Arny Krueger wrote:

> AFAIK reasonably priced 32 inch touch screens are like hen's teeth. It used
> to be that 14" diagonal was the limit for reasonbly priced product, but that
> recently jumped to more like 17 inches.

The RedLeaf Technology 32 inch touch screen monitor is about $3K, and it's
configured (mounted) to look and feel like a console, with some
beefing-up to
make it at least studio-worthy if not road-worthy.

http://dawtouch.com/default.aspx

I think that if I were designing a digital console based on a general
purpose
computer, I'd go for multiple screens - one for faders and controls, one
for meters, one for
channel processing, at least. That way you'd always know where to look when
you were doing something, and you wouldn't lose everything if your one
monitor
failed.

As far as an interface goes, since the Focusrite Pro 26 I/O is obsolete
now (it didn't
last very long) they might be starting to show up second hand pretty
cheap. That has
two ADAT inputs and outputs and will do 16 channels I/O at 44.1/48 kHz.
Not that it
matters how it sounds for George's appllication, but the analog A/D/A
sounded pretty
good. I reviewed it a couple of years back. A quick check found one on
Craig's List
in Nashville for $400. Not too bad for what you get, and probably not
hard to re-sell
after the experiment is completed.

--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio." - John Watkinson

Arny Krueger wrote:

> The whole scene about pricing of audio interfaces with just ADAT ports seems
> to be pretty crazy. The actual parts cost doesn't seem like it would be a
> lot, and the engineering doesn't seem to be rocket science. Alesis no doubt
> makes it what it is with their licensing control over the basic technology.

Oh, I don't think they're scalping anyone. The thing is that it's just
not a big seller.
If you want to use all 8 channels at 96 kHz you need two ports, and a
lot of people
don't really trust ADAT all that much anyway.

And then there's chickens and eggs.

The only long-lived ADAT-only interface card has been the Frontier Design
WaveCenter PCI. M-Audio and PreSonus have a 4-banger Firewire-ADAT
interface,
but that's about it. 8 channel mic preamps with ADAT output were a good
idea when
everyone was buying ADAT recorders, but now they're buying PCs and
looking for
8-channel mic preamps that don't require that they open up the computer.

So, a shortage of ADAT-computer interface boxes means dwindling sale of
preamps with
ADAT outputs. Dwindling sale of preamps with ADAT outputs means not much
call for
ADAT computer interfaces. And there's not much call for output devices
either since
many computer sound cards now have 6 outputs to feed a surround system
(primarily
fueled by the game market).


--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio." - John Watkinson

On Wed, 24 Feb 2010 16:23:03 -0000, Mike Rivers <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:
>
> The only long-lived ADAT-only interface card has been the Frontier Design
> WaveCenter PCI. M-Audio and PreSonus have a 4-banger Firewire-ADAT
> interface,
> but that's about it. 8 channel mic preamps with ADAT output were a good
> idea when
> everyone was buying ADAT recorders, but now they're buying PCs and
> looking for
> 8-channel mic preamps that don't require that they open up the computer.
>
> So, a shortage of ADAT-computer interface boxes means dwindling sale of
> preamps with
> ADAT outputs. Dwindling sale of preamps with ADAT outputs means not much
> call for
> ADAT computer interfaces. And there's not much call for output devices
> either since
> many computer sound cards now have 6 outputs to feed a surround system
> (primarily
> fueled by the game market).
>
>

Mike - you seem to have totally ignored RME's range of ADAT based
interfaces, from the original Hammerfall through to the current Hammerfall
HDSP range. (or don't they count because they have the odd SPDIF connector
as well?)

I also don't see dwindling sales of ADAT equipped preamps. OK, so it is
pretty hard to compete with the ADA8000 so this may have discouraged some
people at the low end but Focusrite has just brought out a new version of
the Octopre and there are quite a few other alternatives right up to the
Audient ASP008 and probably beyond.

