ADA8000

[glen78]

hello, everyone !! (this is my first post )

i apologize in advance, because 1. this post is a bit long, and 2. i've been all over the web with my problem, and some of you will have read it somewhere else and thought : "damn, this guy is never going to give up! get a life !!" - well, i won't

so here goes : to expand my digi001 capabilities, some vendor in some store suggested i get the behringer (yes, i know) ADA8000 to get 8 extra inputs. it's cheap, i'm no real pro, so i get the unit. i hook the thing up with nice new optical cables, set the device to "master", 44.1kHz, and set pro tools LE's clock to "ADAT". the vendor told me these are the only steps, and that i can then choose "adat" 1-8 as input for my tracks.

well, here it is : no, it doesn't work. i get no signal at all. the green led flickers on the ADA8000, so i know it's getting the signal from my microphone(s).

so i went all over the web, searching forums and newsgroups, asking if there are any additional steps to install this thing. i got a few answers, tried different settings (with the ADA as "slave" and pro tools as master, among others ...) and still no signal.

and then someone on rec.audio.pro suggests i hook the ADA to itself, and use the analog outputs, thus turning the ADA into an 8-channel preamp. now THAT works, and i use 6 of them, that i connect to inputs 3-8 of my 001. i now have 8 pre-amped inputs, with phantom power. great!

but i still want my 16 inputs, because i'd like to do a full-band live recording, with drums and all ... 8 tracks ain't enough ! + i bought this thing, and i want it to work like it should.

so i went back to the store, and ask if it could be a problem with the optical connectors on the 001 (because it's the only thing i've never used on that card before) and the vendor tells me there's NO WAY that could be the problem. and i don't want to send the unit for checkup at digidesign, especially if it works. he gave me another ADA unit to see if it changed anything, and no, same problem.

i am using pro tools LE 5.3.1 on windows XP. (i've tried with and without service pack 1. same difference) i have a proper chipset and plenty of RAM, so it's not (in my opinion) a Pro Tools problem, except if there is something else to install/configure.

so my question is : should i just hang myself with my optical cables ? what are more reliable alternatives to the ADA8000, for a reasonable price ?

and more importantly : am i missing something ? i'm no pro with audio connectivity (that's why i got a 001 in the first place) so don't hesitate to assume that i missed out on something very basic and don't hesitate to ask for more details, if my case is unclear in any way ...

thank you for reading so far. i hope you all have a great day !

Glen.

[Chris Cavell]

Try some short cables. Optical cables should not be long and should not be kinked. (I think the original adat cables from alesis were like 3 or 4 feet at most)

[tele_player]

Well, it looks like your ADA8000 optical ports work - so you need to test the 001.

You could connect the 001 optical output to input, and see if it passes signal, sames as you did with the ADA8000.

[glen78]

You could connect the 001 optical output to input, and see if it passes signal, sames as you did with the ADA8000.

great ! how do i do that ? (not linking the cable , but sending/listening a signal from/to the 001)

thank you for replying !

Glen.

[glen78]

You could connect the 001 optical output to input, and see if it passes signal, sames as you did with the ADA8000.

ok i tried this :
- connected the optical cable from input to output on the 001 card
- set clock to "internal"
- (track 1) import audio to track (some wave file on my disk)
- set track 1 output to "adat1-2"
- create track 2
- set track input to "adat1"
- record enable track 2
- press rec+play

... seems logical to me. but nothing is recorded to track 2. (well, yes. a blank wav file )is it abnormal ? because if it is, i have an example to tell my vendor, and he will have to do something about it (like replacing the unit, or give me a good rebate on a 002rack, for example )

thanks !

Glen.

[tele_player]

There are lots of ways. One way would be to create and record a normal audio track. Then add a hardware insert using one of the ADAT ports. Notice when you select the menu for adding a plugin, at the bottom it says 'i/o'?
Select one of the optical ports, and play your track. If you still hear it, then the optical ports are working. Be sure to have the optical cable connecting the output to the input.

I haven't tried this, since I don't have any optical cables. But it should work.

great ! how do i do that ? (not linking the cable , but sending/listening a signal from/to the 001)

thank you for replying !

Glen.

[glen78]

There are lots of ways. One way would be to create and record a normal audio track. Then add a hardware insert using one of the ADAT ports. Notice when you select the menu for adding a plugin, at the bottom it says 'i/o'?
Select one of the optical ports, and play your track. If you still hear it, then the optical ports are working. Be sure to have the optical cable connecting the output to the input.

you mean all on the same track ? like this ?

[image]http://sherlock.alrj.org/adat.jpg[/image]

[glen78]

oops ... screwed up my image insert. anyway, you get the url

[tele_player]

I mean create a normal mono audio track, with its normal analog inputs and outputs, and add a mono hardware insert to that track using the optical port.

[john joe daly]

Hello glen78
I have the exact same set-up, (with a 001 and ADA8000) and it works fine!
The only thing i can hazard to ask is....
- Do you have the digital I/O set up correctly in the Setup/Hardware menu page.
I was just thinking maybe you have the optical ports mirroring the SP/dif out.

-Also i dont know if have imported any sessions from an Mbox and that by way of accident your 'last used' I/O set-up has defaulted to the Mbox template, where the adat i/o's are disabled or not even present. Just check in your I/O page that every thing is present and enabled.

- Also I prosume your sessions are 24 bit (as the ADA8000 is a 24 bit device).

Hope it's one of these,

Good Luck and keep going.