Interface with 2x ADAT I/O (M-Audio Profire 2626?)

[KHE]

hi guys,

i scored two Focusrite Octopres MK2 for a good price, now i need a reliable interface to connect these pre's via ADAT (44.1kHz)

one of the cheaper interfaces with 2x ADAT I/O is the M-Audio Profire 2626.

what are your opinions about this interface (driver stability, reliability)?

the recorded tracks through the Octopres won't be affeced in any way by the Profire,
since the AD-Conversion happens inside the Octopres, right?

The Qualtiy of the Profires preamps doesn't really matter, i will use them just for
monitoring-tracks and triggers.

In case of reamping, i can route everything through the Octopres, right (ADAT-Out)?

About the M-Audio contoller-software, is it good and easy to create monitor-mixes for drummers ect?

how do i have to connect the Word-Clock-Syncing for these 3 devices? (adat-newbie, sorry )


or are there any other interfaces i should check-out?


my computer-setup just in case it's important:
PC, Win7 32-bit



thanks for you opinios guys!

cheers!

 

[Benqbasic]

If you go with a profire just make sure you buy/have a compatible firewire card (check their forums).
Works great on my mac pro but not on my xp laptop (with TI fw card).

Software was ok. Routing was ok but I always use cubase control room anyway. Not as flexible as RME.

Word clock sync can be done via the adat cable it's self or via a bnc cable. Just select the option you want in the software.

 

[Trevoire520]

what are your opinions about this interface (driver stability, reliability)?

From what I've read it's a bit of a bastard if you're running windows. Great on Mac though!
If you're on Windows you might be better off with the Focusrite Saffire Pro as that seems to be more stable on Windows machines.

the recorded tracks through the Octopres won't be affeced in any way by the Profire,
since the AD-Conversion happens inside the Octopres, right?

Correct

In case of reamping, i can route everything through the Octopres, right (ADAT-Out)?

No, the Octopre's don't have ADAT inputs, only outputs. So reamping will have to be done through the Profire. Don't worry though the converters are actually pretty decent and won't give you any problems for re-amping.

About the M-Audio contoller-software, is it good and easy to create monitor-mixes for drummers ect?

The software is pretty straightforward, though personally I just do stuff like this in Pro Tools. The latency is probably worse but the flexibility is better in that I can use plugins etc.

how do i have to connect the Word-Clock-Syncing for these 3 devices? (adat-newbie, sorry )

You won't be able to sync this setup over ADAT as there's no ADAT inputs on the Octopre's, so you'll have to sync using word clock.

I've never really done any word clock sync myself (always been lucky enough that the interfaces/pre's I was using could work via ADAT) but it seems you just need a couple of BNC cables, a couple of T-Splits and a 75 ohm terminator.

Check out the 4th post in this thread:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/high-end/235181-correct-termination.html

In your scenario the Profire will be the wordclock generator.

 

[KHE]

thanks a lot for your answers guys!

about the stability with windwos, i'll do some re-search, i'm a little worried now... (Focusrite Saffire Pro40 is no alternative, because it only has 1 ADAT-in)

thanks!

 

[KHE]

the other posiibility i have at the moment would be a MOTU 828 mk3 (500.-EUR used)

any opinions about this interface? (it has 8 line-lins + 2 micpres, which is also ok)

thanks!

 

[Revson]

Maybe try to snag a used RME Fireface 800/UFX. You'll still need 2 BNC cables and a T-split for them to use Wordclock, but using RME's drivers with Windows is rock solid. I've been using the FF800 with an Octopre for a couple years now and never had a problem. It's not to hard to find them for under $1,000 USD, which is around 750 Euro, I think.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

It's great on my mac running OSX, never tried a windows machine.

 

[mva801]

Been using a ProFire for four years on my mac with little issue. I moved into a new studio and am now clocking it off a big ben and running apogee rosettas into it via adat. You could clock the Pro Fire off the ADAT input and skip the word clock, but I'd prob set it up both ways just to see which clocking you like better. I'd also look into the RME option. It's gonna be twice as much, but you'll need to decide if that's of value to you.

 

[AudioGeekZine]

the 2626 was solid on my Win 7 machine but only with an expensive firewire card. I had a SIIG one approved by AVID for pro tools.

The drivers have been updated a few times since then as well. I've since switched to Mac over a year ago now and it's flawless stability.

 

[KHE]

thanks for all your replies!
i scored a used 2626 at the local musicstore for 200.-EUR, so we will see how it works...!

cheers!
markus

 

[mva801]

Nice. that's a good price for a very workable interface.

 

[RiF]

My 2626 worked and works flawlessly from day one on my Asus A7P55D's internal FW-bus on Windows 7/64 with Pro Tools 9. Two Behringer ADA8000's connected to the two ADAT ports work nicely together with it as well (clocked via ADAT /w the 2626 as the master, no BNC-workclock). No complaints at all. This unit never got in my way.
Big step up regarding stability, performance (low latency operation), sound quality and feature set (2 headphone amps, 2 ADAT ports) from my Digi 002R.