Willing to share your impressions comparing the sound quality?

I'm talking the older Radar II System, not the newest stuff.


I want to increase my channel count without breaking the bank.

Best I've ever come across! I have 2 Radar's (used to have 4...).

Have you heard the SSL Alphalink? I'm just curious if the SSL converters sound nicer than the Radar.

I'm so keen on picking up a Radar sytem heh

I'm not sure they sound better or worse, they just sound different (a bit cleaner). I still prefer the Lynx Aurora to the Alphalink but that's just me. Both are great converters.

I have the same question.

Just got an alphalink on demo today. anxious to check it out.

Wish someone would make a cheap box for the RADAR cards, $5700 for the IZ ADA box alone is a rape.

not sure how you could use a RADAR 2 as an ad/da in a modern computer system. The new IO cards don't fit in the older RADARs.

I got 24 channels of Radar Nyquist I/O for $6k. $2k for a digital Radar and $3999 for the converters. That's pretty cheap for 24 channels of conversion and this was 6 years ago.

that was 6 years ago.
prices have skyrocketed.
they are $18,000 now.

I use my Radar II and the Classic Converters in a Analog World, mixer, outboard. If I need to digital transfer I'm limited to the TDIF card. My question is if OP gets a the Radar II that has the AES/EBU card would that work in the op's setup?

Regards ,,deda,,

Nice discussion!

I'm not wedded to my DAW, so the Radar II would mean a change.
I've seen complete Radar II systems going cheap (a few thousand) ... mostly in the Great Lakes area where the economy is really depressed. I do not mean any disrespect to those living in that region who are suffering so severly.

if you decide to go the radar route, definately get a radar 24! i had a radar II and exchanged it for a radar 24, why? the ethernet option is a must if you want to work in a daw as well! i had bad luck with the tdif option, as many others (just use the search function and check out iz´s forum). it simply isn´t reliable.
also, you have the opportunity to record in bwav format and a dvd recorder. all these features don´t come with radar II!

Thanks, in the red. I've never used Radar, so I am basing my interest in it solely upon literature and reviews. My impression was that it is a stand alone 24 track hard disk recording system.

I've looked over the iz manual section and the many manual updates for radar 24, before the radar V era. Using google search, it is hard to tell at a glance what all the differences are between radar II, radar 24 and radar V .... emphasis on radar 24 and radar v.

If all I need is a stand alone 24 track hard disk recording system without DAW integration, wouldn't the RADR II be fine? Is it that difficult to use without the GUI?
I

if you really only need 24 tracks in/out, then you are fine with radar II, but really, these days 24 tracks is a big limitation! also, do you really want to rely on those clunky exabyte tapes for backup? a used radar 24 shouldn´t be that much more expensive then a radar II, think about it...

besides this tiny differences, the radar II sounds the same and provides the same kickass workflow

If you're just going to use Radar II as a front end, then you're probably not going to use the 8mm back-up. No? I used to use a MOTU 2408 and TDIF into a DAW and do real-time back-ups that way. Also, I think one can retro-fit a SCSI DVD drive in place of the 8mm back-up. If you're really interested, I know someone in Louisiana that's selling a Radar 24 system (with ethernet) for around $4.5k. PM me if you'd like. Peace.

SSL Alpha link AX better than RADAR II? Probably not to my ear. Indeed your mileage may vary. I would recommend calling iZ and seeing what the options are for upgrading your Frame. RADAR V is now a modular product, with quite a number of upgrade possibilites. You might even be able to take your RADAR II Converter Cards, and put them in a updated RADAR V Frame with gig-bit Ethernet for transfers.

