Expandin I/O capability

[makal22]

This may be remedial, but I'd to know what LE/Digi 002 users have done to get more than 8-10 inputs going at a time. I have two situations where I need more: live tracking of bands, and transferring multi-track analog sessions over to PT for overdubbing and mixing.

In looking around, the mixers I've seen that have digital conversion seem to need to go to your computer and have discreet software running them. This brings me to two questions: 1)is there no way to go directly into PT via the Digi 002 S/PDIF or Firewird inputs?, and 2)if you are running a separate program for the mixers, how to you get the tracks into Pro Tools live with the Digi 002 tracks?

Thanks.

[double]

ive always just used a product like alesis's AI3 to get 8 more inputs/outputs for a total of 18.

[makal22]

Thanks, "double." That looks like a good solution for me. Most of the products I've looked at feature mic pres, which I don't necessarily need and no doubt add to the price. I could always use a pair otwo more of mic pres if they sound good, tho'.

I'd love to hear any experiences users have had with the Presonus, Behringer, Mackie/Onyx, etc., audio interfaces with digital conversion. And do the ones that don't use lightpipe also easily adopt the 8 ADAT ins in PT? Do any of them need an separate word clock to synch the third party interface with the Digi 002?

Digidesign: This is a great service to users, but your search engine didn't intially retrieve messages that could have helped answer my question. When I went through each message on the board mannually, if basically found my answer that the most direct way to do what I want is throught the ADAT interface/I/O channels.

[indoe]

The Presonus Digimax LT is a great unit and I have been using it for a little over a year. Nice sounding pre's and easy to use. You can sync the clock to the 002R via lightpipe/ADAT.

[makal22]

Thanks, indoe!
What sampling rate do you use? I notice the LT goes up to 48kHz. So far, I've been recording everything in 24bit/96 kHz. Have you recorded at 48 with the LT and bumped it up to 96? If so, were you satisfied with the results?

What do you know about the Digimax 96? I really appreciate the feedback. There's a lot to learn for an old analog guy.

[indoe]

I have ony used it at 48K and it sounds great, the pres are better than the 002 for sure. The Digimax 96 is pretty sweet, it also has a limiter on it as well. I have never used one but judging by how nice the LT model is, it should sound great.

[PhiDelta308]

If you don't mind being limited to 48K sampling rates, the alesis AI3 is a great expansion to a 002. I used one for a while to get an additional 8 channels of a mackie mixer into protools. Worked flawlessly, and as far as the quality of conversion, it was essentially on par with the 002 (in other words, it didn't hurt).

As far as using firewire interfaces, you're not going to be able to use them directly with protools. Likewise, you're not going to be able to do higher than 48K directly with protools via optical interfaces (digidesign doesn't support SMUX). If you don't mind capturing the audio with a different program that supports those features, you should have no problem importing those tracks into protools later on (assuming you are using a compatible file format).

If you're using an optical or spdif converter, you set the 002's clock source to the appropriate external clock. It then pulls the clock from the incoming digital signal.

Since the 002 doesn't support SMUX, you will be limited to 48K via the optical input. You can go up to 96K via the spdif input, but you will be limited to 2 tracks at a time. The 002 is limited to a total of 18 inputs (8 analog, 8 optical, and 2 spdif). Keep that in mind as you choose an interface. I don't like converting a digital audio file from a lower sampling rate to a higher one. Best case scenario, you're just going to increase the amount of storage space you need while simultaneously decreasing your system performance. Worst case scenario, you'll have audible artifacts from the samle rate conversion process.

I'm not big into recording at higher sampling rates, ie 88.2 and 96. There has and continues to be lots of discussion on the merits of recording at higher sampling rates. However, I am a big believer in recording at 24 bit. As such, I don't mind being limited to 44.1/24 or 48/24 using optical interfaces.

-chris

[tele_player]

Note: the max number of channels you can get at 96K is 10. In other words, you can only add 2 channels if you plan to run 96K.

At 48K and below, you can do up to 18.