Multi-channel analog to digital USB interface recommendation

[Aberngle]

Hello, I have an older analog mixer, and Alto l20, that I want to interface with my computer so that I can use Reaper. I am currently looking at a Tascam US-16x08 USB Audio Interface. Does anybody have a recommendation on this interface or another that I might look at? Has anybody use this combination of equipment? I'm just looking for input before I lay out the cash. Any help or insite will be appreciated. Thanks!

[beingmf]

A friend of mine uses exactly this interface for a more or less identical purpose (console -> AD conversion -> Reaper), he's on OSX and extremely happy with his setup. I have no idea about the sound quality of the Tascam though. It's not the latest technology but does the job obviously.

[Aberngle]

Thank you for that information!

[Tone Deft]

I've been looking to upgrade mine and that box looks like a better choice than what I had I mind, very cool.

Focusrite Clarett Series is what I was thinking. the Sapphire range also looks great but I want to upgrade with intention. I could also use my old sound card (USB 1.0 Edirol UA101, 'same thing' as the Sapphires, 2 pre-amps on the front, line ins on the back) as a bus into my next sound card. or I just get an upgrade with muchos inputs. I only really need 2-3 pre-amps though... may I ask what your personal need for so many pre-amps? drummer? mic-ing up a room?

I'll look into the specs soon because I really need to upgrade.

[serr]

Originally Posted by Aberngle

Hello, I have an older analog mixer, and Alto l20, that I want to interface with my computer so that I can use Reaper. I am currently looking at a Tascam US-16x08 USB Audio Interface. Does anybody have a recommendation on this interface or another that I might look at? Has anybody use this combination of equipment? I'm just looking for input before I lay out the cash. Any help or insite will be appreciated. Thanks!

How are the mic preamps in that AltoL20? It looks... budget-ish. I'd wonder how happy I'd be investing in a 16 channel line input interface and 16 channels of 1/4" trs balanced cables for it.

You might want to consider one of those Behringer/Midas X-32 mixer/interface. 16 channels of Midas mic preamps. And you still have a device setup as a live mixer (with respect to routing and system operation). (Assuming you were keeping and using the analog mixer for a reason.) Yes it's digital... but their iPad OSC setup is pretty slick. Or the XR-18. Still 16 channels of Midas mic preamps.

[Tone Deft]

Originally Posted by serr

You might want to consider one of those Behringer/Midas X-32 mixer/interface. 16 channels of Midas mic preamps. And you still have a device setup as a live mixer (with respect to routing and system operation). (Assuming you were keeping and using the analog mixer for a reason.) Yes it's digital... but their iPad OSC setup is pretty slick. Or the XR-18. Still 16 channels of Midas mic preamps.

in that price range why not one of the Universal Audio devices with all of UA's quality audio IP?

if it was a tax writeoff I'd go there but...

OSC on the Behringer... I wonder what the user community has done with that. assuming it's not a locked down iApple thing.

[serr]

Originally Posted by Tone Deft

in that price range why not one of the Universal Audio devices with all of UA's quality audio IP?

if it was a tax writeoff I'd go there but...

OSC on the Behringer... I wonder what the user community has done with that. assuming it's not a locked down iApple thing.

Probably because the UA isn't even remotely close to that price range for 16 channels of mic pre?

I've been slacking on keeping up with OSC and Reaper development. I figured before too long there's be some template to download and use just out of the box. Are we there yet? If not, someone should nick that setup for Reaper.

[Tone Deft]

Originally Posted by serr

Probably because the UA isn't even remotely close to that price range for 16 channels of mic pre?

sorry, I guess you were talking about this?

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0ASF

I'd rather tattoo failure on my forehead that put that on my desk.

I see your point. just to find a USB mixer with mic pres the options are really bad. I would personally go with Mackie over Behringer in that arena, I wouldn't trust Behringer with audio. sure, they can do it, so could Amazon Brands. functional budget product. I love that Behringer exists for this reason.

[serr]

I was talking about these:

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0AWN

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0BI8

Their OSC setup comes as a free iPad app. No DIY setup and configuration. Just install it like it's a normal iPad app and it just works. It's a free download, not a stand alone paid product. Useless without the hardware.

Yeah I mean, friends don't let friends buy b-word products and all that...
It's 16 Midas mic preamps in a box. Provide your own wi-fi and iPad and their OSC setup comes up right out of the box and it's slick.

Isn't Alto a cheapened b-word design to begin with? (Looks like it at a glance!) Just sayin'

Some careful shopping might get not only an interface but some mic preamp upgrades along with it for not much more $$. That's what I was going for.

I normally agree fully with your b-word sentiment but the b-word/Midas designs are worth a look IMHO.

Midas preamps > Mackie preamps to my ear.

[Tone Deft]

Originally Posted by serr

I was talking about these:

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0AWN

https://www.behringer.com/product.html?modelCode=P0BI8

whoa. those are great products!!!
I think I'm seeing them listed for over $1k?

Isn't Alto a cheapened b-word design to begin with? (Looks like it at a glance!) Just sayin'

google Audio Precision and look at their products, I believe that's what they went for. Audio Precision is THE standard audio reference measuring system for audio. from R&D to high volume production.

