HD Native / HD Omni versus 003R [Archive]

stevedemena

05-09-2011, 04:26 PM

On a Mac, I currently use PT9 with a 003 Rack. I don't like the fact that when Pro Tools is using the 003 Rack other audio apps can't access the interface to play audio, like iTunes, etc.

If Pro Tools is not running and I need to play audio, even an audio file in Mail it takes time for the "Digi CoreAudio Manager" to load up and for the audio to start playing.

I have an HD Native Core PCIe card coming and I am considering ordering an HD Omni also. If I removed the 003 Rack from my system and used exclusively the HD Native and HD Omni would switching back and forth between Pro Tools and other audio apps work more seamless?

Thanks. I hope I explained this properly.

Jack Ruston

05-09-2011, 05:07 PM

No.

The AVID hardware can not play back system sounds while PT is running.

BUT, the Omni allows you to route any of its inputs to the monitor outputs (provided you're using the omni as a monitor controller as designed). You use the mixer tab in the IO to control pan, level and mute of those inputs. So what you could do is to leave your mac set to play system sounds, and run a cable from the audio output of the mac to an input pair on the Omni. That way you would hear any mac system sounds, iTunes etc through the monitors all the time.

Caveat: I haven't tried this! I've only done it with a CD player and it worked perfectly, but I can't see why it would be any different, except perhaps some level mismatch from the mac built in audio output.

Would that do what you need?

J

stevedemena

05-09-2011, 05:09 PM

Thanks Jack. That sounds helpful & it also sounds like it would help me sample with NI's Maschine.

Craig F

05-09-2011, 08:05 PM

the new Native HD card is not multi-client? booooooooooooo.

Shan

05-09-2011, 10:04 PM

the new Native HD card is not multi-client? booooooooooooo.

Not yet. ;)

Shane

JR Fountain

05-11-2011, 07:15 AM

+1 on the boo for no muliti-client and whatever else they've limited on the core audio driver.

I'm just doing some work on organizing my sound effects library and it sure would be helpful to be able to play out the native card without having to open quicktime or pt. I could do it with my mbox2 pro just fine.

I could also have soundminer and pt open playing out the mbox at the same time without having to use rewire.

JR

SDDP

05-11-2011, 12:33 PM

I had posted something similar to this, I have the HD OMNI and running a 5.1 set up, seperate stereo speakers and TV speakers. Running a my Korg Keyboard via optical and a mic pre digitally in and my Mac (meaning I play anything off the mac and hear it on the 5.1 or stereo speakers). While also feeding a stereo digital dorrough and have 3 headphones and still have the 2 front MIC inputs open.

Great and amazing unit. Except the fan noise :(

JR Fountain

05-11-2011, 06:51 PM

Thanks SDDP, I went and re-read your other post and then clued into how to route the mac pro's output so that it was always playing through regardless if PT was open.

I've also been real happy with my OMNI, and thankfully my fan hasn't given me any issues yet.

JR

BobbyDazzler

05-11-2011, 07:12 PM

Great and amazing unit. Except the fan noise :(

+1 on the fan noise, I hope they work out a retrofit for it.

Shan

05-13-2011, 02:00 PM

+1 on the fan noise, I hope they work out a retrofit for it.

Another +1. Needs a revision for the fan ASAP! :eek:

Shane

sunburst79

05-13-2011, 04:54 PM

The fan noise issue is dampening this prospective buyers interest.

Shan

05-13-2011, 05:50 PM

The fan noise issue is dampening this prospective buyers interest.

I've chatted with a few HD Omni owners and it appears that only some units exhibit this behavior.

Shane

DaveBCC

05-13-2011, 06:21 PM

The fan noise issue is dampening this prospective buyers interest.

Ditto that. I'm still on the fence, but the alternative at that price is maybe SSL alphalink, a MADI card, and CPTK2.

The number of I/Os on the OMNI is right, the conversion quality and preamps are reportedly right, it all sounds good, but the cost for the card and the unit is just too high for a system that might add *fan noise* to the recording environment. (fan noise?!?!) Shan, have you had this issue with yours?

Greg M

05-13-2011, 07:03 PM

I have not had the fan noise issue with my Omni. For those that had it, there was a firmware update that was supposed to fix it.

Greg

Shan

05-13-2011, 07:10 PM

...the cost for the card and the unit is just too high for a system that might add *fan noise* to the recording environment. (fan noise?!?!) Shan, have you had this issue with yours?

Just to be clear, "fan noise" doesn't get added to a recording. As mentioned by Greg, a firmware update supposedly handles the issue. This is something I have yet to look at on my unit, which I'll do now.

Shane

Shan

05-13-2011, 07:11 PM

I have not had the fan noise issue with my Omni. For those that had it, there was a firmware update that was supposed to fix it.

Greg

For those following this thread, do you know the number of the most recent firmware update? Mine is currently sitting at 2.6.

Shane

Shan

05-13-2011, 07:21 PM

For those following this thread, do you know the number of the most recent firmware update? Mine is currently sitting at 2.6.

