soundcards: saffire vs ultralite preamps

[vj_jasper]

after studying a few informative reviews, i now understand 100 percent of how the 01v works.. er, make that 1 percent.

i do now realise the power of a flying-faders setup. it means that with a click of one button, the faders suddenly go from controlling the audio, to operating parameters of a multi-tap delay. zing; away they go, the mixer knows where the delay's parameters are at, so it sends the faders to those positions in an instant.

totally transferrable function. what power there is in simplicity.

so, i can now see how incredibly useful it would be to run ableton on a computer connected to this magic flying machine.

in the instance of a second macbook, also running ableton, i do think a reMote Zero would be an effective midi surface, due to ableton supporting automap.. or, would it be better to just link the two computers via ethernet, interconnect them via "Midi Over LAN" software, and operate ableton on both computers with the 01v

[sleepytom]

yes / no / maybe

your getting into trying to plan too deep.. go and buy some gear, play with it for a bit and then ask some actual questions about how you can use it. real experience builds personal preference!

Buy an 01v you won't regret it. You might decide you want a midi controller as well as the 01v to control your soft synths and stuff. Or you might not. I cannot tell you what you will prefer.

But building a studio / live show round the o1v is a solid choice that you won't regret - you'll have a top quality mixing desk which will make a fine heart for your audio setup. Other gear will come and go but your heart will remain for many years. I don't know anyone who regrets buying a decent mixer.

[PCProject]

Originally Posted by sleepytom

hmm i don't like the 9:2 - it's not as good as the pioneer djm800.

yes it is

my mates who run Opus swear by A&H and i trust thier ears

i have one for dj'ing/AV sets

i am curious as to why an on/off for the EQ's is needed - centre is off

or do you mean the band pass filters? there is an on/off button for those

as a side note there are 2 builds - one english one chinese

the chinese build one on an A-B test has slightly better bottom end performance

[vj_jasper]

PCProject thats just gold information, i really appreciate build quality/quirks info, same with the various builds of strat guitars.. for instance the cheap strats made in mexico are actuallly quite decent. well, they were back in 1995.

thanks for correcting me about the EQ .. and yes, i was not referring to the band filters.

i think the band filters are a really humble and powerful addition to the Xone 9:2.

if one was going to even consider purchasing the Xone 9:2, then it would be necessary to consider purchasing the SVM-1000 imho, because of the visual functionality.

... or not. maybe if i could actually hear an Xone 9:2, it would be simply a matter of "okay thats the sound i want to dial up so hand it over thanks very much."
i have wanted to work with an Allen and Heath mixer for quite a while now. just seems like they have "the sound".

2 years down the track, is that still the sound that is desired, or is more variety going to be necessary, when producing and remixing tracks? well, although the Xone 9:2 is a DJ mixer, with a range of specific purposes, and more limited by far compared to the 01v's options, it probably does have a lot of versatility, too.

[vj_jasper]

i like mixers that "give" something to the sound, although of course it is a personal preference about exactly what is being given to the mix.

another nice factor is that the xone 92 is not digital, although it all gets digitised at the recording stage anyway, so...

how about the Xone 3D, a digital version of the 92, with the added bonus of an 8 stereo bus audio interface, and double-sided midi interface too. that saves $'s on an audio card, plus a midi control surface.
the 3D also has the same filter section as the 92, so thats gr8.

watched a demonstration of the filter bank section, and it is so modifiable, very awesome. better even than a Sherman Tank, in its subtlety. the Sherman gives too much opportunity for raucous sounds. maybe thats a good thing.

not sure if the aux-return channels are as comprehensively looked after as they are on the Xone 92.

the Xone 3D succeeds far and beyond the korg zero8.

the 3D also bridges the gap between the 01v and the Xone 92, in that it is a fully fledged audio interface, router, and mixer... and yet, and this is quite important for me, a./lends the Allen and Heath sonic treatment to the sound, and b./ gives immediate access to the eq controls for every track.. immediately.

[vj_jasper]

i like the expanded midi engine. the 3D has an internal mic (i guess) ..picks up on audio tempo's, and that midi tempo, (with decimal value visible by holding down a button), can be transmitted to other devices.

here is some info from ableton live dj forum



3D

As I stated, the 3D starts where the 92 left off, so lets work our way down one of the mixers channel strips:

Two Fx sends are available, the 1st being switchable between Post and Pre fader. The second is fixed to post and can be used to send a signal to the in-built MIDI clock. As the 3D's audio mixer has 4 channels to mix on it has a combination of Line and Phono inputs in the following configuration of buttons:








Because of the built in soundcard there are a second row of buttons for the soundcard's inputs underneath the more traditional x3 Phono/Line & x1 Line/Line type above
...

