can anyone suggest the advantages of M-Powered over LE?

[Mike Hunt]

Hi

I have been reading allot of threads here but since PT8 came out i was thinking of going to LE but still wondering what the advantages would be, people tell me there are many now with PT8, but i can not put my finger on anything at all, can you guys fill me in?

[therecordinghouse]

mpowered = more crappy hardware options

le = complete production toolkit



basically

[peppertree]

Originally Posted by therecordinghouse

mpowered = more crappy hardware options

le = complete production toolkit



basically

Actually the ProFire 2626 is the best hardware interface available to run a native ProTools rig, by far.

I own both the 2626 and the 003 console and I use the 2626 for all tracking. I get all 18i/o (or is it 26 in v.8? ) pure digital if I want, using external converters, and with low-latency monitoring on external converters, which the 003 does NOT offer. I can even have low-latency aux sends on my cue mix. And I can have all 18i/o at 96KHz, while the 003 only offers 10 i/o at 96KHz. And I can completely bypass the preamp gain stage on all 8 analog inputs of the 2626, while only on 4 inputs of the 003 or 2 of the 003+(-). What's more, the converters on the 2626 sound dramatically better than those on the 003, although the preamps are more or less a wash.

Oh yeah and the 2626 + PTMP is way cheaper than the 003 rack.

One of these days, perhaps too late to save the company, digi will de-cripple its native systems, letting me have even more than the Complete Extortion Toolkit on the 2626, and letting me use more than one interface at a time. In the meantime, the best native Pro Tools setup you can have at least includes the 2626 for tracking. Hands down.

[learnmedia]

Originally Posted by peppertree

Actually the ProFire 2626 is the best hardware interface available to run a native ProTools rig, by far.

I own both the 2626 and the 003 console and I use the 2626 for all tracking. I get all 18i/o (or is it 26 in v.8? ) pure digital if I want, using external converters, and with low-latency monitoring on external converters, which the 003 does NOT offer. I can even have low-latency aux sends on my cue mix. And I can have all 18i/o at 96KHz, while the 003 only offers 10 i/o at 96KHz. And I can completely bypass the preamp gain stage on all 8 analog inputs of the 2626, while only on 4 inputs of the 003 or 2 of the 003+(-). What's more, the converters on the 2626 sound dramatically better than those on the 003, although the preamps are more or less a wash.

Oh yeah and the 2626 + PTMP is way cheaper than the 003 rack.

One of these days, perhaps too late to save the company, digi will de-cripple its native systems, letting me have even more than the Complete Extortion Toolkit on the 2626, and letting me use more than one interface at a time. In the meantime, the best native Pro Tools setup you can have at least includes the 2626 for tracking. Hands down.

What he said.
I got the 2626 (as a Xmas gift from the wife) having already owned PT M-Powered, and upgraded to PT8. After researching the two platforms (003r and PTLE vs. 2626 and PTMP) there's no doubt that I (she?) made the right decision. With the 2626 you get more for less.

[Mike Hunt]

peppertree, are you using the 2626 with LE or M-Powered software?

[peppertree]

Originally Posted by Mike Hunt

peppertree, are you using the 2626 with LE or M-Powered software?

For whatever reason they made life complicated for themselves and everybody else and created two native builds of Pro Tools. You need an M-Powered ilok license to use Pro Tools with the 2626, which you have to pay extra for even if you already own an LE interface.

So in simpler words, you must use Pro Tools M-Powered with the 2626, and you must use LE with the 003. The programs can be simultaneously installed on the same startup drive and swapping between them is merely a matter of swapping a toslink cable in my rig.

Basically the 2626 was built to address everyone's complaints with the 003 and earlier M-Audio junk. The intrinsic minuses of the 2626 are the weak monitor control features (the volume knob I believe is done in the digital domain and has zipper noise, I think also true of the headphone jacks), phantom controlled only in banks of 4, preamp bypass can only be done by patching with TRS cables...you have to manually repatch XLRs if you then want the preamps, and iirc there is one less midi output. All the other weaknesses are things that Digidesign has done to "entice you to buy certain pieces of hardware" (i.e. their own brand rather than the M-Audio brand they bought and then started viewing as competing).

Across the board, digidesign should just let each hardware offering compete on its own merits, including TDM/HD vs. native, and not selectively cripple the software to give certain pieces of hardware an unfair advantage over the others. I really can't believe they are doing that...it makes all their hardware look in need of help (which in some ways it is) and it reduces the total value of their entire product line. It's done in the interest of making a quick buck, but an objective analysis would probably reveal it is actually hurting the company's bottom line.

[Mike Hunt]

why not get yourself a RME Fireface 800 then, you can find them cheap second hand these days., just wondering how the 2626 is so much superior for the price of other none digi stuff that works stand alone with Pro Tools along side there horrible interfaces that they sell (for the prices they ask for) to make HD systems look good.

[peppertree]

Originally Posted by Mike Hunt

why not get yourself a RME Fireface 800 then, you can find them cheap second hand these days., just wondering how the 2626 is so much superior for the price of other none digi stuff that works stand alone with Pro Tools along side there horrible interfaces that they sell (for the prices they ask for) to make HD systems look good.

I have also the RME ADI-2 which is a slight improvement over the FF800 circuit and I honestly think the 2626 converter is better. Its specs aren't better but its sound is better. The benefit of the 2626 is you can run Pro Tools (duh).

The 2626 is also about 1/3rd the price of the ff800. The 2626 runs standalone, and even forgetting the interface part is probably the best deal for 8 channels of ADC and DAC to ADAT SMUX as is currently available. Many people have gotten two 2626's, one as interface one standalone with it, for this reason.

Even though you have a childish username and are apparently just posting here for kicks I thank you for the opportunity to make these points.

[Mike Hunt]

Hey pepertree, your user name is retarded but that is my opinion, we all have our own opinions, if your grown up enough to stick to the topic maybe we can get somewhere ; )

I got a RME FF800 for 800€ (store floor model) in Spain, and i sold it for the same in France., the RME400 sells for about the same new, but everyone tells me to get a better i/o the list wold go like this:
1-Metric Halo
2-Apagee
3-RME

Anything Pro and beyond in price and quality above these 3 names you can find on sites like Missionary Audio, anything less in price and quality is on PRoSUMER websites, i got a DUET with a M-Audio Ozone, now i like the idea of M-Audio or a Digi i/o with LE.

Digi people suggest to stay away from M-Audio, some claim Digi purposely wrote bad drivers but M-Audio does there own., i am assuming you work allot and all is fine?

[stoox]

M Audio Hardware is pretty good in my opinion

the profire 2626 is a Great Interface.