I need advice: What's the best preamp add-on for Digi 001?

[otiose]

I am looking to add 8 more mic inputs to my PT LE / Digi 001 setup. I need to stay under a $1000 MSRP and the unit must have phantom power.

I have narrowed my selection down to these:

Presonus Digimax LT
Presonus Digimax FS
Motu 8Pre
M-Audio Octane
Focusrite Octopre

Anybody have experience with any of those units working or not working with Digi 001? Or did I miss one that is much better?

Thanks.

[Andrew07]

There's always going to be something thats better

For the price and what you need I'd suggest the Focusrite or the Presonus. Opt for the models WITHOUT eq/compression on 'em though

[brandondrury]

I bought the M-Audio Octane recently to go with my Presonus Firepod. It was just a toss up. I've heard good things about the Octane, but that's the usual forum gear bullshit anyway. I haven't got to try it out yet, but it seems to work okay. Only 50dB of gain, but these will be primarily used on drum channels anyway.

Looking back, I just noticed that one of the Presonus ADAT 8 channel boxes has 8ins and 8 outs. I've toying with the notion of doing some external summing. So I may have been better off with the rig with the 8 outs. Oh well. That's just more money I'll piss away.



Brandon

[otiose]

Thanks for the advice guys!

My main concern is simply "will it work with the Digi 001". It being an outdated interface and my lack of understanding about conversion rates. I am assuming any preamp with a ADAT I/O will work.

Ironically, Presonus is offering a new product at the end of Feb., that looks to be the perfect match for my current need, and a nice price tag to boot.
PreSonus DigiMAX D8 | Sweetwater.com

[Andrew07]

ya dude i think youd be fine using these with a 001. my buddy had a 001 and he used a....im pretty sure a focusrite and it worked fine.

these pres are pretty clean and i dont think youll notice any super noticeable differences between em. go for the best deal!

[otiose]

I found out today from a sales rep that the preamp's ADAT I/O must have an IN and OUT to sync up properly with Digi 001 or 002, because of their lack of a word clock. Otherwise there will be jitter problems. Hence that new DigiMax D8 will not work with the Digi 001, 002.

I wanted to add that in case someone else read this thread looking for a similar solution.

[brandondrury]

I found out today from a sales rep that the preamp's ADAT I/O must have an IN and OUT to sync up properly with Digi 001 or 002

What kind of in and out? Please explain. I've never heard this.

Brandon

[otiose]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

What kind of in and out? Please explain. I've never heard this.

Brandon

I hope what that sales rep told me was truth and not sales pitch.


ADAT is a type of optical connector (ADAT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) which can transfer up to 8 Channels in a single optical cable. Most digital preamps, A-D convertors, and digital effect racks offer ADAT as an I/O option, along side S-PDIF, Midi, etc.

For the most part, any piece of hardware that is ADAT compatible, has both an IN and OUT optical port. And in a situation where a connecting device doesn't have a word clock port (like the Digi 001), the second port can be used to sync the two devices. Otherwise there will be jitter problems (clips, pops, etc).

Well that new preamp by Presonus (Digimax D8) only has an ADAT OUT port, so it can not be used with the Digi 001 without jitter problems. The Digimax FS or LT, M-Audio Octane, or MOTU 8Pre will all work perfectly. At least this is what I was told by the sales rep. If this information is false, then please forgive me.

Hope that clears up the confusion.

[brandondrury]

For the most part, any piece of hardware that is ADAT compatible, has both an IN and OUT optical port.

Yeah, I know what ADAT is. However, there are a TON of 8 channel preamps with ADAT out only. This is what confused me in your earlier post.

I snagged the M-Audio Octane about a month ago. Btw, it does NOT have an ADAT In.

The Digimax FS does have ADAT In because it also has analog outputs.

The MOTU 8Pre is an audio interface so I wouldn't put it in the comparison with a M-Audio Octane. I would, however, compare it to a Digi 001.

I find it fitting that the Digi001 doesn't have Wordclock. It's just like Digidesign to cripple the home recording guy as long as possible.

Brandon

[otiose]

I apologize if I sounded condescending about ADAT, and thanks for the heads up about the Octane. I did not realize that most 8 channel preamps only have an ADAT out only. Always look at the back of the box before buying sometime right?

The Digi 001 is so old, I don't think many people care about it anymore. It's being very tough nailing down the facts about what will work with it. The sales guy says I need to an ADAT IN and OUT to prevent jitter, but yet I have been told the DigiMAX LT will work perfectly yet it only has an ADAT OUT. arrgh

I am going to play it safe and go with the Presonus Digimax FS, wish me luck.

As for Digidesign, I can understand why their is not a word clock on the Digi 001, it's close to 10 years old, but the Digi 003 only having 4 mic preamps still blows my mind. Which is a big reason why I haven't upgraded.