Which Audio Card ? Dual G4, Osx, Tascam Tm-d1000 Options

[makingmusic4him]

I am moving from Windows to MAC (sounds of applause in the back ground).
Have a dual G4, OSX.

No audio cards yet, just 'out of the box' machine.

Have various midi instruments.
Have TASCAM TD-M1000 that can respond to remote midi commands.

Ultimate goal would be to have DP4 or Logic 6 (I currently have Reason 2.5) working with the Tascam mixer, so that midi, live sound and samples can all be mixed together with OS X based DAW.

Any idea on what would be a good PCi audio card for this ?
DP4 or Logic or what ??

Thanks for any ideas,
Bill

[boze]

well, definitely _don't get a mk1 motu 2408 for cheap on ebay. their drivers for osx are awful and cause so many kernel panics as to make the card unusable. motu makes quality hw, but their tech support is really poor and you roll the dice when you buy their products because if the time comes to call them all you'll ever get is a busy signal.

what are your needs for I/O? what's going into the tascam mixer?

the most importan thing will be to find a card that has i/o that matches your needs _and (most importantly) has solid drivers for osx. ask around and be patient.

[Fusion Head]

I just bought a G4 DP machine also, and am using Logic Gold 6. I started by using Emagic's EMI 6|2 interface (came with the package deal I bought) But it was VERY limited, and questionable audio quality.

After comparing options, I ended up just buying the new MOTU 828 MkII . This new version of this Firewire interface has up to 10 inputs and 10 outputs of audio simultaneous, including 2 microphone preamp'd inputs and 8 line level inputs, 10 line level outputs, headphone output, and MIDI in/out port, as well as some digital inputs/outputs (for connecting to DAT machine or a digital mixer, etc.) And they did not raise the price for the MkII version. Pretty darn cool!

I have tested almost everything and it works great, except the MIDI port was dropping/missing notes as Logic was playing a sequence to one of my sound modules. I found MOTU had a new driver on their website so I installed it (MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE INTERFACE OFF WHEN YOU INSTALL THE NEW DRIVER... or you will disable the interface and have to clean all the driver/console/preference files off your hard drive and have to reinstall!) This fixed the MIDI problem fine.

I would highly recommend this new one from MOTU...dollar for dollar this is a great pack of features, and seems to work well with Logic so far....

[boze]

it's true that everybody loves the 828 and that the mk2 is a good value. unfortunately, it's made by MOTU- so prepare yourself for bad customer service. I'd consider maybe waiting until Panther comes out and seeing how well MOTU deals with any driver updates that might be needed.

They make good hw, but if getting your soundcard to work right isn't on the top of their list because they're working on newer stuff or whatever then you'll get some serious cold shoulder treatment.

I've been emailing their tech support ppl for a full year trying to get decent drivers for the MOTU 2408 mk1 and they just don't care. "Please check the website periodically" is the only response I've ever gotten. No updates since March and those were 1.01 and didn't help.

So the 828 already works well and folks love it, but I just have to mention that because nobody who'd been through what i'd been through could really recommend MOTU with a clear conscience. I'd like to sell my 2408 and get an 828, but I'd only buy a used one because I'm hard pressed to pay MOTU for dissing me and my $800 soundcard.

[Fusion Head]

Man, that sucks. I guess I'll just keep my fingers crossed that MOTU gets their s**t together and starts supporting customers better. Maybe the "force" that is Apple-Emagic will also now help to influence third party vendors to keep drivers up to date. Emagic does not seem to purport to be an audio interface specialist, rather they focus more on their software and depend on other vendor's hardware to complete their system solution. So there is incentive for them to make sure a few good hardware vendors are effectively supporting the Mac/Logic system. That's my dream anyway!

[m0no]

Hi, all,

i have been using the 828 for over 1,5 years now , professionally never had a problem. I use it with a powerbook and logic [ user since 2,6 ] The sound is good the latency is low Only one bad thing with a few models is the mic amp it makes noise, so check that before buying just connect speakers and crank the vol up if u hear a buzz, get an other one..... But if u don't do vocals it rocks.


Moque

[binus]

I am surprised that nobody ever mentioned something like AUDIOMEDIA III
By the way, does anyone knows if the G5 accepts this PCI card ???

[boze]

hi binus,
check for a thread on that specific issue-
there's a trade in program for $295+shipping that will give you a pci424 card that is compatible with the G5. it's avail to registered owners of any pci324 or older pci424 system.

[binus]

Thanks Boze,
But that does mean that my AudioMedia III is only good for trash... mmmmm ??? It could not be traded, could it ????

Regards

Binus

[Fusion Head]

One more point about the MOTU 828 MkII - in response to the comment by mOno regarding the mic preamps, the two provided with the MkII version seem to be okay in terms of low noise. However, I would say that in my opinion they are not as "warm" sounding as I would like. I have not read anything about them, and MOTU does hype what kind of preamp circuits it is using ... so I assume these are not "high end" preamps. They are handy to use if you really need them, but for microphone inputs I am using my mixer's preamps (and an outboard preamp) and feeding their outputs to the MOTU line inputs. I am using the two MOTU combo mic/line inputs only as line inputs, to give me a total of 10 simultaneous line inputs.

Ce message a été modifié par Fusion Head - dim. 12 oct. 2003, 18:37.

[rafisaar]

I started by using Emagic's EMI 6|2 interface (came with the package deal I bought) But it was VERY limited, and questionable audio quality.

Fusion Head wrote this quote.

What is meant by "VERY limited".
Is it just an issue of number of inputs/outputs or is there more behind this claim?
This issue is very crucial to me as I don't need that many inputs and I'm seriously looking at the EMI 6|2m.

Also, what does it mean "questionable audio quality"? What exactly is wrong or bad with the 6|2's audio quality?


Thanks!
Rafi

[m0no]

about getting the warm sound on a motu. Just run it through a voice strip or something like that. I treat all my vocals and i must say they sound a lot warmer than my o3d. wich i sold recently. must say my studio is no without mixer... And it rocks..

[Fusion Head]

In response to rafisaar's question about why I thought the EMI 6|2 interface was "limited"... two reasons:

First, yes, it did not have as many inputs as I needed (it has 6 line ins... I wanted at least 8 line ins, and ideally a couple of mic pre's). Note also that the interface only has one MIDI IN and OUT, and those ports replace the digital in/out (i.e. can't use both at the same time), if this might be an issue for you.

Second, in regard to sound quality... I had not used the EMI interface for that long but during that time I did not notice any major problems with the EMI as far as really "bad" sound quality. But a sales guy at Emagic actually recommended I upgrade to something better (I must say I was a bit shocked, but also impressed, when I heard him talk about their own product this way!) I think his point was that the EMI interfaces are a good value and okay for a "starter", but if you are serious about sound quality you are going to want something with better quality A/D converters.

For these two reasons I got the MOTU. But the EMI might be just fine for you, especially if you get it as part of a package like I did with the Emagic Production Kit, etc.

[rafisaar]

Fusion Head,
thanks a lot!

This clarifies it well and enforces my decision to go for the Gold Production Kit (I'm using a mixer for the mic and other inputs, so the 6 INs should be enough for me).
As for MIDI, seems like I'll have to get another box anyway, like the MT4.

If I need better audio, I can always add a better card in the future.


Thanks again,
Rafi