Shane

I'll do a monologue here. :D Looks like the current firmware is 2.10 which does sort out the fan issue:

The DigiTest 9.0.1 firmware update for HD OMNI (v.2.10) includes a new cooling algorithm that improves some user's experience of fan noise without sacrificing cooling performance.

To update HD OMNI firmware, run the DigiTest 9.0.1 application with HD OMNI connected to your system.

I'll get this going on the weekend and report back. I'm sure all will be fine gents.

Shane

DaveBCC

05-13-2011, 09:11 PM

I'll get this going on the weekend and report back. I'm sure all will be fine gents.

Shane

You dah man.

I know the noise doesn't get added to the recording, but in my case the noise would be sitting in a rack right next to where I record and mix. My room is nicely treated, computer is in a separate closet, etcetera ... it's pretty quiet in here, so adding fan noise as ambient background is kind of a non starter for me :-).

Thanks for taking the time, I will be interested to hear your results!

db

K Roche

05-19-2011, 05:53 PM

Just to be clear, "fan noise" doesn't get added to a recording. Well Yes and No . yes if your mixing, recording midi or have a separate tracking room. However if you have the OMNI in the same room that you are tracking with a good mic in, then in fact it can definitely get added to the recording just like any other extraneous noise.

FWIW I got the firmware update and for the first hour or so it's pretty quiet but with prolonged use it can get loud again. So now I make sure I track early on.

therecordinghouse

05-19-2011, 07:35 PM

The RME Raydat card is multi client, provides 32 IO, and you can used the converters of your choice. :)

Oh yeah, not to mention, direct monitoring and MUCH cheaper.

BobbyDazzler

05-19-2011, 08:44 PM

Shan

05-20-2011, 02:12 PM

You dah man.

I know the noise doesn't get added to the recording, but in my case the noise would be sitting in a rack right next to where I record and mix. My room is nicely treated, computer is in a separate closet, etcetera ... it's pretty quiet in here, so adding fan noise as ambient background is kind of a non starter for me :-).

Thanks for taking the time, I will be interested to hear your results!

db

Just some feedback on this as promised. I upgraded the HD Omni firmware from 2.6 to 2.10 and all is well thus far.

Shane

Shan

05-20-2011, 02:17 PM

Can Someone post a link to the Omni firmware update. Once again the Avid site has thwarted me in my attempts to hunt it down. :rolleyes:

Scrap that..I found it in Digitest. It looks like my Omni reverted back to 2.6 for some reason

As mentioned by Bob above and for those lurking, the update is on the 4th tab of the DigiTest window (http://stashbox.org/1117291/HD-Omni-2.10.PNG). Only takes a few minutes.

Shane

DaveBCC

05-21-2011, 01:37 PM

Just some feedback on this as promised. I upgraded the HD Omni firmware from 2.6 to 2.10 and all is well thus far.

Shane

Thanks Shane, that's encouraging :-).

I don't know what your listening/recording environment is like, but you have read the description of mine. Given that description, and your experience of the OMNI fan noise (new firmware and all), would you still recommend the OMNI for my situation?

Shan

05-21-2011, 04:35 PM

Thanks Shane, that's encouraging :-).

I don't know what your listening/recording environment is like, but you have read the description of mine. Given that description, and your experience of the OMNI fan noise (new firmware and all), would you still recommend the OMNI for my situation?

A pin dropping would disturb me at times. So far, the fan has been dead quite with the 2.10 firmware upgrade. That said, I always like to give these sorts of changes more time. I definitely recommend the HD Omni. If you have it in a rack, keep a half rack space above/below it clear for lots of circulation etc. Mine's currently on a side car table in arms reach. In that situation, I'd recommend the rubber feet that come with it, again for circulation around the unit. Hope that helps. It's a great sounding unit!

Shane

DaveBCC

05-21-2011, 06:17 PM

Thanks for the report Shane, that's good to hear. :-)

Proper ventilation is apparently key for converters (and not just OMNI, it seems like they all are reported to run hot). I will keep checking back, please post again if things change.

K Roche

05-23-2011, 07:13 PM

K Roche

05-23-2011, 07:14 PM

A pin dropping would disturb me at times. So far, the fan has been dead quite with the 2.10 firmware upgrade. T

Shane
How long ( Time wise ) of a session have you run since the update ?

SDDP

05-23-2011, 10:27 PM

Just some feedback on this as promised. I upgraded the HD Omni firmware from 2.6 to 2.10 and all is well thus far.

Shane

I've been on ver 2.10 when it came out and it still has the issue. Now of course using pt 9.01 helped a lot. But as I've stated in another thread, after a few hours of use, it does ramp up. For mixing I can deal with it somewhat as I am mixing in 5.1 and when I do dia clean up/edit I try to always do that in the first few hours as well as any VO/ADR recording. But after um... I'd say 3 or 4 hours it ramps up and for recording it does bleed into the mic's.

Still hoping this issue will be resolved somehow.

chrisdee

05-24-2011, 12:19 AM

So far, the fan has been dead quite with the 2.10 firmware upgrade.

Still quiet ?

