Does the DAW interface I want exist?

[Calaverasgrande]

I was in a similar space about a year ago. I'd run out of inputs on my interface and was getting annoyed swapping cables.
Tried using a patchbay for a while. Which is a good way to save wear and tear on your interface's jacks. But it also introduces a lot more cabling and possible points of failure. I'll also confess that more than once I goofed up the stereo pairs of things when patching and had to undo and redo all the patch cables. Kind of a flow state buster.

Ended up getting an old Apogee AD16X. It's an AD converter only, it adds 16 channels of 24bit/192k conversion.
It was very reasonable. I think I paid $400 plus shipping more or less.
You have to have an interface that has ADAT/Toslink connections to use it. But it has 4 optical jacks, so if your interface(s) have that many you can get up 16 channels at 88/96 or 8 at 192.
It's pretty fiddly to change settings but basically you align it to the operating level of your studio and then change output level from the devices you connect. Metering is bs single LED but I mostly look at the DAW for that anyway.
Changing sample rate is the only thing I ever do and it's just a couple button pushes.
I think it takes cards for other output capabilities but I haven't explored that. I'm happy as my set up is now.

The only downside is that it uses 25 pin Dsub for input. This wasn't a downside for me since I spent the pandemic lockdown making Dsub cables and converting my studio set up to work in chunks of 8 on Dsubs. My mixer is an SSL Xdesk so this was kind of necessary.

[cornsound]

OP updating on the ESI U168XT interface.

I've tracked a bunch of stuff since buying it a few months ago and it's performed well. It came with a EU style plug and while I could have used a travel adapter I had, I bought a US spec 2-pin C7 cable for the power supply (which was already US compatible). Having all the extra inputs makes life easier.

I have a 2nd PC that I sometimes need to edit on, using the stereo line output of it routed to 2 line inputs on the ESI. One slightly annoying thing I've noticed is that if the host (main) computer isn't running (the PC connected via USB), any input signal levels are very low and I have to dime the monitor level for those channels. So it doesn't really work in a 'pass-thru' mode i.e. like any garden variety mixer.

Another thing is that it's just slightly too wide to fit in commonly available racks (on a rack shelf). Not being able to raise it or angle it up at my face is something I've gotten used to. Maybe I'll build my own.

[digitaldrummer]

Another thing is that it's just slightly too wide to fit in commonly available racks (on a rack shelf).

ouch. being that wide and not having rack mount ears would be super annoying (not to mention a tragically poor design to begin with)

[numberthirty]

On the off chance someone looks through this thread in the future...

This Arturia unit(while on the "Legit Cash" end of things...) seems like it could be along the lines of what was outlined in the initial post in this thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayFi62zksZs

[cornsound]

Did they just come out with that? Looks pretty interesting, but kind of an odd headphone setup and such. Lots more I/O but more pricey. The ESI while more basic, is still working out fine and was much, much cheaper. I wouldn't mind trying one of those Arturia's though.

[digitaldrummer]

I finally saw this -- https://www.arturia.com/products/audio/ ... g/overview
and now I realize what the Youtube link was earlier (just sick of Youtube ads...sorry). That looks like a pretty nice setup. If my current interface went belly up I would definitely consider the 16Rig as a replacement. Looks like it only supports 16 inputs at once, but being able to have something connected to the ADAT inputs and being able to "patch them in" via the routing software instead of the normal line inputs might be useful (although today I just patch it in with a regular patch bay). And the reason I got away from the ADAT connection was the slight time/sample difference incurred by having different devices on either side (while 16 inputs on the same device seem to all have the same exact clocking). It would be nicer if you could have an additional 4-8 inputs/outputs (it says it is over USB 2.0 and Antelope was able to send 32 channels of 24/192 over USB 2.0...). But a decent price for having 16in/12out. Specs look pretty good too (Cirrus Logic chipset) and I didn't think the headphone jack looked weird. I do like the MIDI on the front and back and the USB jacks for utility. Looks well thought out.

[trodden]

Looks like it only supports 16 inputs at once, but being able to have something connected to the ADAT inputs and being able to "patch them in" via the routing software instead of the normal line inputs might be useful (although today I just patch it in with a regular patch bay). And the reason I got away from the ADAT connection was the slight time/sample difference incurred by having different devices on either side (while 16 inputs on the same device seem to all have the same exact clocking).

Right? Having 16 hardware ins on one box would be so nice when micing up a drum kit and needing more than 8 inputs.

Which is the main reason why I"m keeping my HD2 rig around just for tracking. I've got 16 ins on one 192 and another 8 via ADAT. Using the new pro tools setup and interface just for overdubs and mixing.

[cornsound]

While I have no major complaints with the ESI U168XT still, I've come across an edge case that is making me look at that Arturia 16RIG above. There are times where I need to monitor/check a channel from a 5.1 or 7.1 surround source (in Windows), listening through the stereo L / R monitor mix (instead of adding 4 more speakers). If I wanted to route the rear/surround L or R, subwoofer or the center channel to the stereo L / R output, the ESI driver/software does't seem to allow it. It's routing features are limited, and I'm not sure if the hardware will even do it. It was ~$300 after all. I've contacted them but they're in the EU so the response is slow going.

The software for the Arturia seems to let you route anything to anywhere, so is it worth it to outlay 3-4x more cash for convenience / ease of use for the edge case above?

[digitaldrummer]

so is it worth it to outlay 3-4x more cash for convenience / ease of use for the edge case above?

I think only you can decide that based on your needs. But are there other software (plugin or DAW routing?) solutions that might allow you to accomplish what you need? I'm not 100% clear if you are using the DAW for this or not?

[cornsound]

No, this is just straight up listening back to something playing outside of the DAW software. Be it a DVD or 5.1 encoded video file ,etc. through Windows WDM/whatever drivers. I was thinking that there has to be something somewhere I could try, along the lines of ASIO4ALL etc. but I haven't looked around that much.

[digitaldrummer]

ASIO4ALL is probably worth trying, otherwise it seems like you are probably at the mercy of the interface driver... meaning, waiting for something from ESI... and that might be unlikely?

[cornsound]

I looked at a few virtual audio cable apps/programs but they were a dead end for this situation, but they at least sparked the thought of trying some different approaches. I found that in one of the playback programs I could specifically choose the 1 & 2 or 3 & 4 etc. outputs of the ESI vs. the ESI selected as the WDM device, i.e. 'Speakers' that Windows sometimes uses as the default. After changing this, the center channel audio was included in the L/R stereo mix, which is one of the major things I needed working. 3 & 4 are the discreet center and sub channels, 7 & 8 are the L/R surrounds. This alone makes the Arturia not really necessary at this point.

Nothing to see here, move along...

[digitaldrummer]

glad to hear you found a workaround (and saved some $$)