Ditching HD Native?
 

For a while, the studio where I do my recording and mixing had a spare iLok with an up-to-date PT Ultimate license and a spare 96 i/o. I needed my own i/o for my room there so the path of least resistance was for me to grab an HD Native PCIe card to allow me to connect the available hardware and software. HD Native has had good performance for me in terms of latency, provided I keep the buffer to max 128 samples and freeze tracks with lots of processing. It's not as snappy as TDM used to be but aside from missing DSP plugins, I don't feel it's been any worse than the HDX systems I've worked on.

Fast-forward to today, the A room has finally upgraded from the old PT10HD TDM system to HDX via Antelope Orion 32HD. (An entire wall of IO replaced by a couple diminutive rack units, and they sound worlds better). The bummer is now I'm left with no Ultimate license, meaning I can no longer use my IO even though I own a separate DigiLink license.

So I'm at a crossroads:
- Do I continue using the Digi96 and put my money into upgrading my Pro Tools license to Ultimate?
- Or do I invest in a new converter set, improving the sonics of my rig but potentially jeopardizing the low latency and stability I've come to expect?

Some details about my setup:
Hackintosh running 10.14.2
Gigabyte Z390 Designare w/ Thunderbolt 3 support
Intel i7 8700k
32GB 2400MHz DDR4

I'm demoing a Gen2 Orion 32HD this week. The DigiLink connection works great but using USB3 has some issues. One of them is it completely breaks Keyboard Maestro, a piece of software I've become utterly dependent on. Also I don't need more than 8 analog i/o. When I need to record many inputs I rent the A room.

I'm considering a Lynx Aurora(n) with the Thunderbolt option card, but I've been unable to demo one since nobody in my city carries them. They're special order only. I need some assurance that my headphone mixes won't suffer. Has anyone here used one of these for tracking? How does the experience compare to HDNative?

I have no real need of the Ultimate version of the software, other than I enjoy Trim Automation and offline bounce for multiple concurrent bus paths. I never mix in surround.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
(That said, I'm completely uninterested in your opinions on whether or not I should be running macOS on unsupported hardware.)

Re: Ditching HD Native?
 

Stuff to consider:
1-What are you tracking that makes low latency important? I tracked full bands with HDN(total of 48 IO) at the 64 buffer. With lots of plugins, and while providing 6 stereo headphone mixes from inside the sessions.

2-how important is the sound quality? I ask because the 96 IO is on par with the 003 for sound/converter quality(I ran 2x192 and 2x HD IO)

3-Thunderbolt is a great option, provided it actually will work(testing makes a lot of sense). The Presonus Quantum 4848 is another TB viable option(although only 32 IO will be available).

4-The Aurora should be great(I think getting rid of the 96 IO will be a good move, no matter what you end up with):o

Re: Ditching HD Native?
 

Hey, thanks for taking the time to respond.

In tracking vocals, voice-over, guitar cabinets and acoustic instruments. I work out of a mix suite with a reasonably sized booth. When i need more inputs i rent the A room, which has a Genesys.

So the biggest concern is with voice. Over HDN, latency is acceptable at 128 samples or below. Some performers are especially sensitive and need a max of 64.

I don't like the low latency monitoring mode. I use more inserts and sends than it will allow.

I think I'll go with either an Apollo or Aurora.

Re: Ditching HD Native?
 

These 2 choices are both good, BUT(the great big "BUT"), do you want to track with UA plugins? If yes, then Apollo is the only choice(because UA plugins on any other setup will likely have too much latency to track thru). With my HDN setup, I had a UA Quad card, but every single UA plugin reported at least 1100 samples of latency. So, I was never able to track with them in play(I would keep the inactive until mix). Now that I am on a FW interface, the latency is slightly higher(but acceptable at the 64 buffer @48K). Since I now stick mostly to editing and mixing, I COULD get another UA card, but I built a workflow without them, so I'm fine with other plugins(you may have different needs or desires):o Just wanted you to be aware:D

Re: Ditching HD Native?
 

Best part about this post....[emoji23][emoji23]

From one former hack man to another [emoji1417]

Re: Ditching HD Native?
 

Neve Genesys? we have one and I love it. We use HDN and Avid Madi with the Genesys. anyways Lynx is a step up, a few from 96. If you already are not using UAD stuff the lynx might be the way to go. We use 2 Apollo 16s also, these sound great. For Lynx you could find the PCIe card and the Aurora to use together and not use the TB card.