Quick question

[waynejones253]

So I was looking at the 16x16 initially when going HDN, but one of the small studios just liquidated some gear and I nabbed a 192 digital; so looks like I'm grabbing an Omni for 24 simultaneous ins and outs. I also have an Octopre Platinum and an 8 channel preamp from Mackie Onyx 800R. Would that setup work connected to the 192? I'm feeling a little doofy setting this up.

[nst7]

Technically this should work, but you will be using lower budget consumer A/D conversion in those preamps alongside the fantastic A/D conversion of the Omni. Just something to be aware of.

Also, be aware that the Omni only has 4 channels of analog in, and 4 channels of digital. It does have 8 channels of analog out. But you were mentioning 24 channels in, and it will really only be 20 channels of analog, unless you get an additional unit with 4 channels of A/D conversion for the Omni.

[JFreak]

Octopre Platinum has actually pretty decent AD conversion, if you run it at 96k.

So if your card has AES connections (if you haven't bought already, buy the better AD card), be sure to use them instead of ADAT because that is 48k max -- and then tick the automatic sampling rate conversion for using it in your 44.1/48k session. This way AD conversion would be 96k quality and the 192 would do realtime sampling rate conversion to meet your session requirements.

I have a 4U rack of two boxes (16 channels) connected to 192 digital just like that, because every now and then you just need more channels and this is pretty straightforward way to add 16 decent ones. PLUS, the analog outputs work simultaneously with digital outputs, which makes a splitter unnecessary. Wonderful 4U rack for live gigs, I must say :)

Few years ago I would have said these are "good" ones instead of "decent", but AD conversion has really stepped up since the Platinum Octopre was introduced in 2002 or so. With that said, it is far easier to make mistakes before AD conversion than hitting that converter too hard that the resulting harsh sound could be pointed to be fault of the conversion. Not necessarily your go-to box in studio, but very very very good in live or demo gigs. Or, as I said, mandatory backup expansion if I run out of tracks

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by waynejones253

Would that setup work connected to the 192?

Well, the 192 digital interface is a 16-in 16-out digital box and you can choose the combination of AES/SPDIF/TDIF/ADAT connections available. I bet your other gear has more limitations than the Digidesign box.

Just bear in mind that you are most likely building a 44.1/48k system because I don't think all of your gear use AES that supports higher sampling rates. But it will surely eat anything you feed it (unless it is a SMUX ADAT signal).

[waynejones253]

The Octopre already has DB25 connections so that'll be easy to hook up to the 192. Same with the Mackie Onyx. Trust me, I eventually plan to upgrade or add more preamps at a later time. The Octo has been a workhorse; it's a little biting on the high end, but nothing that can't be worked around, I found it works great on snare drums and vocals if you use the dynamics knob sparingly.

Appreciate the help and insight :)

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by waynejones253

The Octopre already has DB25 connections so that'll be easy to hook up to the 192

Yes, the 192 ANALOG, but the you have 192 DIGITAL

[Barry Johns]

Is this an "Oh Crap" moment? If so, good news is 192 Analog is pretty cheap these days.

[waynejones253]

Yeah, I wonder if that is an "oh shizzle" moment.

The db25 on the Octo is TDIF, so I'm capped at 48k according to the specs.

[JFreak]

DB25 on the Platinum Octopre is analog output.

All digital connections will be on the optional extra card. There are two types of option cards; with and without AES. If you have the better card, it has DB9 connector for AES and lightpipe for ADAT. The cheaper card lacks DB9 connector and AES capability.

If your box doesn't have the option card installed, it is 100% analog and 0% digital. In case you need to buy that option card, be sure to get one with AES for the reason I mentioned earlier.

[waynejones253]

Nuts!! I have the standard ADAT card on the Octo.

I'm putting out an APB for the AES option card if that's the case.

Or I'll trade the digital 192 for an Analog one. I got the Digital for a really good deal and could flip it easily since it's in great condition.