Apogee Symphony vs HD PCIe Accel cards

[DaveSB]

I was wondering why the new PCIe HD Accel cards are so expensive. Is it the part costs -Are the DSP chips worth a lot each as parts etc
If you compare the new Apogee Symphony PCIe card which has a recommend rrp of $995
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Symphony/

and $4995 buys a HD Accel card (or $3000 buys a HD Accel card if buying HD2 or HD3)


Thanks in advance
Dave

HD2 PCIe
96 i/o
002R

[usd]

you can´t compare these cards. symphony are i/o only cards. there´s no dsp power for your audio apllication. but apogee says that you can record up to 96channels of 192kHz with three symphony cards, an uptodate mac and a bunch of converters without any further dsp. i don´t trust that until i´ll see it with my own eyes. with a hd2 accel you can record up to 32 channels of 192kHz with a lot of dsp power. so how should this work with a native applicatiopn like logic??

[DaveSB]

Apogee’s Maestro software is how they have done it
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/symphony.php
Normally Apogee's claims are true and they have always made quality products, so I have no reason to doubt them

Almost tempted to buy a Apogee Symphony, Rosseta 800 combo AND TEST IT with Logic and DP 5.
The Rosseta 800 will always be handy if symphony doesnt work out

[usd]

dave, i know about the serious quality of apogee! imo they are building the best converters on the market. i´am using ad16x and da16x for myself. the only thing i´am wondering about is to compare the dsp power of a mac g5 and a HD accel system. 192 tracks with highest sampling rate on a native system with 96 io´s at the same time?? but, great if it works...
alex

[ericlees]

apogee symphony is a good rock solid option, very stable and powerful, just get at least an 8 core mac pro... or 2 quad core so you can run one only for processing....

[LukeHoward]

Originally Posted by DaveSB

I was wondering why the new PCIe HD Accel cards are so expensive. Is it the part costs -Are the DSP chips worth a lot each as parts etc
If you compare the new Apogee Symphony PCIe card which has a recommend rrp of $995
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Symphony/

You're paying for the software and the fact it's an industry standard, not the DSP chips.

[Shifted Music]

Originally Posted by LukeHoward

You're paying for the software and the fact it's an industry standard, not the DSP chips.

What about the R&D to design the card and make it work in a way that with proven reliability has MADE it an industry standard because the industry has chosen it over the competition.

The actual DSP chips themselves are not very expensive, but your paying for the technology it took to create the card that can utilize the dsp chips.

But at the end of the day Symphony is designed simply to get audio in and out of the computer and the HD 1 has dsp for processing.

[Drew Mazurek]

Companies charge whatever the market will bear.

Simple as that.

Of course all the parts, design, manufacture, R&D are calculated but then it will be priced to the market.

[ericlees]

i'm planning to get an 8 core mac pro, the new symphony system with 8 analog + digital and 8 mic preamps, a symphony card and hd native when it's available and tested... on the apogee web i read that the symphony will be compatible with hd native too not only with hd cores... so...maybe is my way to go... i don't use tdm and my sessions are never bigger that 100 tracks so... i hope the mac pro can handle the stuff...

and by the way...it's cheaper to get the symphony, logic and hd native that an hd 2 system....so... def a must have if you're on a budget...

[nst7]

Eric,

One thing to be aware of with the 8 preamp card, is that it uses up the 8 analog inputs from the other card. It's kind of a weird configuration. Just want you to be aware, that it wouldn't be 8 preamps, plus 8 line ins.