Needless to say the filters sound brilliant and really sparkle without overdriving the signal, unless you go that little bit too far from not knowing what you are doing.



The Xone 3D features a expanded MIDI clock over the prior Xone 92, a 3 digit LCD readout shows a line of three dashes on power up and displays OFF when disabled. A small green dot is shown in the bottom right hand corner when an audio signal is routed to and analyzed by the MIDI clock (This pulses in time with the beat). It is possible to see the tempo to the nearest decimal place by pressing and holding down the Tap button (this shifts the all digits one place to the left).

[Hambone]

IMO, you're comparing apples and oranges with the Xone vs 01V. One's a specific DJ mixer, the other is an all-rounder that can pretty much do anything live or in the studio.

The 01V is also a very powerful MIDI controller surface for controlling your audio software, VJ software, lighting, etc. And it does this while still functioning as an audio mixer and soundcard.

Regarding effects, filters, etc, check out Live 7. Incredible!

[sleepytom]

Originally Posted by PCProject

yes it is

my mates who run Opus swear by A&H and i trust thier ears

Umm - i wasn't talking about subjective sound quality (i don't give a monkeys what soundsytems people run / own - my mate who designed the studio monitors used at abby road will tell you that over a certain price point you rarely hear bad sound - things have different sounds for sure but your then into personal preference - some people will prefer a+h some will prefer pioneer some will prefer vestax... )

I was talking about usability functions and overall design. the pioneer effects system is better than A+H, the midi functionality is better on the djm800 than the 9:2 - the xone3d is a different kettle of fish and isn't really comparable.

anyway hambone is right - these DJ mixers do not in anyway compare with the 01v - the 01v is a proper digital recording mixer which is simply incomparable to a DJ mixer. You could perhaps compare it to an analogue sound desk and a large rack of outboard gear, though even this is not a fair comparison.

If you really don't get how radically different the 01v is to a dj mixer i suggest you either go to some kind of audio recording school and learn some basics. Or stop looking at devices which cost thousands of pounds and learn what your doing by buying much much cheaper gear.

[vj_jasper]

nooo the inevitable smackdown... "stop looking at expensive items when you can't comprehend their value or purpose".. and rightly so. most people should be riposted for even considering the Xone 3D over an 01V. the 01v is the most sensible decision, and also, it is twice the khz - 96, as opposed to the Xone 3D's 48khz..

by posting pics and a bit of technical info, it did seem like i was comparing the unit to the 01V, but actually i was comparing to the 92.

my one sentence where they appear together: "the 3D also bridges the gap between the 01v and the Xone 92, in that it is a fully fledged audio interface, router, and mixer"

like the 01V, gives audio busses in and out of the computer. .. so, kind of in-between.. yet not.

the "effects" in the Xone 3D are nothing more than two filter banks, but i like that. i think it is simple yet effective.
with two aux-return stereo busses, there is room for effects. maybe an EFX-1000 would be an appropriate item to add, easily synced to midi clock. timing/sync is of huge importance to me, as a very basic necessity.

also, there's a number of flexible audio-outs on the back of the 3D units.. mix1, mix2, booth, etc.

when considering a new mixer, i know that the 01V is by far and above the most powerful and high spec. it is fairly obvious to me i need both types of mixers, and the question is, what do i need first?

my 12 track mixer was a Mackie, plus a DJ mixer.
both mixers were good to run all sorts of equipment through, and i enjoyed the DJ mixer more, but the Mackie was very good to work with; very practical.

the audio and midi control options of the 01v are brilliant, and yet all i know is, the form of immediate-hands-on-eq-control, and the "midi surface" that the Xone 3D offers is so much more "native" to my way of doing things..

a./ change a bunch of parameters for unrelated items and parameters, as quickly as possible with rapid finger movements (not for effect, but to prepare the next clip to mix in).

b./ would prefer not to have to think what eq parameter i wish to change. rather, just move hand toward mixer and let the emotional memory units in the hand go naturally to reduce the mid frequencies without thinking about it.

c./ have audio-bpm synchronisation without even thinking about it

sure, it may seem that i have gear fetish, but it really is about attaining a very fun yet effective technique of production and remixing.

[Hambone]

I agree that using the 01v as a MIDI control surface isn't very intuitive. That's why I use a BCR-2000 for audio and a Faderfox LX2 for video and lighting instead.

Nobody's dissing either mixer. I'm sure they both excel at what they're designed for. But IMO, the 01V wins hands-down for versatility in both a studio and live environment.

And there's nothing wrong with gear fetish!