High-end audio

Paul Hubbard phubbard at unm.edu
Thu Jun 10 17:00:26 CDT 1999


> Anyone familiar with this audio card? Looks like it could be a good
> addition.  Optical interconnect to the actual audio gear is nice,
> ultimate isolation from the noisy computer equipment.

ADAT denotes Alesis-format _digital_ signals, as used in their 8-channel
recording units. The Sonorus card, therefore, has only digital inputs, and
what we need is multiple analog inputs.

For the same price range ($750) I'd recommend the Event Electronics 'Layla'
board, see http://www.event1.com/products/layla.html for details. 8 analog
inputs, features galore.

We went and looked around today, and the Layla is a good choice if you have the
money. However, the card will only work under Windows 95/98, and maybe NT
sometime in the future. One could probably run this on the same machine as the
echo cancellation unit. We're looking at this, but will try the SB128 cards
before we buy one.

Another option is a Yamaha card - I don't know what this one costs, but the
specs look quite good. Anyone out there used one?
http://www.yamaha.com/cgi-win/webcgi.exe/DsplyModel/?gHDR00008DS2416
Alas, it's also a Win9x only product.

In other audio suggestions, I'd recommend adding a good equalizer and
compressor/limiter to the list. The EQ is very useful for tuning the room and
speakers, and the c/l unit prevents damage from dropped mics, RF glitches, and
so forth. The DBX 2231 is a nice unit that has both in one box, and we've gone
ahead and ordered one for this project, as we've used them in our VR lab with
good results. This should be used on the main mix, between the mixer and the
monitors.

Yet Another Piece of Gear is the DBX 1046 quad compressor/limiter - we plan on
using one channel for each microphone input, as this will allow fine control of
their dynamic range, which should help with the echo cancellation unit. A bit
pricy like all DBX gear, but it has _lots_ of flashing lights to show your
boss. 

For larger rooms, the Mackie HR824 monitors make a good choice - YMMV, but
they're only ~75 more than the Genelecs, and have much better specs.
Info at http://www.mackie.com/Products/HR824.asp, another choice for larger
venues is their SRM450 at http://www.mackie.com/Products/SRM450.asp

-Paul
---
Paul Hubbard  phubbard at unm.edu
"Charm's in limited supply, and refusing to stretch"




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