Hi, Trey,
When I upgraded to Windows 7 last year, I purchased an RME Fireface UFX
which can connect via FireWire (400) OR USB 2.0.
It needs to connect via USB for firmware updates, but I have found it to
be less of a load on the CPU when connected for normal operation via FW.
The RME drivers are very stable. The unit sounds great. It can also act
as a stand-alone recorder. I use it with a SDHC card reader and card
rather than a thumb drive (most are too slow) or a HDD.
There are smaller versions of the product (the UCX) that is underpowered
feature-wise for my tastes, but I think it sounds as good.
I've been using RME products for close to ten years now. I also have two
Multiface II and while that might be a choice, it connects via a PCIe
card. I bought a computer just when it was about the last with two PCI
slots so I didn't have to spend the money on the RME upgrade from PCI to
PCIe which would have cost as much as the computer. I have 16 tracks on
the Multifaces and 8 tracks (plus) on the Fireface, and they can be
locked together or running separately on two different projects.
Cheers,
Richard
On Tue, 5 Jun 2012 11:23:59 -0400 Trey Bunn <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Hi everyone, I'm looking for some pointers on the
>> differences between
>> optical, S/PDIF, and AES connections.
>>
>> We're upgrading the PCs in our audio studio. Currently,
>> each
>> workstation has analog equipment plugged into an Apogee
>> Rosetta 200
>> A/D converter, which then connects to the PC via
>> FireWire. The set-up
>> has worked well for us over the years, but it's outdated,
>> and our IT
>> people insist that we upgrade to newer machines running
>> Windows 7
>> (which also means upgrading Sound Forge).
>>
>> Apogee is no longer supporting their X-FireWire option,
>> but according
>> to their tech support, we can continue to use the Rosetta
>> 200s if we
>> ditch the FireWire route and instead connect via optical,
>> S/PDIF, or
>> AES. The Rosetta has each of these connections, and
>> presumably, we'd
>> need to get our new PCs outfitted with at least one of
>> the same.
>>
>> Anyone have advice on which of these three is the best to
>> go with?
>> This is for straight, no-frills analog to digital
>> conversion for
>> preservation of old recordings, not anything for fancy
>> production.
>> Just plain, as-close-to-the-original-as-possible
>> transfers.
>>
>>
>> --
>> ---------
>> Trey Bunn
>> Audiovisual Conservator
>> Emory University Libraries
>> Preservation Office
>> Atlanta, GA
>> 404-727-4894
>
--
Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask]
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.
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