Will Avid Omni work as fully-featured AD/DA converter with HD1 card

[semidigital]

Originally Posted by nst7

There is no such switch. It's a matter of configuring the mixer setup.

Basically, yes, it will function like your A2D. If you're going to just keep it in that mode, then this could be a viable solution.

I'll give instructions later on, I don't want to type it all on my Iphone.


If you take it to your friend, make sure he has an actual HD card to hook it up to. Having the HD software by itself won't help you. I mention this because some people have just the HD software without the hardware.

Thanks so much nst7! My friend has a TDM Accel 3 system I believe with PT HD 10 software (I remember him saying something like it the other day) and he is using Omni as the interface. I know nothing of PT HD rigs in general but I think you'll know what this means in real life. I believe he will be able to plg off his Omni and plug mine in. When you do get a chance, please do istruct me on what exactly needs to be done to get a basic A2D functionality out of my Omni. Tnx!

[nst7]

Okay, here's the deal:

I'm going to explain how to set it up both to use like your A2D, and also to use as a D/A converter/monitor controller. This will be accomplished by pressing the ALT button. When the ALT button is not pressed (not lit) then it will be like your A2D, with the first 2 inputs going to the digital out (Spidf). When the ALT button is pressed, then it will be a 2 channel D/A converter/monitor controller, allowing you to hook up monitors, etc. I will come back to this later.

Also, there are a few things you will be able to switch back and forth on your own using the buttons on the unit itself, whenever you want.

Just to go over how this works, the Omni has a built in function like a mixer, where you can route various things to the monitor path. Once this is set up, these settings are stored in the Omni, even after you disconnect it from the HD card, and even unplug the power cord from the wall. They will stay this way unless you decide to hook it up and change it again. This is how you will be able to take it home and use it after setting it up.

First, since your friend has the Omni, he will need to disconnect his Omni, and hook yours up instead, because Protools will only recognize 1 Omni per setup, and because I don't know how you'd differentiate between the 2 anyway.

To set this up, you actually don't even need to open Protools, you can just open the Avid Core Audio Manager, if he is on a Mac. Then click "hardware setup". This will open the same tabs as you would have under Protools in the Setup menu. Note that if he's on Windows, I'm assuming he could do the same thing if there's an "ASIO manager". If not, just open Protools and in the menu to to Setup>Hardware. This will show the various tabs for setting it up.

Note that some of these items may already be set the way you need, but I'll cover it just in case.

You want to start with the "Monitor" tab. You have 2 rows, one for MAIN, and one for ALT. First we'll deal with the MAIN, then come back to the ALT later. Starting with MAIN, under Format, select Stereo. Under Fold-Down, select None. All the way over to the right, under Dig (for digital), you want the L&R letters to be under that. L for Dig 1, and R for Dig 2. If it's showing the L&R somewhere else (like under analog 1&2), then just use the mouse to drag those over to the boxes under Dig.

In doing this, you are making the Digital Outs the monitor path. This means that anything you enable in the Mixer Tab (which we'll get to in a moment) goes through the monitor path, which you have now made the digital outs.

Now, go to the bottom row, the ALT path, and set it up the same way - Format is Stereo, Fold-Down is None. Then, just to the right, under Analog DB25, select L and R for channels 1&2, respectively. The same way you did for the Main path. So for the ALT path, our monitor path is analog 1&2 out, instead of Digital 1&2 out. So now whenever the ALT button is not pressed, your signals go out of Digital 1&2. When the ALT button is pressed, your signals go out of analog 1&2.

As for the other items in that tab, make sure the boxes for Fold Down are unchecked (blank). Below that, it gives more choices for Fold Down. In both cases, choose "Do Not Fold Down".


Now we'll move over to the "Main" tab. The main thing here is down near the bottom. Under "digital 1-2 input format" select Spidf, not AESEBU, and not Optical Spidf. This ensures you will be using the coax RCA Spidf jacks (note that if you change your mind on this, you can switch this on the unit itself later on). Over to the right, select Adat as the Optical output format (not that you're using that, it just makes sure that Spidf is not chosen for the Optical, which will confuse things).

