advice on what to buy

[allinthemind]

ok, Im finally ready to move out of the mix world and into the realm of HD. I was hoping for some advice on what to buy (pt and cpu). my budget is about $7000 (for pt and cpu) I am less interested in processing power and more interested in variety of plug-ins. I need alot of options when it comes to plug-ins. Id like to be in the latest version of pro tools. Im asking here because I really dont know alot about these newer systems. any advice would be great.

[jeremyroberts]

One rule of buying audio gear: never buy anything a month before AES

[Drew Mazurek]

And $7k for PTHD and CPU = used HD1 (barely) which is pretty much useless IMO.

[studiojimi]

my last computer purchase was used dual 2.7 G5

i saved a lot

i would not be afraid to buy a used HD rig

especially if i could see it in action before purchase

you may be able to hold on to your budget at least close anyway

[c-tone]

Um, have you looked at the Digidesign web site? A basic HD1 system (which is really just the card and the PT software) lists at $8000. That doesn't include an interface or a CPU.

To fit within your budget, you would need to save wherever you could and buy everything used and get a minimal system (HD1 with a 96 I/O).

As others have suggested, this minimal of a setup has limited capabilities, so maybe you should state why you feel that you need HD as opposed to a Mix system or LE. You mention that you want lots of plug-ins and aren't interested in processing power. Well, you need processing power to run all those plugs.

You might consider gettting a killer new Mac Pro and a Digi 003 if you don't need all the features of an HD rig, and then you will have plenty left over for plug-ins.

[allinthemind]

are'nt the tdm plug-ins much better quality than RTAS? with a 003 would the quality be limited ? I also need to be able to mix in 5.1 surround I dont think I can do this with ptle. I was told that an hd1 was 3 times the processing power of a mix plus system. if thats true I dont see how I would be limited. maybe with plug-ins..

[allinthemind]

does anyone know of a good source to find used systems other than ebay?

[Craig F]

the For Sale section here on the DUC

some of the "gear brokers" will some times have a use rig or two

[c-tone]

are'nt the tdm plug-ins much better quality than RTAS? with a 003 would the quality be limited ? I also need to be able to mix in 5.1 surround I dont think I can do this with ptle. I was told that an hd1 was 3 times the processing power of a mix plus system. if thats true I dont see how I would be limited. maybe with plug-ins..

TDM plug ins aren't necessarily better than RTAS sound-wise. And other than the A/D and D/A convertors, sound quality in terms of internal processing should be about the same on LE as PTHD (and you can always use a great external convertor box with LE). There have been long debate threads about these issues on the DUC, so do a search, but you will find some who are of the opinion that RTAS and PTLE's 32 bit processing could even be better than TDM. With LE you won't be able to use plugs that are TDM only, of course, and you are limited to only running as many plugs as the CPU can handle. The only proven factual thing about TDM vs. RTAS plugs is that the TDM versions are often way more expensive. Also, there are some plugs that are Accel only that you won't be able to run with an HD1.

Not sure about 5.1, so do some research. You can always mix for 5.1 by manually configuring busses and outputs, but it certainly makes it easier when you have 5.1 tracks already set up for you. Without 5.1 tracks and bussing, you might only be limited by the flexibilty of ease of surround panning.

As far as an HD1 being 3 times as much processing power as a Mix Plus? I highly doubt it. I have a feeling that it is closer to about the same power, honestly, and HD1 could possibly even run less plugs than a MixPlus, depending on which ones and how many instances. HD1 might be about double the power of just the Mix card without the Plus. Again, search the DUC. People have posted extensive testing results on how many plugs can fit on each type of card and chip.

[RobMacki]

my budget is about $7000 (for pt and cpu) I am less interested in processing power and more interested in variety of plug-ins.

You could easily spend 7k on plug-ins alone. It would cost me over 20k to replace all of mine.
I'd go with a HD2 (process about $400 on ebay) Keep in mind that some plug-ins will only run on Accel.

And what Jeremy said about AES,