I'm a newbie and am interested in the MOTU 896HD. When I look at how many inputs it has it says it has 18: 8 analog, 2 AES, and 8 ADAT channels. but the 8 ADAT channels are through one connector. How can that one connector cover 8 channels? If anyone has any info on this or can lead me to a site that explains how ADAT works it would be very helpful. Thanks.
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Adat or light pipe recording Hi Zroll, I have an Adat machine,
Adat or light pipe recording
Hi Zroll,
I have an Adat machine, and yes this optical cable carries 8 tracks at a time. Wiring size has nothing to do with accuracy or resolution except in the case of insufficient shielding which can create problems with interference and loss of your original audio signal.
If you do not have an Adat (digital tape machine) or a digital mixer with optical connectors (tiny little square jacks), you are unlikely to use this option. However, if you do, you can save time and avoid additional noise being introduced into your recordings.
A couple things to keep in mind:
1) you should match the sample rates of the machine sending the signals and the machine (your 896) receiving the signals. Choose 48 Khz, 44.1 Khz or 96 Khz accordingly.
2) Your bit rates of 16, 24, etc,... should also match.
3) Sync your machines by making one the "clock" and keep in mind that nasty crashes, jitter, pitch problems and other joys can be yours if you do not look after your sync preferences.
Good luck to you!
8-)
The adat is a fibre optic cable (pipe) and carries 8 discrete ch
The adat is a fibre optic cable (pipe) and carries 8 discrete channels. To use it you need an adat output device like the Alesi AI-3 optical patchbay ,the Octopre or the Presonus Digimax. These are 8 input analog front ends and the signal is digitized and then inserted into the motu thru the fibre optic pipe. So instead of 8 balanced connectors in a snake you have one little 1/8 inch cable and absolutely no chance of inductance or noise entering the chain.