Newbie - New System - Sound Card ??

[wmstonetn]

I am building my first SAC system and would like some help picking a sound card. I have been looking at the RME HDSP 9652, the RME RayDAT and the MOTU 2408mkIII/424. I would really appreciate anyone's advice and pros/cons

Thanks

[905shmick]

Raydat:
Pro: 32 chans per card, awesome drivers
Con: Most expensive

HDSP:
Pro: 24 chans per card, awesome drivers, cheaper than raydat
Con: more expensive than motu

Motu:
Pro: cheapest solution, can do 72 channels on a single card
Con: additional 1U 2408 boxes and cabling if you're going to add a whack of ADA8000 units, drivers dont seem to be as well written compared to RME.

[gdougherty]

Don't forget, you can also record inputs without SAW on the RME cards. If you want to multi-track with the MOTU gear you'll have to purchase SAW.

SAW isn't a bad thing, it's just more money to spend.

A few other notes, as 905 implied the RME setups will be more compact in terms of rack space for the same number of mic preamps.

Another plus on the RayDAT. The HDSPe series of cards are the newest and, assuming continued operation of RME, should be supported under new OS's the longest. Of course you could always plan on upgrading to used RayDAT's down the road if driver availability ever becomes a problem.

[mattaudio]

The one advantage I could see to using MOTU is that you could make more of a modular system without having to haul around a huge rolling rack.

The 2408 and 24i seem to pop up all the time for cheap, and I was thinking it would work well to have two racks of 24 channel (2408+(3)ADA8000 or 24i+(3) analog 8ch premaps) and then another rack for my host.

They connect with the 324 or 424 card using Firewire cables (although the protocol is Audiowire, a proprietary MOTU protocol).

In the end, I decided I don't need more than 24 channels, and I value being able to track my shows without buying SAW. Plus I got a great deal on a Digiface.

[Yogi]

In the short run two things at play between the raydat and the MOTU. You can readily find the MOTU units for half the price or less (on ebay) of a raydat card. Also the Raydat is limited to 32 channels and then you're buying another card. Second is that the Motu has 8 channels built in so you only need 2 ADA8Ks per Motu interface.

If you're doing 24 channels or less then price wise the Motu wins hands down. As for drivers and such I've NEVER had a problem yet with the Motu products. Is Motu a pain in the behind to deal with ... you bet. But the 424 card drivers are stable and running SAC twice a week for me. There are more than a few of us running the Motu setups. To say that it isn't a viable option I don't think is fair.

For me I felt I was getting more bang for the buck and I have 2 424 cards, 4 2408 IIIs, 2 2408 IIs, and 6 ADA8Ks for a completely redundant system. The redundancy would have been difficult or impossible with any other solution. Worst case scenario is down time of 30 seconds on any failure.

[gdougherty]

Second is that the Motu has 8 channels built in so you only need 2 ADA8Ks per Motu interface.

Though you will need an ADA8K if you intend to connect another 8 channels of mic preamp. The 2408 as you describe would get you 4 stereo line pairs and 16 Mic inputs, correct? I've looked at them and didn't see anything that would lead me to believe otherwise.

[venez03]

Though you will need an ADA8K if you intend to connect another 8 channels of mic preamp. The 2408 as you describe would get you 4 stereo line pairs and 16 Mic inputs, correct? I've looked at them and didn't see anything that would lead me to believe otherwise.

With the analog I/O on the 2408 (which are RCA) You can choose to use the analog or ADAT on any of the 3 banks. So, you are not limited to 2 ADA8Ks. I use 2 2408s I have 3 ADA8ks on the first. on the second i use the analog I/O for MP3 playback. and still have room for 2 more ADA8Ks.

Each 324 card will support (3) 2408 for up to 72 ch. The 424 will support (4) 2408

Although the RME stuff may be more efficient, MOTU gives you "bang for the buck" ...if price is a factor. I got MOTU 324/2408 for around $100. Twice.

[905shmick]

With the analog I/O on the 2408 (which are RCA) You can choose to use the analog or ADAT on any of the 3 banks. So, you are not limited to 2 ADA8Ks. I use 2 2408s I have 3 ADA8ks on the first. on the second i use the analog I/O for MP3 playback. and still have room for 2 more ADA8Ks.

Each 324 card will support (3) 2408 for up to 72 ch. The 424 will support (4) 2408

Although the RME stuff may be more efficient, MOTU gives you "bang for the buck" ...if price is a factor. I got MOTU 324/2408 for around $100. Twice.

Only the 2408 MK1 has unbalanced RCA connectors. The MK2 and MK3 have balanced TRS analog connections.

[Yogi]

The internal inputs are line level, but it's easy to use these for instrument inputs (and last time I checked there is usually a need for these, without needing microphone level pre-amps). That's another savings within itself with the 2408 IIs or IIIs.

[venez03]

Only the 2408 MK1 has unbalanced RCA connectors. The MK2 and MK3 have balanced TRS analog connections.

Thanks. Ive only used the MK1, so i was unaware that the MK2 and MK3 had TRS I/O