Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] sound studio setup
From: Tom Pincince (stillone_AT_snowcrest.net)
Date: Sat Feb 10 2001 - 05:52:58 EET
No budget, acquired in chunks, for CS research, not for production. OK.
Since you are CS then the main thing is the computer. Plan to do hard
disk recording and skip the adat/dat/md thing completely. The scsi
vs.ide thing is up to you and there is a nice article at www.prorec.com
on this topic. A CD-ROM drive that supports digital audio extraction
over the buss and also has digital (sp/dif) output for connectiog to the
internal CD-ROM/Sync-I/O (sp/dif) connector on the RME card is a smart
thing to have, and many drives don't have this. 256 MB RAM is a good
idea also. RME has a reference system discribed on their web site.
I don't know about the performance differences between the hammerfall
and the digi 96 cards, but I do know that there are two questions
regarding probable use that will help make the choice clear.
1) Will this system be used to research high resolution digital audio
such as 24 bit / 96 khz sampling rate?
2) Will this system be used to research multi-channel surround sound?
If you answer no to either question then I recommend the DIGI96/8 PST.
The analog i/o allows you to avoid purchasing a/d converters, which you
must do with a hammerfall, while allowing for 8 channel expansion when
the next grant chunk comes in. It will allow 24/96 audio and it will
allow 6 channel surround, but only 4 channels of 24/96 fits into one
adat optical cable, so doing 6 channels of 24/96 will require a card
with 2 adat optical ports. Since dvd-a is now a consumer reality, 6
channels of 24/96 will eventually become common. Personally I would
plan for this and get a hammerfall. Since this is for CS research, you
can go a long way with using the CD-ROM drive as the only source,
playing standard audio CD's, without the need for a mixer or mic. The
hammerfall still requires external d/a. The tango 24 by frontier design
gives 8 ins and outs for a good price. If you want a mixer, the yamaha
01v is quite economic, with 16 a/d's, 8 d/a's, 2 fx, and a complete
mixer with midi automation.
Active near field monitors are the way to go. Start with 2 then add
more later for surround. Go to a store, bring some favorite cd's and
listen to as many systems as you can, there are lots ranging from
$350/pair to $2000/pair (I doubt that you want to go higher), but
compare only 2 systems at a time.
$100 headphones are ok, and I have the sony's, but my main headphones
are $1000 electrostatics so I find it difficult to relate to the sound
of $100 phones enough to recommend a particular pair.
The audio technica 4050 is a good, mid-priced multi-pattern mic. For
research into psychoacoustics, I recommend purchasing a matched pair of
mics for stereo recording. Small diaphram omni mic's are fun for this.
Audix is rumoured to have nice sounding cheap dynamic mic's.
Tom
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