As for the various input and output selections above, I don't think they matter here. They only deal with how the I/O shows up when using it hooked up to the HD card in Protools, and you will not be using it this way. (even if you use Protools, your interface is the RME, which is totally different anyway).

Below that, make sure the box for Sample rate conversion is unchecked, as well as the box next to Tascam. The selection for Ext. Clock output, don't worry about (this can also be changed on the unit).

Speaking of Clocks, over to the left, set the Clock Source to Internal (again, this can be changed on the unit).


Now go to the "Analog In" tab. Make sure the 4 input levels are set to +4. For Limiter, select None for now (this can also be changed later on the unit).

Now go to the "Analog Out" tab. Some of these may be set to "Speaker" instead of "Line". I have no idea what that's for, and I just set all of them to "Line" and everything works great. I suggest you do the same.

In this tab also, to the right, under "TRS Mirrors", select 1-2. You can change this later on the unit if you want. If you decide to use this as a D/A, this allows you to hook up your monitor speakers to the 2 TRS outs, instead of needing a DB25 cable.


Now, we move over to the "Mixer" tab. Under Analog 1-2, VERY IMPORTANT, make sure the pan sliders (underneath where it says Analog 1-2) are set all the way to the left and right, respectively. Make sure the the volume sliders are all the way up. Then, click the two MON buttons (so they're blue). This means we are saying we want these channels to go through the mixer.

Now do the same thing under the Spidf 1-2 channel. Again, make sure the pan sliders are hard left and right. Click the MON channel (so it's blue). In these channels, you should also click the HP buttons, which means you can hear things through the Omni's headphone jack as well. You'll definitely want to turn them on for the Spidf channel, if you plan on using it as a D/A converter. You could also turn them on for the analog 1-2 channel, but I don't think you'll really make use of it, because when tracking, you'll need to monitor from your RME device. No harm done if you want to turn them on, though.

The reason we set the pan sliders hard left and right is to make sure each signal is independently going through its respective output or input.

Under "Record/Input Enable", don't worry about what that's set to, as it won't apply here because you're not using it as your actual interface.



So now you're pretty much done setting it up. Now I'll go over how to use it.

You can now use channels 1&2 to either plug in a mic, use the instrument DI, or use an external preamp via the line inputs. You use the button on each channel to choose - mic, line, Instrument (for the DI). Note that switching to Line in completely bypasses the preamp as well. When using Line in, you would need to plug your external preamp (or whatever you might be using) into the line ins on the back (1 and/or 2).

Using the buttons to the right of channel 1&2, you should also have use of the high pass filter, the Pad, the 48v Phantom power, and the phase. You also can use the Inserts as well (by pressing the button). Note that the inserts are for inserting other hardware like a compressor or EQ for the built in preamps, and they are inserted before it goes through the A/D conversion.

The Link 1&2 button is for when you're recording in stereo using the preamps, it moves the preamp gain up and down for both channels together.


Further to the right, you have the various meters. You can choose them to be IN, so they serve as meters for the preamp, or OUT, for if you use this as a D/A converter.

You can use it now like your A2D, but it's a little different. You will, of course, hook up the Omni Spidf outs to the Spidf ins of the RME.

The way this thing works using it this way, the digital outs actually go through the volume control (because we've set the digital outs as a monitor path, which is the only way we can do this). Not a big deal, you'll just need to usually turn the volume almost all the way up to get a line level signal going out of the digital outs. You can use it kind of like a trim control. When using the preamp or DI, make sure your meters are set to IN. Turn the volume knob up part way, but not all the way. On the preamps, adjust the gain knob until you see the meters go into the red. You should also be able to hear it clipping as well. When you have a good preamp level for your mic or instrument, then turn the Omni's volume knob up more and more, which will adjust the level coming out of the digital outs. Generally this will be almost all the way, but back off when you see or hear clipping in your DAW's track meters.


Now, the only other thing to consider, is clocking. You can have the Omni clock the RME, or vice versa. There's lots of debate about what's supposed to work better, but I would just use your ears and decide for yourself.

