was that tracks would at random start to be out of sync with each other, and things would start to loop over and over again while the track was still playing straight through. I did have the unit when it first came out, and was told by Yamaha that it was most likely a hard drive fragmentation problem. When the OS with a defrag option was first introduced, it was the first thing I did after it was installed, but I still had no luck. I had talked to other people that had similar problems, and I think it came to the conclusion that the hard drive isn't isolated from outside vibrations very well. So I would say if you plan on tracking in the same room as the instruments (definately drums!), it might not be the best option. Then again, I haven't had the unit in quite a while now, and perhaps this problem has been rectified since then. I figure it was worth mentioning just in case though, as the problem was nerve wracking, especially when you have paying clients in the room with you.

:) Was it the supplied drive? One of the recommended drives? Just wondering. Mine has never even burped.

--Rick

Hey, sorry for the long delay to answer this, I've been out of town the past few days. Anyway, the drive was the drive that came with the AW4416. Perhaps it was defective, but I talked to quite a few people that had the same problem with it, so if that's the case, I guess a bunch of them were sent out with defective drives. I'm doubting it was the drive that was defective though, I'm guessing more that where it sits within the machine just isn't isolated enough to avoid vibrations from loud sounds to shake the drive and mess things up a bit. But like I said before, I had the AW4416 as soon as it came out, and the problem could very well be rectified at this point. I just didn't stick around to find out because it drove me nuts.

Someone mentioned it taking a long time to transfer tracks to computer for editing from the AW. Actually, I find it easy as hell. I bought two ADAT expansion cards and use an RME Digiset to patch through. I can actually use the AW as my front end and patch directly to Nuendo in one step. Very easy. The only thing is cost... You have to spend another $500 for the ADAT cards and around $700 for the RME card and Digiset. With all of that money, you could probably find a cheaper way to get to the computer, but I love my set-up, and you can't beat having the portability of the AW. I have needed a piano on a tune before, and I just took the AW to the piano (pretty handy). I also find it useful to take the AW to locations where bands want to record and can bring it back, hook up the ADAT cables and transfer it to computer. I can't imagine me using any other machine. It was a steep learning curve (I'm still learning), but the effort is well worth it. I have never messed with the remote function to control Nuendo, because I haven't seen the need for that yet. Let us know what you decide MichaelM. Good luck. To Rick - No I don't have the Apogee cards, how 'bout you? I think the next purchase for me will be an 8 channel AD converter as an upgrade (will be a while though).

Rob

Originally posted by Rob Chittum:
... I find it easy as hell. I bought two ADAT expansion cards and use an RME Digiset to patch through. I can actually use the AW as my front end and patch directly to Nuendo in one step....and you can't beat having the portability of the AW...I can't imagine me using any other machine... No I don't have the Apogee cards, how 'bout you? I think the next purchase for me will be an 8 channel AD converter as an upgrade (will be a while though).

Rob

:) Thanks Rob, for the cards info, the upgrade info, and sharing of the imaginative way you're using it. Nope, don't have the Apogee cards, I'm waiting to hear from someone who has em too! :tu:

--Rick

"I actually had a huge problem with my AW4416, which was that tracks would at random start to be out of sync with each other, and things would start to loop over and over again while the track was still playing straight through. "

There are Roland 2480's went through stuff's like this...we usually see it worked out with upgrades at some point but it seems that from all my reading of the various machine's, no matter the company, there are some that need to be sent back or OS issue's that get better with time.

If anybody get's a Roland VS2480...you may want to get the HD rather than the CD model. This way you can access your hard drive from the front. This seems to be a true convenience and worh the trade off of having the built in CD. Also...you can purchase a Plextor drive that works fine with the 2480's instead of the incredibly expensive Roland CD-RW's.

But I'm rambling...

conga