I use ADAT as my standard method of getting signals in and out of my
computers. My laptop has ground loop issues which can be completely solved
by using an ADAT based interface with separate analogue convertors.

Cheers

James.

--
http://www.jrpmusic.net

James Perrett wrote:

> Mike - you seem to have totally ignored RME's range of ADAT based
> interfaces, from the original Hammerfall through to the current
> Hammerfall HDSP range.

I ignored them because everyone who needs one has one, and for the rest
of us, they're too expensive. Besides, I said "long running" and RME keeps
coming out with new ones, occasionally dropping an old one. Frontier made
one, one of the first interfaces designed specifically for this one
purpose, and
they still make it, and still support it with drivers for current
systems (not sure
about Win7 yet).

> I also don't see dwindling sales of ADAT equipped preamps

Usually it's because they're ADAT and something else. But are you
in sales? Do you actually know the numbers? To most people today, an
ADAT-equiipped preamp is an accessory to something else, like a
Firewire interface with analog and ADAT I/O.

> Focusrite has just brought out a new
> version of the Octopre and there are quite a few other alternatives
> right up to the Audient ASP008 and probably beyond.

Yeah, but who's going to buy it? Probably people who already have
something with an ADAT input (OK, maybe like an RME card). There
are more first-time buyers today than updaters and the first time buyers
will be looking for something that doesn't require taking their computer
apart. So, sticking with Focusrite, they'd probably like you to use an
Octopre
to expand your Saffire Pro 40.

> I use ADAT as my standard method of getting signals in and out of my
> computers. My laptop has ground loop issues which can be completely
> solved by using an ADAT based interface with separate analogue convertors.

What are you using as an ADAT interface for your laptop? Do you have a cheap
ADAT-to-USB interface to recommend to the original poster?





--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio." - John Watkinson

Mike Rivers <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> James Perrett wrote:
>
> > Mike - you seem to have totally ignored RME's range of ADAT based
> > interfaces, from the original Hammerfall through to the current
> > Hammerfall HDSP range.
>
> I ignored them because everyone who needs one has one, and for the rest
> of us, they're too expensive. Besides, I said "long running" and RME keeps
> coming out with new ones, occasionally dropping an old one. Frontier made
> one, one of the first interfaces designed specifically for this one
> purpose, and
> they still make it, and still support it with drivers for current
> systems (not sure
> about Win7 yet).
>
> > I also don't see dwindling sales of ADAT equipped preamps
>
> Usually it's because they're ADAT and something else. But are you
> in sales? Do you actually know the numbers? To most people today, an
> ADAT-equiipped preamp is an accessory to something else, like a
> Firewire interface with analog and ADAT I/O.

Metric Halo dropped the ADAT inteface from their new ULN-8 because it'll
run up to 192KHz sampling rate and in that situation the ADAT 'face is
obsolete. They replaced it with an 8-channel AES port.

--
ha
shut up and play your guitar
http://hankalrich.com/
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/hsadharma

Arny Krueger wrote:

> Good question. ADAT-to-FW is easier and cheaper - M-Audio Lightbridge 4
> sets of ADAR ports - < $400

Not only a good question, but THE question originally asked. And since
the question
also included "cheap" I'd say that $400 wouldn't qualify. And now that
I've looked, I
couldn't find a relliable price for the Frontier Design Wavecenter PCI
(which wasn't
what the original poster was looking for anyway) because I couldn't find
a dealer
selling it, only a used one for $100 on eBay.

Yeah, someone should make a little ADAT-USB adapter so people can start
using
those 8-channel ADAT-output mic preamps that they don't seem to stop
making. Sell
it for $59.95.