The nice thing is, you can select all this on the Omni itself, through the Setup button. I suggest you read the Omni manual (download it if you need) to see how you access these things. But you can select the Omni's clock to internal (which of course means the RME will be set to external), and either way you can select it to clock (or be clocked) via Spidf, or Word Clock.

The other thing is, you would want to find out if your RME allows you to use both coax Spidf and Optical Spidf at the same time. Or AES and Optical. Or AES and Coax. The reason being, if that's the case, you could perhaps use both your A2D and the Omni at the same time. For example, one goes into the Optical, and one goes through Coax, or AES. If you can do this, and want to experiment, you can switch the digital output (and input) via the Omni's Setup button, and change the digital output to be Spidf Optical instead of Coax.


Finally, if you want to try using the Omni as a D/A converter, it's easy, if you set up things up the way I mentioned. All you have to do is press the ALT button, and now whatever you hook up to the Spidf inputs, will come through the monitor section, with volume and Mute capabilities. You could hook up your speakers to the TRS outputs, and/or use headphones with the headphone jack. If you want to hear your DAW through it, then you'd have to set the outputs of your DAW to the Spidf outs. But remember to turn the volume down because you had it cranked up when using it as your A/D conversion!

Let me know if there's any questions.

I strongly recommend you read through the manual, even before you bring it to your friend's place. It will help you get familiar with the things I mentioned.

[Barry Johns]

Why not buy an HD native card?

[semidigital]

Originally Posted by nst7

Okay, here's the deal:

I'm going to explain how to set it up both to use like your A2D, and also to use as a D/A converter/monitor controller. This will be accomplished by pressing the ALT button. When the ALT button is not pressed (not lit) then it will be like your A2D, with the first 2 inputs going to the digital out (Spidf). When the ALT button is pressed, then it will be a 2 channel D/A converter/monitor controller, allowing you to hook up monitors, etc. I will come back to this later....

I strongly recommend you read through the manual, even before you bring it to your friend's place. It will help you get familiar with the things I mentioned.

wow! this was a hell of a shortcut for me. i believe you just saved me about a month of hustle! thank you sooooo much. i will let you know how it went.

[semidigital]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

Why not buy an HD native card?

hi there barry!
thanks for pointing out the least complicated route. however, i have yet to find anyone who has successfully used a PC, nuendo (or other ASIO driven app) on a native HD system. i know it sounds stupid because in the manual and on avid's website it claims to be working with "compatible DAW software such as Logic, Nuendo, Live, Cubase, Reason...." but i have not found a singe instance where performance was flawless in terms of 3rd party DAW integration on a PC. please let me know if i am wrong and you have a different experience. thanks again

[semidigital]

Originally Posted by nst7

The other thing is, you would want to find out if your RME allows you to use both coax Spidf and Optical Spidf at the same time. Or AES and Optical. Or AES and Coax. The reason being, if that's the case, you could perhaps use both your A2D and the Omni at the same time. For example, one goes into the Optical, and one goes through Coax, or AES. If you can do this, and want to experiment, you can switch the digital output (and input) via the Omni's Setup button, and change the digital output to be Spidf Optical instead of Coax.

if i am getting this right (and both you and the manual are referring to this), the choice of digi spdif outs (optical/coaxial) on Omni can be accessed via hardware (setup button)? if so, then great.
sure, i will be able to use both A2D and Omni with my RME card (A2D via coax spdif though, so i should choose optical spdif out on Omni).
cheers!

[nst7]

Yes, that is correct. You can change that with the Setup function on the hardware. If you know you're going to use it as Spidf Optical, you should probably set it up when it's hooked up and you can access the tabs. But it's good to know you can change it later on your own if you need to.

[semidigital]

Originally Posted by nst7

There is no such switch. It's a matter of configuring the mixer setup.

Basically, yes, it will function like your A2D. If you're going to just keep it in that mode, then this could be a viable solution.

I'll give instructions later on, I don't want to type it all on my Iphone.


If you take it to your friend, make sure he has an actual HD card to hook it up to. Having the HD software by itself won't help you. I mention this because some people have just the HD software without the hardware.

excellent! thank you so much for detailed help, nst7!