alternatives for I/O expanding

flashvalley · Post by **flashvalley** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 9:04 am

Hi,

I'm looking for some interfaces to expand the I/O capabilities of my pulsarII..
The A16 Ultra is too expensive (read: out of my budget) and I don't need 16ins/16outs anyway. I was thinking of the luna 2496 I/O Box, but then I also have to buy a z-link card. (but then again, it's still cheaper and 8in/8out is more than enough). But I was wondering if there are any other options of expanding the pulsar2? What are the alternatives from other companies to use with the adat-connectors of the pulsar2 board?

Best regards,

Flashvalley

Gregory · Post by **Gregory** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 10:47 am

Alesis AI3. 8 Analog I/Os to ADAT. About $400 US new. Don't go lesser than that. There is the Fostex ADAT analog to ADAT converter (about $300 US new) but it's a tad noisy for professional work.

doodyrh · Post by **doodyrh** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 12:54 pm

Here's a load of stuff.
And Swissonic might have something for you too.
There've been a couple of threads on this recently. There's quite a premium to pay if you want 96kHz/24-bit.

flashvalley · Post by **flashvalley** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 4:35 pm

thanks for all the help.. I'll have to check things out thoroughly... I don't really need 96khz/24bit so that's good news (for my wallet anyway)

cheers

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 11:20 pm

i have your same problem. this summer i will work to buy some I/O adat expansion, but i don't know which one. i hope to find something used, like a old creamware A16 not the A16 ultra) or the A8. otherwise, i think i will buy a fostex VC8, even if the Alesis A3 seems much better with its balanced in.

Post by **garyb** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 11:51 pm

someone just GAVE me 2 dead adats.(i'll fix them)the ad/da converters still work.there are a lot of those out there............

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 2:45 am

On 2002-06-27 00:51, garyb wrote:
someone just GAVE me 2 dead adats.(i'll fix them)the ad/da converters still work.there are a lot of those out there............

WHERE I CAN FIN THEM HERE IN ITALY!?!?! (eh eh eh!! ....)

Post by **garyb** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 7:41 pm

start asking around studios, music stores,freinds and classifieds.if all else fails i think i can find you a couple for little money ($100 each or so, maybe) and shipping.(not to sure about the logistics tho!)

flashvalley · Post by **flashvalley** » Sat Jun 29, 2002 2:54 am

I was just checking my local musicstore for the price of the alesis and they're asking 765 EUR or $758 US... That's a lot more than the amount of about $400 US/400 EUR I expected and spotted on the internet.

Are they trying to rip me off?

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Sun Jun 30, 2002 1:27 pm

there's also a 20 bit version of Adat (LX20), but for IO expansion any usable (as recorder) Adat is too expensive.
In Europe the broken ones Gary mentioned are difficult to optain without personal contacts.
But since you're close to Germany the shops in the Cologne area do lots of Fostex sell-out. VC8 should be around 200 Euro.

cheers, Tom

bosone · Post by **bosone** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 1:51 am

But since you're close to Germany the shops in the Cologne area do lots of Fostex sell-out. VC8 should be around 200 Euro.

can you tell me if the shop you are telling about have a web site and ships to italy??
thanks

astroman · Post by **astroman** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 10:13 am

I know them only from their regular ads in magazines. Though not a big fan of discounters, some of their offers are hard to deny. The specials change frequently.
Dunno if they ship to Italy, but then... why do we have Euro

http://www.musicstorekoeln.de
http://www.musik-produktiv.de

cheers, Tom

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: astroman on 2002-07-01 11:29 ]</font>

flashvalley · Post by **flashvalley** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 12:42 pm

It seems that the luna box and Z-link are in the same price league as the Alesis AI-3.. I'be checked with my local musicstores. What do you guys suggest? Any pros/cons about both options?

marcuspocus · Post by **marcuspocus** » Tue Jul 02, 2002 2:02 pm

ai3 pros: adat is widely used, compatible
ai3 cons: adat is sometimes difficult to use due to sync problems (master/slave)

cw pros: No sync (firewire) issues, very good sound quality (better than ai3 imho)
cw cons: proprietary protocol

that's my .02cents

ernest@303.nu · Post by **ernest@303.nu** » Wed Jul 03, 2002 8:14 am

I'll order an Fostex VC-8 today for 233 Euro at musicstorekoeln. From my experience with German discounters, shipping within Europe will be 15-20 Euro... pretty OK, me thinks!

Will report a small 'review' of the VC-8 when I have it connected.

janila · Post by **janila** » Wed Jul 03, 2002 8:53 am

Any experiences with the Marian Adcon? 8 * balanced 24bit ADAT I/O for well under 400 euros seems cheap to me!

steve.h · Post by **steve.h** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 5:23 am

On 2002-07-03 09:53, janila wrote:
Any experiences with the Marian Adcon? 8 * balanced 24bit ADAT I/O for well under 400 euros seems cheap to me!

No experience [yet].I was in the market for an AI3, but now that you've pointed this baby out...

I do wish Adcon came in a full 1U rack.
I do wish the AI3 had mic preamps.

Does anyone know if the Adcon pres suck or rock?

at0m · Post by **at0m** » Tue Sep 17, 2002 12:24 pm

Advantages from Z-Link:
One Z-Link interface transfers eight digital channels at 24 bits / 96 kHz. On the Z-Link board, there's 16 Z-Link and 8 ADAT I/O. 8 more.

But since it's a proprietary format, you cannot intermix with 3rd party hardware. That's the only disadvantage: If you'd ever change your mind about CW, you'll need to sell cards and patchbays.