HD Native with 2 blue interfaces hookup question

[Justin1524]

I have...

1 - HD Native PCIe card
1 - 96 IO
1 - 192 Digital IO

Is it better for me to use both ports on my HD Native card to hook up both interfaces or to run a single cable (with adapter) then use the Expansion port on one of the interfaces to daisy chain to the other interface? Maybe it doesn't matter just curious.

Thanks for the help!

Bonus question - since I use the 96 IO for analog to digital and digital to analog, should I pitch it and get a 192 blue analog 16x16 on ebay for $500-$800 or hold out for an Avid IO analog 16x16 for around $2300 on ebay? What would you do? Remember money counts.

[JFreak]

There is no difference whether you use two digilinks or one daisy-chained. Other than it is cheaper to buy one long and one short cable and one adapter, compared to two long cables and two adapters.

[Firechild]

No, don´t go for the blue 192. They are just a notch better sounding than the 96. However the new AVID HD I/O 8x8x8 is another matter, sounds great !

[albee1952]

Originally Posted by Firechild

No, don´t go for the blue 192. They are just a notch better sounding than the 96. However the new AVID HD I/O 8x8x8 is another matter, sounds great !

Plenty of hit recordings have been done on 192's so if budget is tight, they will serve you fine(but I agree; buy the best you can afford). Some stuff to consider, with a 192 digital, there should be no sound quality difference at all as you are feeding it digital(so the conversion happens in another box anyway). The stock 96IO has the same converters as the 003, so gauge quality with that in mind. You might bump your audio quality by adding an analog output card to the 192 and using that as your outputs(unless you have a digital solution already).

[Justin1524]

Thanks for the tips. As I understand it, if it says "Digital" on the faceplate you can't add cards to it even thought it looks like you should be able to - something about the power supply being insufficient in this model.

My concern with investing too much in blue interfaces is Avid will eventually stop supporting them in their latest version of Pro Tools - they already have said "not officially supported" in PT 11 HD. With HD and HDX, there is no support for the legacy port on blue interfaces ergo the need for me to sell off my 24-bit ADAT bridge (single rackspace) and pick up a 192 Digital (blue). If Avid has a technical reason to disable their own interfaces in software, I guess I can see that. But if it's just a tactic to sell more interfaces then I find that discouraging. There's already enough shock factor realizing you've got to replace plugin's - but hey - I can accept that given the new life PT 11 HD's 64bit audio engine pumps into my 2008 Mac Pro. I suppose those of us that love the latest software will always have to adapt our hardware somewhat. What do you think?

So in sum, my entry fee to PT 11 HD (less plugins cost):
1.) $850 ebay - HD Native card (to replace HD|2)
2.) $599 Avid - upgrade PT 10 HD to 11 HD.
3.) $350 ebay - 192 Digital blue (to replace 24-bit ADAT bridge)

Of course I can try selling off my old stuff to recoup some $. Feeding the eco-system of users that are perfectly happy with stopping at PT 10 HD and keeping TDM alive! Long live TDM only Indigo!

[agershon]

Not too much to add (sorry) but I'm also interested if there's a preference between the second port on the Native card or the expansion ports on my Omni. I have mine hooked to the second port on the card, by the way. Is working fine now. I had to use Loop Sync, though. Wouldn't work with clock from the Omni.

I just grabbed a 192 analog ... couldn't justify spending 3-4x the amount for the HD I/O. Lots of evidence that the Blue interfaces are working fine in PT11. Plus I'm "just a hobbyist" and, as was mentioned above, thousands of legit albums have been made with 192s.