Apogee Thunderbridge for Avid HD I/O?

[producerdna]

I'm planning to upgrade my mobile setup and I had few questions but couldn't find the answers online.
Is it ok to use Apogee's thunderbridge to connect Avid HD I/O instead of Avid Native thunderbolt interface? Apogee Thunderbridge is $999 and I'm not sure if Avid sells just the thunderbolt bridge by itself but technically they're little over 2grand. .
I personally like Avid HD I/O over Symphony I/O. I was looking at the UA Apollo, but i read few posts saying they're not reliable for professional studios.
I've been running PT HD for over 10years and there were some minor issues time to time but it was very reliable.

so what would be my ideal mobile setup?

is it HD Native + HD I/O or Apogee Thunderbridge + HD I/O or the Apollo with Thunderbridge Card option?

[Craig F]

I strongly doubt that the Apogee Thunderbridge will work with the Avid HD I/O boxes

[nst7]

You will not be able to use Avid HD interfaces with the Thunderbridge. They are not compatible.

But keep in mind that with the HD Native bundle with the HD IO, when you subtract the price of the HD IO, you are getting the HD Native Thunderbolt box and the HD 10 software with full features for only $1000 more than the Thunderbridge box with no software at all.

[John_Toolbox]

Even if the thunderbridge could be used in lieu of an HD Native thunderbolt box and connect to AVID I/O, I have a feeling that it would have limitations and workarounds that would make it less desirable to use with AVID hardware. The Apogee symphony system is really for people who use other DAWs and want a lot of I/O, but it doesn't have the same level of integration with Pro Tools as an HD Native card or HDX card.

[JFreak]

Yep, and the really big question regarding Apogee (and other 3rd parties) is whether their X-HD (or equivalent) products still work with PT11 or not. For now, there is only one safe bet: buy Avid gear and be supported.

[producerdna]

Thanks for the replies guys,

I had more interest on the Thunderbridge because it gives you an EXTRA Thunderbolt port. I'm wondering when would AVID gonna start adding the
built-in thunderbolt port on their Interfaces. It might not happen but if the
OMNI I/O had the built-in Thunderbolt port, its sales would go up dramatically.

[Craig F]

given that Avid came out with a TB to Native box a TB port on the Omni seems unlikely anytime soon (they still probably wouldn't put a passthrough on it if they did)

what are your I/O needs?
are you somewhere that you could demo the Apollo?

[producerdna]

This thunderbolt rig is for my home setup..
I just put a two 480GB SSD's on my macbook pro 13" (late 2011)
with 16GB Ram and it's running blazing Fast.
I'm trying to find the best interface to go along with this Souped up MB Pro.


My two recording rigs at the studio are
A. Accel HD3 running PT10HD with Rosetta 800 w/big ben.
B. HDX w/ Avid HD I/O (16Analog I/O) running PT10HD

2 Mac Pro 8-core with 10GB and 14GB memory.
256GB SSD for System Drive and 3 1TB drives for the files.

I mostly cut vocals and guitars with very heavy VI's.
8 in/out is good enough for me.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by Craig F

given that Avid came out with a TB to Native box a TB port on the Omni seems unlikely anytime soon (they still probably wouldn't put a passthrough on it if they did)

Given that Avid software must be cross-platform, it seems unlikely they adopt Apple-first connections into their interfaces. The Thunderbolt bridge box is great but it has zero users on the Windows land so far.

Naturally it is not Avid's fault that Thunderbolt adoption on the Windows side is not that great, nor it was Apple's fault that Firewire adoption on the Windows side was not that great.

It just seems to me that on the Windows side nothing is good enough except the absolutely cheapest alternative. That is the problem. And our problem is that PT will have to be cross-platform. Was it Mac-only like before, we would have less problems like this.

[John_Toolbox]

I really wish they wouldn't have given mini display port the same connector as thunderbolt. It just adds another level of unnecessary confusion. I guess you could argue that it would be just one more cable you'd have to buy, but they've already got that figured out, most people using minidsplayport are using a DVI or VGA adaptor cable with it anyways.