High-end audio

[Robert Olson]

Hi Paul.

>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.

Yah, they've got A/D and D/A thingies that attach via the fiber; 1U
rackmounts with XLR connectors.

http://www.sonorus.com/audio/audio24details.html

Adds up to a pretty pricy combination tho.

>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.

Looks cool.

>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.

This also looks cool. Part of the eval would be to see how it works for
doing multiple full duplex network audio capture... probably a part of the
design space they weren't originally thinking about, I suspect.

>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

Cool. THanks for the recommendations.

--bob