I was just thinking about upgrading my M-audio Fast-track this year and get something with more I/o.. this looks promising.

M-AUDIO - ProFire 2626 - High-Definition 26-in/26-out FireWire Audio Interface with Octane Preamp Technology

Cool! Seems like a PTMP compatible equivalent to a MOTU 8pre.

this could be a pretty cool solution for LE users who need more than the 8 ADAT channels offered by the 003 (or 002) or the SUPER BUGGY profire lightbridge which offers 32 i/o.

I am migrating over to a logic symphony system with ad/da-16x's, but keeping m-powered for pro tools work. the profire does the job but has its shortcomings in terms of bugginess... this might be just what the doctor ordered plus a few utility pres to spare.

oto

This one looks promising.

And i can see that m-audio has revamped their GUI of the Onboard DSP mixer and router. Hope this kind of Gui will be available for the other product from Delta 1010 to firewire 410... will maybe sale my delta for this one!! Never know Thanx for sharing!

Looks pretty cool!

Still limited to 18 simultaneous I/O with PT M-powered though


Cheers!
-Mike

Getting rid of my 002 and 8pre is going to be even easier now! This is exactly what I have been looking for to interface an Aurora 16 with Pro Tools M-powered. I was going to settle for a lightbridge but there have been soo many issues with it from what I've read. PLEASE m-audio, make this product be stable!

This thing looks good for extra inputs.

Glad I sold my 003, this will work better together with my Ensemble and still let me use Pro-Tools when I need or want to.

does anyone know when an expected ship date is for this thing?

What converters does this use? I wonder how it compares to the 1010. I sold my 1010LT a long time ago and upgraded to an emu1820m, at which point I realized the 1010LT was pretty horrible.

I placed a pre-order for one just a few days ago, and my guy at Sweetwater said they are expected to start shipping in March.

Do let us know when you receive it. I am seriously thinking of getting one myself so I can use my Motif XS8 mlan aggregated with this and also run PT.

let us know when you get it!

It might allow 26 inputs/outputs simultaneously with M-Powered 7.3, (since the the ProFire Lightbridge will do 34). I'm gonna get one of these interfaces when they're available and check it out. The new DSP mixer is a move in the right direction for sure.

the input and output of the software is what limits the track count.

M-AUDIO - ProFire 2626 - High-Definition 26-in/26-out FireWire Audio Interface with Octane Preamp Technology

if you click the link, you will see at the bottom of the page that the I/O is limited to 18 inputs and 18 outputs for Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4

Not really, the 8pre only has 16 inputs. This is more comparable to the new 828mk3, or the Presonus Firestudio, or the RME Fireface.

Again ... not really. The i/o is not much different from the 003, it just has four more preamps in lieu of four more line inputs, and S/MUX support. And I don't know why you would expect this to be less buggy than the Lightbridge, which probably uses the same drivers. And for those looking to supplement their 003 with more inputs, there are better options.

JSL

AFAIK there is a "bug" that let you use more than 18 i/o with the PFLB, there is people using 24i/o with no problems.

The 8Pre has only 16 inputs and 12 outs doesn't matter if you're running 96K or 44.1, but I could be mistaken. The Fireface 800 has 16 ADATs i/o + SPDIF + 8 A/D/A, the Fireface 400 has only 8 ADAT i/o.

The i/o on the PF2626 is much better with 16 ADAT i/o + SPDIF + 8 A/D/a with 8 pres or line ins vs. 002 or 003.

I was referring to the Fireface 800, which, as far as I can tell, has an almost identical set of i/o to the 2626 -- except that the Fireface actually has ten analog inputs, not eight, but only has mic pres on four of them.

As for the 003, the extra i/o on this new product doesn't make much difference if you're using Pro Tools, which was the whole point of that comment.

JSL

really... so what are my m-powered or LE hardware options to get my 16 channels of ad-16x adat into pro tools?

oto

Sorry, it was a missunderstanding heh

Your options are, again, and as you know, this new product and the Lightbridge.

