To Carbon or Not to Carbon... That Is The Question...

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by albee1952

If you are mixing more than recording, then Carbon is maybe not worth the money If you do mostly mixing, you could buy a really good interface(maybe from RME) and have plenty left over for acoustic treatments, great plugins or a really good chair

Thanks Albee1952 for your insights

Well… it’s currently about 50/50

Spend a lot of time trying to capture my best performance - sometimes rewriting as I go along…. This can be either live recording or with VI’s.

Then as I venture into the mix world… I spend a lot of time experimenting with various ideas… partially because I am learning and I think partially because it’s fun and I enjoy the ride…

Sparky

[LDS]

Have you taken your new M2 Macbook Pro for a spin yet? Opened a bunch of old sessions, experimented with sample buffers, tried some tests to find its limits, etc?

I would definitely do that before you consider buying a Carbon. Current native performance is way ahead of where it once was. I just upgraded my desktop computer and ended up in this weird predicament where a HDX card became a massive step backwards due to the limited amount of DSP it has to host plugins and monitoring paths.

[tetonica]

Originally Posted by Sparky1

Now... my thoughts are just jumping on the Carbon train - thinking that the extra onboard processing would carry me forward for the next 10 years.Sparky

Yes to Carbon if you track / jam / perform. Carbon's DSP no-latency tracking is the best thing for live tracking (without spending $$ on a full HDX system).

When mixing there's no need for the DSP, just setup the audio buffer to 1000 and let the CPU work the mix.

But for tracking there's nothing better at this price point

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by LDS

Have you taken your new M2 Macbook Pro for a spin yet? Opened a bunch of old sessions, experimented with sample buffers, tried some tests to find its limits, etc?

I would definitely do that before you consider buying a Carbon. Current native performance is way ahead of where it once was. I just upgraded my desktop computer and ended up in this weird predicament where a HDX card became a massive step backwards due to the limited amount of DSP it has to host plugins and monitoring paths.

Hi LDS.

I am in the process of downloading all my software. Thought about using migration assistant - but there seems to be better outcomes by starting fresh…

Also taking this time to not load up software and items I haven’t used in years…

Hopefully this weekend I’ll have everything loaded up and will try one of my larger sessions

Sparky

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by tetonica

But for tracking there's nothing better at this price point

Hi tetonica

Yes… this has definitely got my attention….

Sparky

[K Roche]

Originally Posted by Sparky1

Hi tetonica

Yes… this has definitely got my attention….

Sparky

Well this my perspective as an "avid" (ha pun) Carbon user So lots of good basic objective info and as usual also some personal opinion and perspective presented as if fact. Realizing that the perspective comes from the individuals situation to me 30 tracks is a lot ,, to someone else that may only the background vocals --IT ALL DEPENDS

For my use (how can I phrase this) as a (non -pro) but serious hobby user for my own personal use
The Carbon works great is it overkill price wise ? maybe but for me the conversion is just great and preamps are so good that I sold my A Designs MP2-A if that says anything ... I did get an AEA RPQ2 pre amp becuase my ribbons like about 56 to 62 db gain and Carbon maxes @60 (you can check out my system in this thread https://duc.avid.com/showthread.php?t=423531)

#1 I basically record audio = my voice and acoustic and or electric guitars.
#2 I do about half and half -- guitars and voice all at once ,,,-or overdub additional guitars and or vocals.
#3 the most channels I record at one time is 3 --all mics
#4 usually do not have more than 15 to 30 tracks total ..
#5 I usually use no more than 1 to 3 --VI's and never while tracking
# 6 I usually switch it out of DSP for mixing

Now in all honesty with your new M2 Mac mini you may be able to record at such low buffer latency in native,, you may not need DSP. But Personally I think it would hard to find 8 channels of conversion and 8 mic pre's in an interface with DSP speed, at the price point... YMMV

here is video I did about maxing out the DSP using my 2020 iMac with a 10th gen i7 intel chip , (your M2 will likely do way more on the computer CPU side)

https://youtu.be/0Qz2lcE9I0Y

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by K Roche

But Personally I think it would hard to find 8 channels of conversion and 8 mic pre's in an interface with DSP speed, at the price point... YMMV
https://youtu.be/0Qz2lcE9I0Y

Thanks for the information K Roche

As I search for alternatives - I’m finding that to get to this level of quality with other manufacturers - the price point is close enough that I am thinking the extra money for the Carbon might be worth it in the long run for what I am doing….

Trying to find the best price in Canada is an interesting journey - as some retailers do not price match with retailers out of the country…

Sparky

[shobud10]

I'd be surprised if you find a lower price than:


http://www.economik.com/avid/pro-too...uction-system/


and you can sometimes get them to shave off a bit more...
Also, free shipping



Dan

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by shobud10

I'd be surprised if you find a lower price than:


http://www.economik.com/avid/pro-too...uction-system/


and you can sometimes get them to shave off a bit more...
Also, free shipping



Dan

Hi Dan…

Yes… sent them an email this morning. Have purchased from them in the past as well - great service from these folks…

Sparky

[Sparky1]

Originally Posted by Sparky1

Hi Dan…

Yes… sent them an email this morning. Have purchased from them in the past as well - great service from these folks…

Sparky

Studio Economik replied quickly - but they do not have any in stock and are unsure when they might...

Does anyone here know what kind of time frame Avid typically has on supplying these? Is it weeks, months? longer?

Thanks,

Sparky