I'v fully covered the ceiling and walls of my room with 30mm rockwool acoustic plates to make my room as dead as possible, because I track and mix in the same room.
Would you say the Omni+Native is quiet enough to be tracking beside it in a room as I described above ?

I definitely recommend the HD Omni.

Wish there was a firewire version of it!

SDDP

05-24-2011, 08:14 AM

Still quiet ?

I'v fully covered the ceiling and walls of my room with 30mm rockwool acoustic plates to make my room as dead as possible, because I track and mix in the same room.
Would you say the Omni+Native is quiet enough to be tracking beside it in a room as I described above ?

The quieter the room the more you can hear the fans when they kick in after a few hours. I am in a similar situation (except I didn't use rockwool).

chrisdee

05-24-2011, 10:37 AM

The quieter the room the more you can hear the fans when they kick in after a few hours. I am in a similar situation (except I didn't use rockwool).

Did you install the update wich is supposed to fix the noisy fan?

SDDP

05-24-2011, 11:29 AM

Did you install the update wich is supposed to fix the noisy fan?

I have 2.10 running PT 9.01. Prior to those updates the fan noise was horrible, it would ramp up and down and get loud. After the upgrades it did help a lot, however after 3-4 hours it still ramps up and it can be heard, so if you have a quiet room and you are tracking (this is unacceptable for recording ADR) or mixing soft passages for film/tv it becomes cummbersome.

K Roche

05-24-2011, 01:17 PM

As mentioned by Bob above and for those lurking, the update is on the 4th tab of the DigiTest window (http://stashbox.org/1117291/HD-Omni-2.10.PNG). Only takes a few minutes.

Shane
Hey thanks for the tip I also thought I had the new firmware but turns out when I opened the Digitest window I still had 2.06. So I loaded the 2.10 and it does seem quieter. However I have yet to do a really long mix session Here is hoping.

Shan

05-24-2011, 09:42 PM

Shan

05-24-2011, 09:43 PM

How long ( Time wise ) of a session have you run since the update ?

About 12+ hours. Some editing, mixing and post production.

Shane

Shan

05-24-2011, 09:46 PM

I've been on ver 2.10 when it came out and it still has the issue. Now of course using pt 9.01 helped a lot. But as I've stated in another thread, after a few hours of use, it does ramp up. For mixing I can deal with it somewhat as I am mixing in 5.1 and when I do dia clean up/edit I try to always do that in the first few hours as well as any VO/ADR recording. But after um... I'd say 3 or 4 hours it ramps up and for recording it does bleed into the mic's.

Still hoping this issue will be resolved somehow.

I agree that in your case, something isn't right. "So far" everything seems fine on my end. I'll report back with any changes and keep a note of time as you did.

Shane

Shan

05-27-2011, 05:49 PM

Just posting an update(I know many have emailed). The HD Omni on my end seems pretty quiet after some very long days of use thus far. I'll probably jump into 9.03 on the weekend myself.

Shane

drumster

06-29-2011, 07:21 PM

I'm quite keen on getting rid of my 192 IO and replacing it with the Omni, but the reports of excessive fan noise are worrisome. When I spoke with my dealer earlier today, he said that he hadn't heard many reports of the Omni having a noisy fan. Perhaps as Shan has said, it's just some units that exhibit this issue.

It's been almost a month since the last post, but how are things with the fan now, and is it safe to purchase the Omni?

JR Fountain

06-29-2011, 09:11 PM

I have yet to hear my fan turn on outside of when I first purchased it and turned it on myself to hear it. I've had it for about 3 months, and spend a good 8 hours a day with it editing and mixing. It's great!

JR

chrisdee

06-30-2011, 12:17 AM

When I spoke with my dealer earlier today, he said that he hadn't heard many reports of the Omni having a noisy fan

Ofcourse your dealer will say that. He wants you to buy it so he can earn money. My dealer tried to tell me this also, untill we fired up their demo unit in the store. Noisy as a server rack in a machine room. I came back after two hours and it was still as noisy.

Reading here it seems like most units has this problem untill they do the firmware update.

The deal braker question for me is if its scilent enough to track beside it.
From what iv heard here its not, as noise will bleed into the recording.
So for my setup i cant se the point of getting the super quality if it will
End up recording its own room noise.

drumster

06-30-2011, 04:47 AM

Ofcourse your dealer will say that. He wants you to buy it so he can earn money. My dealer tried to tell me this also, untill we fired up their demo unit in the store. Noisy as a server rack in a machine room. I came back after two hours and it was still as noisy.

Reading here it seems like most units has this problem untill they do the firmware update.

The deal braker question for me is if its scilent enough to track beside it.
From what iv heard here its not, as noise will bleed into the recording.
So for my setup i cant se the point of getting the super quality if it will
End up recording its own room noise.

Thanks for the input. I think you and I are on exactly the same page with this. No matter how good the conversion quality is, that kind of noise simply won't work in a small control room. It also defeats the purpose of the Omni functioning as a monitor controller within arms reach. Hopefully, Avid will come up with a solution because I think alot of prospective buyers such as us are becoming gun shy of buying this unit.