EDIT: I see that you are looking to choose between these two devices and don't have a RADAR II yet. Not sure my post helps any.

i have 2 Radar's (used to have none...)

the classic converters on the Radar 2's sound amazing to my ears. sure you can only go to 48k...if you don't care about that...and LISTEN....i think you will find the Radar 2 converters to be an amazing deal.

i'm using AES to interface mine when i need to dump stuff to the computer. sure, its a real time transfer...who cares ? i listen to the track while dumping it over to the daw...then overdub with Radar into my pt or cubase DAW.

if you want the advantage of .wav recording and going up past 48k...look for a radar 24...either way...you can't go wrong if what is paramount to you is sound quality.

good luck.

jchristopherhughes

Hey if anyone is interested in a Radar 24 unit its over in the Classified section of GS.

Thanks

I need to read the manuals thoroughly.

Thank you for the heads up on the radar 24 in LA ... I'm not ready to pull the trigger just yet.

The transfer issues are not an issue for me. (I'm I still use jaz drives with parts of my midi rig ) I just want to be able to track my tracks and play it back for mixing, without glitches, and skipping, and crashes and .....

A VGA/GUI would also be great....does this work with the radar II?

I'll have to keep relying on your posts, google, IZ and the manuals to understand better what the differences are between each of the series: radar II, radar 24 and radar V.

The Radar V is way out of my budget...Unless I get some sort of magical gig for a crazy CNN producer that has a friend at the Fed Reserve here in town..... So perhaps it is down to Radar II and Radar 24.

Thank you so much.

I have the SSL Alphalink. It sounds great. Clear transients and a nice wide image. Not harsh at all, and also not colored or soft like some other converters. The Radar is way overpriced.

new maybe, but used? not so much...

There is post here on GS where the prez of IZ lists the differences between a radar II and radar 24. What concerned me most was the size of the radar II hard drive at 40mb. Is this true? Can this be upgraded with a larger drive? If not, I can see why the back up capability is an issue. To be clear: radar II can back up via tdif or aes in realtime. Data backup is available to ancient magnetic tape system. No external scsi connection is provided. Radar24 has ethernet and scsi backup and also a much larger hard drive capacity.
Can someone confirm this for me? It's hard to find info on these systems.

Thanks.

iZ Technology Corporation | Home

Ive been there and it isnt clear. That's why I'm asking : P
Also, lotsa mods that manufacturer doesnt offer or advise.

Just need to know what long time users have pulled off or figured out.

Love my Radar 24. There's one for sale by Cheech in the Classifieds. Check it out:

https://gearspace.com/board/gearslut...3000-00-a.html

Not sure the difference of the drive capacity between these machines, but You should really think about upgrading the frame of the RADAR II to a RADAR V frame. I would advise calling IZ Directly, and seeing what can be done on a trade in for your machine. I may be wrong, but I think you can use these converter cards in a new frame. There are probably ways to upgrade the existing unit, but it may require some massive hardware change over, and getting the new frame might be all you need to gain access to larger SCSI and SATA drives, along with eSATA connection and Blue ray DVD.

Is there a Radar II guru out there? Can you talk about HD sizes? Transfering files to DAW? Backup options?

73gig SCSI is the biggest size (several hours of recording time and those drives are cheap)

a MOTU 2408 will xfer via TDIF to virtually any DAW in realtime

they come with 8mm/Exabyte drives for back-up as well

I think a DVD drive could be retrofitted

"Mixman 499" has one for sale w/TDIF

Is the TDIF limited to 16 channels or does it move all 24?

The Radar II has an AES option card ... Or is it standard? One could transfer via AES as well, am I right?

That's great about the SCSI drives....I have Collected about a dozen of them over the past 15 years. ; )

A couple months ago, a guy sold two complete Radar systems on ebay for $1000usd each. I delayed because of the drive and transfer issues and of course these units were sold within a few hours. I'm such an idiot.

i saw those radars as well and was really tempted to get one but was hesitant for the same reason you were.
kinda kickin myself too

I saw them too :( Should have bought them just for the classic converters. I have Nyquist and it would have been great to do an in house A/B of the two.

Keith

Yes, some have 24-channel AES instead of TDIF.

Radar II has SCSI port in the rear to connect additional devices/drives if needed.