--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio." - John Watkinson

Mike Rivers wrote:
> Arny Krueger wrote:
>
>> Good question. ADAT-to-FW is easier and cheaper - M-Audio
>> Lightbridge 4 sets of ADAR ports - < $400
>
> Not only a good question, but THE question originally asked. And since
> the question
> also included "cheap" I'd say that $400 wouldn't qualify. And now that
> I've looked, I
> couldn't find a relliable price for the Frontier Design Wavecenter PCI
> (which wasn't
> what the original poster was looking for anyway) because I couldn't find
> a dealer
> selling it, only a used one for $100 on eBay.
>
> Yeah, someone should make a little ADAT-USB adapter so people can start
> using
> those 8-channel ADAT-output mic preamps that they don't seem to stop
> making. Sell
> it for $59.95.
>
>

http://www.frontierdesign.com/Where-To-Buy/US

--
Les Cargill

Arny Krueger wrote:

> Nobody is retailing Frontier products any more?

Les probably obvious-searched-and-fired without checking out the
resource. Guitar
Center is on that list and they don't have the WaveCenter PCI on their
web site. Same
for B&H Pro Audio and Zzounds. I don't want to buy, I just want to find
a price, and the
only thing I can find is the list price of $379 or something, which I
think is too expensive
for what it is and when it is. But if it's no longer stocked by the big
box shops, the only
other option may be to buy it direct from Frontier, get a dealer to
order one, or find a
dealer who has one in stock.

> The pricing of ADAT computer audio interfaces seems very strange. How can
> Behringer sell ADA 8000s for about $250 if the purported value of its 8
> channel ADAT interface is $100? 8 pretty fair mic preamps and 8 line
> outputs and the A/D and D/A converters to go with them for $125?

I can't figure that out either, other than what I originally mentioned -
that the market
is for other parts of the ADAT I/O system. People are using the ADAT-out
preamps
to expand other products, not to connect to a computer through a
single-purpose
product. So while there stil may be a market for an 8-channel mic preamp
with
ADAT outputs, there are probably better preamps with USB or Firewire I/O
that
don't require another piece to connect it to a computer. And, too, the
ADA8000 has
analog outputs, so I expect that many are using it just as 8 mic preamps
and don't
care about the ADAT I/O (and are bitching that they could have made it
cheaper
if they left out the digital parts).

What ever happened to that relatively inexpensive digital snake that was
being
bantered about here a year or two back? They recommended an ADA8000 on
each end, as I recall.


--
"Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be operated without
a passing knowledge of computing, although it seems that it can be
operated without a passing knowledge of audio." - John Watkinson

On Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:54:11 -0000, Arny Krueger <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>
> The audio industry needs a "white knight" to produce economical ADAT
> lightpipe interface chips and put them up for general sale.
>

Behringer use the Wavefront chips in the ADA8000 so they can't be that
expensive.

James.


--
http://www.jrpmusic.net

On Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:55:24 -0000, Mike Rivers <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

> James Perrett wrote:
>
> What are you using as an ADAT interface for your laptop? Do you have a
> cheap
> ADAT-to-USB interface to recommend to the original poster?
>

I'm using an RME Hammerfall card in the studio computer and a Focusrite
Saffire Pro26 with the laptop together with a Behringer ADA8000 which will
plug into either. I'd like to buy an Audient ASP008 at some point in the
future to complete the setup.

The M-Audio Profire Lightbridge has already been mentioned as a suitable
Lightpipe to Firewire box and I believe Presonus sell something similar.
RME are the only people that I know of who have attempted to send ADAT
down a USB link with their Fireface UC (although I've just checked and
found that MOTU also sell a USB version of their 828).

You are right in that Lightpipe is often used to expand something else
(like an audio interface or a digital mixing desk) but the standard
Firewire audio chipsets like the Bridgeco or DiceII chips make it easy to
add Lightpipe to an existing interface. I know RME like to use their own
chips so I guess that they've now developed a high performance USB chip
that can handle that many channels. I'm not sure whose chips MOTU use.

I'm not a retailer but I see these 8 channel preamp boxes in most studios
that I've been in recently and I know quite a few people who own them.

Cheers

James.
--
http://www.jrpmusic.net