Digital Performer -vs- ProTools

[link]

Interesting comparison: Watch out PT!!

Digital Performer 2.5 w/2408:
1)Core System Cost- $995 Additional 2408- $695
2)Max # of I/O- 24 for core system, 72 expanded (though no current
configuration can handle 72 independent voices)

3)Analog I/O per 2408- 8 RCA (unbalanced, may be noisy) 20-bit
64xoversampling A/D, 20-bit 128Xoversampling D/A, 2 balanced 1/4"
outputs replace RCA outputs 1 & 2
4)Digital I/O per 2408- 3 ADAT optical & 3 TDIF both 24-bit capable
stereo coaxial S/PDIF. Only 24 channels can be active at one time
5)Max # of recordable/playable tracks & plug-ins-
Primarily RAM & hard disk dependent. The Mac looks into the Finder
for available memory. Lets say you have 128MB. MacOS8 takes about
18MB. Digital Performer takes about 18MB. 18+18=36MB. 128-36=92MB.
92MB is what you have available to handle audio & real-time plug
ins. Audio in [email protected] take about 74KB/sec. Audio in 24-bits
take about 111KB/sec. EIDE drives have a max data rate transfer of
about 33MB/sec while current UW SCSI-2 drives have a max rate of
80MB/sec. If our reference is a 32-track project recorded in
[email protected], doing our math we can figure out our theoretical
performance needs. (32)(111KB/sec) = 3.552KB/sec. It would seem
that even the 33MB/sec drive would be overkill right? Well
that's the problem w/our theoretical performance. The max transfer
rates are never attained. There are other factors such as th
mainboard bus system speed, hard disk access time, cache, etc.
Typically Apple's G3/333MHz PPC 750 w/1MB backside L2 cache, 128MB
SDRAM,9.1GB 7200rpm UW SCSI-2 HDD can easily yield 32+ tracks
provided you have an UW SCSI-2 controller card which is'nt Apple's
stock 5MB/sec card. An Adaptec PowerDomain AHA-2940U2W should do.
Real-time plug-ins will also take up more memory therefore giving
you less available tracks. More tracks work vice versa. Typically
one can get 2 Sonic Modulators, 2 E-Verbs, a handful of eq &
dynamics, medium delays & choruses (maybe 2 of each), & some mix
automation processes w/the same configuration & 32 tracks.
6)Expansion- Sonorus now makes the modular 8 channel AudI/O AD24
($599) & DA24 ($499) converters...A/D & D/A respectively. They are
equipped w/ADAT optical I/O & can interface w/the 2408's ADAT
banks. This makes an inexpensive solution for analog I/O expansion.
7)Control options- I had been informed that Digital Performer is MIDI
controllable by a variety of MIDI hardware such as JL Cooper's
CS-10 ($599), Peavey's PC-1600 ($399), etc. I would opt for this
for I am finding that mixing solely w/a mouse is no fun &
inflexible.


Pro Tools 24 Mix:
1)Core System Cost- $7999 (BIG DIFFERENCE!!!)
Mix Farm Card- (+/-)$3699, Mix Plus w/Mix Core And Mix Farm- $9999
2)Max # of I/O- 16 channels per Mix Core, Mix Farm, and Mix I/O ($795)
72 channels max.
3)Analog I/O- 88824I/O: 8 balanced XLR w/24-bit ins & 20-bit outs ($3699)
88220I/O: 8 balanced 1/4" w/20-bit I/O ($1295)
4)Digital I/O- 88824I/O: 4 2 channel AES/EBU
88220I/O: stereo S/PDIF
ADAT Bridge I/O: 2 ADAT optical I/O, stereo S/PDIF,
stereo balanced 20-bit 1/4" analog outs ($1295)
5)Max # of recordable/playable tracks & plug-ins-
Digidesign boasts that for a 32-track project there would be
available PER TRACK eq, dynamics, & 5 sends along w/2 MegaReverbs,
& 10 delay based effects plus mix automation processes. 64 tracks
can be attained w/less processing power. In essence, a similar
concept exists. Although Pro Tools' dedicated processing hardware
certainly allows for greater flexibility, RAM & hard disk type
still play a major factor on performance as Digidesign recommends
the use of a fast UW SCSI-2 controller & 2 10000rpm UW SCSI-2
drives w/audio split to the 2 drives for max performance.
6)Expansion & Control Options- Pro Tools can be expanded I/O wise &
control wise. Four interfaces exists for Pro Tools. They are the
three mentioned above & Apogee's AD-8000 equipped w/AMBUS Digi.
These Apogee units cost $6000. There exists the Pro Control
($11995) w/expansion modules ($6995 each) Mackie's HUI (+$3000) as
well as the JL Cooper & Peavey controllers.

My preference lies w/affordability. Pro Tools 24 Mix Plus w/Pro Control would be a dream to have. But
let's count the cost. 9995+11995+3695=$25,685 giving me 32-tracks, 8 channels of I/O, & an 8 fader
control surface. Yikes!!! I forgot tax. On the other hand, the imminent release of a 1GHz PPC, fiber
channel storage, increased memory capacity & faster system busses, it is only a matter of time before
host processing applications like Digital Performer, Studio Vision Pro, Logic Audio & Cubase VST (yuk!!!
= P), can do everything that Pro Tools can do. I love the 24 channels of available I/O that the 2408
possess & that coupled w/the inexpensive Sonorus 24-bit 8 channel A/D D/A converters is a winning combo
for me. I can do many things w/an analog Fostex 4 track. Though Digital Performer currently falls way
short of Pro Tools, it is light years ahead of the technology from whence I came. It is never my tools
that determine the quality of my product but the content of my mind. & for now cheap is a wonderful way
for me to go! = ) I hope this helps somewhat.