Which New iMac?

[Brian in Charlotte]

I have (2) 4Gigs and (2) 8Gigs. I also have the ThunderBay from OWC, which houses my 4 external drives. I got the iMac with only 8 Gigs of memory and then I purchased a matching set from OWC for the additional 16.

The audio drive that PT writes to is also a 1TB SSD just like the internal drive of the iMac......SUPER fast. I also have the Thunderbolt Dock from OWC so I can run additional peripherals. My Focusrite Clarett 2Pre with the Thunderbolt is fantastic and issue free. The only thing I'm having a concern with now is that I updated to Sierra last night and been having the fan come on, which it virtually never does, when PT is running. I did all the normal resets etc, but still doing it. So, perhaps when there is a new update to PT it will take care of it.

Hope that helps. You can always email me direct if need be - you can find me on the web via the voice of brian

[Cutlerbri]

Brian, since upgrading to Sierra have you noticed a change in Mini Grand? Some of our friends posting on the DUC are struggling with Sierra and Mini Grand.

MG is a VI that I really like and would hate to be without.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Brian in Charlotte

I have (2) 4Gigs and (2) 8Gigs. I also have the ThunderBay from OWC, which houses my 4 external drives. I got the iMac with only 8 Gigs of memory and then I purchased a matching set from OWC for the additional 16.

The audio drive that PT writes to is also a 1TB SSD just like the internal drive of the iMac......SUPER fast. I also have the Thunderbolt Dock from OWC so I can run additional peripherals. My Focusrite Clarett 2Pre with the Thunderbolt is fantastic and issue free. The only thing I'm having a concern with now is that I updated to Sierra last night and been having the fan come on, which it virtually never does, when PT is running. I did all the normal resets etc, but still doing it. So, perhaps when there is a new update to PT it will take care of it.

Hope that helps. You can always email me direct if need be - you can find me on the web via the voice of brian

Do you have the two OWC pieces on separate Thunderbolt ports off the back of the iMac? Or do you have them daisy-chained? I don't know if it would make a difference or not because I haven't been able to get a consistent answer on this one question: are the two TB ports separate data streams or are they just like the USB ports which are on an internal hub? And where does the Clarett connect into this port-wise?

I'm asking because I'm looking into some system changes here with my external drives and a new audio interface (either an Apollo or Ensemble) all on Thunderbolt. My ports are original Thunderbolt vintage not the newer TB2.

[Brian in Charlotte]

I actually haven't tried it. I'm mostly VO and audio production.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Brian in Charlotte

I actually haven't tried it. I'm mostly VO and audio production.

Haven't tried what? What you work on doesn't matter to the hardware setup - it's the performance that counts.

[Brian in Charlotte]

Ah, MusicMan691, I was referring to Brian's question to me about the Mini Grand above. I'm not so dense as to think what I work on has anything to do with it. But, good to keep an eye on me anyway

[Cutlerbri]

I'm reporting back on this. So far so good. The 27" iMac is big and beautiful. The 512 internal flash drive is fast and silent. I am still trying to convince Avid that I indeed have the perpetual license and should be able to download the latest version of PT.

And it seems odd that I have to crank the gain on the Focusrite Clarret 2Pre nearly all the way to get a signal (yes, the phantom power is engaged).

But it's slowly coming together. I will save, power it down, and replace the stock 8g of RAM with the OWC 16g modules.

[Brian in Charlotte]

OH YES..........you will will be at 9 of 10 on the dial for the Clarett 2Pre even though you have a condenser. A complete and utter failure by Focusrite! I've had numerous conversations by phone and email regarding their unacceptable mic gain and the fact that their literature expressly says it has plenty of gain. I purposefully chose this based on that. They wanted samples of audio based on where the input gain was staged. They finally fessed up that indeed the gain is low for spoken word but works for all other applications, which it certainly does. Spoken word is a joke. So, I have to bypass the pre in the Clarett and feed my Avalon M5 through it so I don't have to deal with the low gain.....so disappointing and frustrating, but as far as stability and speed via thunderbolt into the Mac, it's fantastic.

[Cutlerbri]

Hmmm...not good news, Brian. I guess it doesn't bother me that I need to crank up the gain so high to get a signal, but I also have to crank up the headphone gain to hear myself. I have not yet tried to use this in a session but it seems like I will have trouble balancing what I hear of myself and what I hear of the other tracks.

I will go on live chat with Focusrite tomorrow morning. It's still not too late to take this thing back and get something else.

[Brian in Charlotte]

WAIT...did you open up FOCUSRITE CONTROL and adjust your headphone level in there? If you have a video monitor in your booth, you can leave Focusrite Control open and adjust as needed there!