Considering HD2 and 192io but have a few questions

[EF]

I am looking at upgrading to an HD system and have been reading manuals and searching the forums for info but still have questions. Sometimes due to the fact that there seems to be conflicting information.

First of all I am looking at puting together a HD2 system on a Mac Pro. I would like to be able to record up to 24 tracks at a time with at least 8 outs but maybe more down the road. I plan on doing mixing ITB and any external processing will be done going in. I have several questions and will just ask. If you can answer some or all, I'd be appreciative.

Is a HD2 system sufficient for a 30-40 track session with compression and EQ on most channels or channel strips and 5-6 different verbs, delays, etc? I know this will depend on the specific plugins but I just want an average case. I am not looking at 5.1 yet and the stuff I may do in 5.1 would probably have much smaller track counts.

Is the 192io limited to only recording 16 tracks at a time? Or with an expansion card, either analog or digital, could I record 24 at once? Some posts lead me to believe only 16 but as I read through the manual it indicates more IO but does this lead to more tracks at one time or just more options?

I have no intention of recording at 192 currently. At a 96 sample rate does the 192io sound better than the 96io? My impression is yes but if I can only record 16 tracks with a 192, I may need to look at 2 96s.

I have thought about going with an Apogee 16ADX and a Rosetta 800 with HD cards to get 24 in and 8 out. Would this be a big improvement? Or am I safer just sticking with Digidesign interfaces? I really thought this would be the way to go until I saw a post where someone was having problems with PT recognizing the Apogee cards.

I currently have a couple of UAD1 PCI cards and love some of the plugins. Is it worth it for me to get an expansion chasis and maybe add a couple more cards or would I be better off not dealing with a wrapper and extra latency? Have people had generally possitive or negative experiences with UAD plugs in Protools?

I currently own a Mackie MCU and 2 XTs. Do these work reasonably well with Protools or should I look at a PT specific controller? I am considering the control24 as I want something with more faders than the command 8 but the Icon stuff is just way too overpriced for my budget. My concerns with the Control24 is that it has been around for a while and is due to be replaced by something soon. This opinion is reinforced by the fact that Digidesign seems to be trying to move these in HD or LE bundles. Are they trying to clear them out for something new? Plus I keep reading such stellar reviews on the preamps and monitoring section(sarcasm intended here). Is the Control24 overpriced if you don't plan on using the pres or the monitor section?

That is probably enough for now. Any advice would be appreciated. I know much of this has been discussed many times but I can't figure out how to search without it pulling up every thread that even mentions a word.

[Andre Knecht]

[…] Is a HD2 system sufficient for a 30-40 track session with compression and EQ on most channels or channel strips and 5-6 different verbs, delays, etc? …

Yes.

Is the 192io limited to only recording 16 tracks at a time?

Yes. The limit is 16 inputs. The addition of cards only increases the flexibility of the box in terms of formats, not the number of simultaneously available channels. To increase the latter, additional interfaces are necessary.

I have no intention of recording at 192 currently. At a 96 sample rate does the 192io sound better than the 96io?

The 192I/O sounds better than the 96io under all circumstances.

Is the Control24 overpriced if you don't plan on using the pres or the monitor section?

Yes.

IHTH.

[jeff markham]

i never could get my Mackie MCU and 2 Xtenders to work reliably with
PT ... i dumped them and got a control24. you can still use the line-ins on
the Control-24 if you wish to use other pres. the C24 is a much better
unit than the mackies because it becomes the center of your analog i/o
and monitoring system. once you wire it up, you seldom touch the wires
in the back. with the Mackies, you still have to configure some sort of
monitoring system (Bigknob or equivalent).

given what you've said your plug-in situation is going to be, an HD2 system
can easily handle the tracking load and not break a sweat. unless you use some
pretty hungry plugs, you should be fine on the mixing end as well.

jeff