Best way to get 16 analog in

[JefffM]

Hi Guys,

have a load of 16 track analog multi's which we want to transfer to hard disk.

I would be interested in suggestions for the best audio interface to get.

Most seem to have only 8 analog ins so we would need to be able to install 2 of them and synch them together, unless anyone knows of an affordable interface that has 16 analog ins.

All suggestions gratefully received.

[Stevil]

you want best or affordable? whats the budget?

16 channel
http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=1
http://sonic-core.net/en/products/a16ultra.html

theres a ton of Multi-Channel converters w/ Preamps
Adat & Firewire?

could go with 2x 8 channel converters, on the low end there's the B ADA8000 for about $200 a pop.

SSL Alpha Link has 24 just in case you think 16 might not be enough someday in the $3k range.

[hyde maintenance]

Yeah I don't know what price range you are looking at, but the Echo Audiofire 12 has great converters for the money. The channel count doesn't match up with what you're after, but if it's archived material you're just dumping to HD two passes isn't a problem is it? Otherwise you could get 2 and link them up. The nice thing is that you're not paying for mediocre preamps that you don't need anyhow...and they sound good.

[chris harris]

Everyone wants both "the best" and something "affordable." Unfortunately, those are usually two different products.

[JefffM]

you want best or affordable? whats the budget?

Thanks for your advice. I did say affordable in my original post which in our case is probably up to about $1000

The Sonic Core looks good but not sure how to get it into the computer - what's z-link? A lightpipe card or whatever I'd need to get from the ADAT into the computer would probably push us over the budget.

Suggestions for specific 8-in cards within our budget gratefully accepted.

Thanks

[Stevil]

what's z-link? A lightpipe card or whatever I'd need to get from the ADAT into the computer would probably push us over the budget.

also are we talking PC or Mac? USB or PCI?
what software are you using to capture?

Zlink is SonicCore's version of Firewire. (same technology different protocol).
SC was originally a company called creamware so you can find the same stuff used for slightly cheaper under the creamware name. might bring you under yer budget.

aphex systems also has an adat converter
http://www.aphex.com/144.htm
http://www.frontendaudio.com/Aphex_144_p/9999-00428.htm

emu has a $300 sound card with adat. that's the cheapest retail i'm aware of. EMU1616

i'm currently running a creamware project card & 2 Behringer ada8000's for 16 channels to the pc. that setup is a few hundred over yer budget. next time it rains money i'm looking to upgrade the adat interface.

[Stevil]

the Echo Audiofire 12 has great converters for the money. The channel count doesn't match up with what you're after, but if it's archived material you're just dumping to HD two passes isn't a problem is it?

echo makes good stuff as well. my first real card was an echo darla.
echo layla has 8 ins and the adat option, could go with one of those & an ada8000 & be at 16 channels well under budget.

[Chris_Meck]

honestly, for $1000 you could get a used MOTU 24 i/o and have 24 ins and outs.

If that's more than you'd ever need (or will never mix outside the box) you could pick up a couple of MOTU 2408 mkii or mk3's and a PCI-424 card.

I think the MOTU stuff is pretty great in it's price range.

[signorMars]

2 Delta 1010s would work pretty well. They're not Lynx or Radar Nyquist quality, but they work just fine. Sync via S/PDIF. Their word clock sucks.

[bickle]

Funny, I was just thinking about upgrading my two 1010s, which I sync via wordclock - where can I find out more about the improvement using S/PDIF? I've never heard this before...

[newfuturevintage]

honestly, for $1000 you could get a used MOTU 24 i/o and have 24 ins and outs.

If that's more than you'd ever need (or will never mix outside the box) you could pick up a couple of MOTU 2408 mkii or mk3's and a PCI-424 card.

I think the MOTU stuff is pretty great in it's price range.

This would probably be the easiest, least space consuming path to take.

Alternately, you could pick up an RME hammerfall 9652 (used, about $450) and two of the Behri 8000's (new about $200) for under a grand, or any other 8-channel analog to ADAT box out there. The drivers would probably be a little more stable than the MOTU if you're on a PC.

[signorMars]

Funny, I was just thinking about upgrading my two 1010s, which I sync via wordclock - where can I find out more about the improvement using S/PDIF? I've never heard this before...

Basically the issue is that the clock itself is located on the PCI card, so to sync via word clock, it has to travel pretty far, making it more prone to jitter. Also, the particular way they implement the word clock is not so great. Most importantly, unless your 1010 happens to be vastly exceeding its specifications, it can only reliably sync via word clock at 44.1k or 48k, IIRC. When I used the word clock to sync, I got tons of pops and clicks and noise. Never had any trouble like that with S/PDIF sync, at any sample rate.

[bickle]

Interesting - I've never had any such problems, but I only run them at 44.1, so maybe that's it. I'll have to do some experimenting with that when I get a chance - thanks!

[TapeOpLarry]

HAve you considered having a place that specializes in tape transfers do the job? They'll get more off your tape than you will, as in better tape heads, signal path, convertors, etc. We did this for the Elliott Smith archive work and I was amazed at how much better the sound was than anything I could do in my own studio. The real limitation was the quality of the playback decks I was using... Here's the folks I used.

http://www.mrtoads.com/