I'd still mount that non-wireless box backwards to hide the built in GUI and feature that beautiful grey wall of plugs.

wireless would be huge. for me the instruments should be away from the computer, mentally and physically. it crowds the room to have stuff on or near my 'home studio' computer desk. I'll take it that latency is fine for recording etc, wireless is 10s of GHz FFS, well beyond wire based protocols.

Some careful shopping might get not only an interface but some mic preamp upgrades along with it for not much more $$. That's what I was going for.

Midas preamps > Mackie preamps to my ear.

I'm fine with transparent pass through. if I want a really great pre-amp I know enough about them to enjoy curating my own.

curiouser and curiouser...
-Alice

[serr]

There's also their straight UMC1820 audio interface. Two of those would get you 16 Midas mic pres. You'd be at $500 - $700 there. Same as an XR-18 with 16 Midas mic pres. The X-32 lists for a grand. It has additional network I/O and mix engine. Sometimes you can snipe it for $700 on Ebay though.

Again, I'm purely thinking of mic preamps in a box for the best price. If some line level 16 input interface + 16 channels of balanced cables was approaching that same price (which they can), I'd be inclined to consider an upgrade. That's all.

[Tone Deft]

Originally Posted by serr

There's also their straight UMC1820 audio interface.

you just NAILED my solution, many thanks for your time to post!

that box has exactly the same I/Os as my current box but the upgrades are perfect. same number of I/Os with the added second headphone. I appreciate it only doing 96kHz for the cost savings.

with the number of digital I/Os it supports I will absolutely be looking to add a proper external mixer later on. for now I can bus my current card out digitally into this Behringer.

my mistake was writing off Behringer. seems that they covered the segment I was looking for. I can't imagine the drivers being anything remotely to worry about these days.

surely I can find audio test plots of the ADC performance overall, just in good conscience. wonder if I can find a tear down to see the ADCs.

THANKS!

[Multibomber]

Behringer has a narrow field of amazing products. The X32 is one of them. It's the highest selling live mixing board BY FAR in history. Right after it was released, people quickly realized that its also the cheapest was to get 32 quality mic pres into your computer, and now tons of pro places use it as their main I/O for their studios. Its a phenomenal product that still gets regular updates nearly a decade after release... and the price is unbeatable! The XR-18 X Air gives you 16 pres for under $500 and it sounds great! But you need to hardwire the Ethernet into your internet router. And those Midas pres work just fine as long as you don't crank the gain past +40db.

The UMC1820 has the same basic hardware and will also do what you want. Behringer also has the benefit of having a shit ton of people who own the same hardware, so if you run into s problem, you can just upload a scene, and someone will fix it for you and you just download it and off you go.

[kyuseok]

If you need to track down all twenty channels at once, check out Cymatic Audio uTrack24, which is available for around 350$. Though they use D-Sub I/Os which may cost you some money..

UMC1820 is surely a great option too as it was mentioned above.

[ramses]

I use the RME digiface with 2 Behringer ultragain 8-channel thingys. Rock solid and can be expanded to 32 channels.

[cyrano]

Alto is Alesis' budget brand. From what I've seen, it isn't bad. Apparently, Alesis launched it because many people still couldn't get over the fact that Alesis wanted license money for ADAT. Kind of ridiculous, of course.

That critique comes from the same people who can't get over the fact that Behringer copied a lot of gear, something numerous other brands did. But hey, these are "boutique" brands, meaning that they charge an arm and two legs for their copy.

I have no clue how the preamps sound on the Alto L20, but the Alesis gear I have isn't bad. I bought most of it very cheap because Alesis gets a bad rap on the net. The DEQ830 EQ, fi, is often called the worst EQ ever. It simply isn't. But if you don't RTFM, it can be noisy if you go from balanced pro outputs to consumer level unbalanced. Besides, there isn't any other 8 channel digital EQ on the market, at least at a decent price.

I'd go for a Digiface USB from RME, if budget allows, simply to have long lasting and stable drivers. And TotalMix and DigiCheck, of course. Pair it with a few ADA8200s from Behringer and you can go up to 32 channels in and 34 out.

Especially Digicheck, which can easily replace gear like Audio Precision, if you pair it with software like REW, SMAART and/or ARTA. Or FuzzMeasure if you're using a Mac.

It's what I've been using for years now (albeit with a Fireface 400 and the old ADA8000) and it covers all my measurement needs.

A new Digiface USB is around 350 €, incl. VAT, a new Behringer ADA 8200 can often be found for around 160 € if you shop around. Second hand isn't much cheaper, as this stuff is in demand. 24 channels in and out for less then a grand...

An alternative in the same price range is Presonus, if you happen to suffer from Behringer allergy. But Presonus' drivers aren't as nice as RME's.

[ivansc]

Originally Posted by ramses

I use the RME digiface with 2 Behringer ultragain 8-channel thingys. Rock solid and can be expanded to 32 channels.

Me too. Down to one AD8200 now but back when I recorded lots of instruments I had tewo Focusrite Octopres and later 2 ADA8000s. All worked great with my HDSP 9652.

[Bazzbass]

Originally Posted by Tone Deft

I've been looking to upgrade mine and that box looks like a better choice than what I had I mind, very cool.

Focusrite Clarett Series is what I was thinking.

I would think the Claret is much better