If you go back to my post, you might notice that my point was that EITHER you might get excited about the additional total i/o -- in which case it's not really a big deal for PT users because PT doesn't support it -- OR you might get excited about having a second option to the "unstable" Profire -- in which case it's not really a big deal because it'll probably be equally (un)stable.

My point being, either way, it's not much to get excited about.

Nothing to be sorry about, I wasn't clear about which model.

JSL

going back to your original post, and sorry if I misread... when your i/o requirements are solely lightpipe, it actually is a lot different from the 003.

maybe it has the same drivers, maybe it doesn't... that would be merely speculation at this point.

oto

I can only hope they put out some new and decent drivers for the 2626.
But I'm on a mac, and people using the PFLB on macs are quite satisfied.
So, I can only hope...
I have to get a new interface to use with my macbook and this will happen in one month or two, and I'm really looking foward for the 828MkIII and the upgraded MH units.

Fair enough, on both points.

It does seem to me that you just have a mismatch of gear and purpose, though. Pro Tools LE and MP are simply not intended for someone who really requires 16 channels of rather high-end conversion, and you're probably just inviting frustration if you keep trying to push that square peg into the round hole. You could get 8-10 channels of great conversion (and a great clock) -- Lynx, Mytek, Rosetta -- and then just use whatever interface you want, or you could get an X-HD card and an HD-1 system. You mention "requirements," but are they really your "requirements" or just your current gear's "requirements?" In other words, why aggravate yourself?

JSL

I hear ya, but if you refer to my initial post I do say "I am migrating over to a logic symphony system with ad/da-16x's, but keeping m-powered for pro tools work..."

logic is rocking right now with the symphony system but every studio out there needs to have some version of pro tools on their machine IMHO.

oto

To be candid, I find very little real discussion of "need," as I understand the word, in any discussion of running high-end converters into low-end recording systems. Not saying this necessarily applies to you, but does your Symphony-based studio really "need" fully 16 inputs of Apogee conversion into its secondary Pro Tools system? And if it does, then why be Symphony-based at all?

We would all do better to focus more on our studios' real "needs" and less on our gut-level "wants" like a desire for i/o tidiness (or for 32 i/o into Pro Tools). I am as guilty of this as anyone, by the way.

JSL

well, as a real studio owner for 3+ years now I've been able to get an idea of what my "needs" are, and I speak from my personal experience only.

you forget that when talking about "i/o" I am referring to outputs as well. in doing a lot of mix work, and the fact that I sum in the analog domain, it is important that I have the ability to get 16 outs in PT as some bands prefer to mix and/or track with pro tools... this is not just a one off occurrence either. I've been handed projects ready to be mixed in pro tools.

granted, if it's my gig I'll run with symph, however it's great to have a system where I can entertain specific client requests.

and in answer to your question about why run with symphony at all: $.

oto

This has rolled entirely off-topic, of course, but the cost savings are already fairly slim in going with a Symphony system, as compared with a basic HD system with Lynx converters for example.

Used HD system = $5000, Lynx AD/DA and PTHD card = $3000, copy of Logic just for personal preference = $500.
Symphony hardware = $1000, AD-16x + DA-16x = $6000, Logic software = $500, buggy M-Powered system = $800.

Seems to me that Plan A costs about $200 more than plan B. Am I missing something?

JSL

well I definitely didn't pay that much. let's just say vs. your HD scenario I saved in the thousands. and I have the apogees converters, which I actually wanted.

but hey man it's whatever works, right?

bottom line is right now I have both rigs, am entertaining various client requests, but most importantly am able to stop worrying about stability issues and focus on the music.

oto

M-Audio site says these are shipping now. Has anyone gotten their hands on one? Would love to hear about the quality of the pres/conversion, how well the DSP mixer works, and system stability/performance/amount of latency.

Thanks!
Eric