Multi-channel Sound Devices - AA compatible

[Rachel Elliott]

After searching and digesting the information in these forums, I bought a Presonus Firepod for multi-track recording with Adobe Audition 1.5. I'm very happy to report that multi-track input is fully supported and I was able to get everything set up and checked out within a few minutes.

I second this! The FirePod is a breeze to set up.  

I can confirm that the Presonus Firebox (i.e. the Firepod's smaller sibling) also works.  It presents the inputs in a similar fashion to the Firepod - as stereo pairs, which are easy enough to assign to mono tracks in AA's multitrack view.

My quick test involved using just four of the six inputs (mic, guitar, stereo synth) recording onto 2 mono tracks and one stereo track in AA, all at 96kHz/32 bits.  I did this all with just the drivers on the install CD.

As noted by 'liveaudio', the Echo Layla 24 works well in a rack-mounted older (2002?) desktop P4 machine (512 mb RAM, speed unknown).

For a long while, we had one Layla and it performed great with 8 tracks recording simultaneously.

Now we're using two Laylas to record 16 tracks at once. (Too lazy to re-route!)    I installed a faster and larger hard drive just for added measure, but it worked well with the original HD.

As a sidenote, you must have the two cards synchronized, and the respective outputs mapped correctly in AA, which was very easy to do.

I'm running two Terretec EWS88s and M and a D

Runs perfectly in CEP2.1 for me provideing 16 channels recording and playback. 8 Analouge and 8 via ADAT optical

If you wish to use 24-bit recording you have to set the device to 4-byte IEEE float.

The M Audio Delta 44 does a good job of 4-tracking for me with AA 1.5

As noted by 'liveaudio', the Echo Layla 24 works well in a rack-mounted older (2002?) desktop P4 machine (512 mb RAM, speed unknown).

Actually this machine 3.0GHz P4 1.5GB, WinXP Pro SP2, AA2.0, was able to record 16 tracks from two Layla24s for me no problem.  I managed to get it up to 24 tracks with some fuss.  The last eight inputs came from a Sonorus (Swissonic) AD24 routed to one of the Layla24s via lightpipe.  Those eight channels were subject to assorted click & pop issues that I never completely resolved.  I suspect it had something to do with clocking but can't support that assertion with any real evidence.  I tried various schemes for clocking to no avail.  In the end I was able to use those eight channels for slightly less critical tracks and then de-click them in AA before mixing.

Previous to this setup I was also able to record 16 tracks simultaneously with two Layla24s on my Vaio PCG-FR130 Laptop (Athlon 1.7GHz, 768MB) using two Layla Laptop adapters (which I've since sold) and AA1.5 or Vegas6.  AA2.0 Worked on the laptop too but was a little more temperamental.
CHeers,
JTC

The Frugal Audio Guy
www.frugalaudio.com

Thanks for your info and the confirmation that the firepod works well with AA 1.5. I am also in the market for an Audio interface, and looking for recommendations. BTW, are you running Vista by any chance? I used to run a Delta 1010LT with XP pro and AA 1.5, but the new laptop is a Vaio running Vista. I know some of the interfaces have drivers to support Vista, but not sure how AA 1.5 would work with Vista.

Thanks!
Ron

Steve, would you please comment on the Emu 1820M, or the current 1616M PCI, as far as its ability to work in either AA1.5's or AA3's multichannel encoder?

Steve, would you please comment on the Emu 1820M, or the current 1616M PCI, as far as its ability to work in either AA1.5's or AA3's multichannel encoder?

I'll try to check this out over the weekend, if I get the chance. Also, there seems to be some possibility (reported on the Adobe forum) of 'difficulty' with 1820m's (perhaps), quad core processors and EV - but since I don't currently have AA3.0 installed on a quad core machine, I can't verify this.