DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I need more input channels. My DAW, a Digidesign 002-Rack, has 4 mic pres, 4 line ins, and a bunch of digital inputs I’ve never tried to use because I had no other digital gear.

I’ve been able to maximize the inputs on the 002 via an external analog mixing board, a Mackie 1604, which has 16 of Mackie’s VLZ Pro mic pre’s. In a nutshell, I can use the mixer to combine multiple mics into fewer channels, e.g.: mic 4 toms individually via the Mackie, mix them to stereo, and therefore only consume two of the 8 analog inputs on the 002-Rack. I can effectively mic my kit this way, e.g.: two kick mics (mixed to mono), two snare mics, hi-hat, stereo overheads, stereo room mics. Or: kick, snare, hi-hat, stereo overheads, stereo toms, mono room mic.

Both these approaches, and their varations, are adequate. But for better control, and more options at mixdown, I’d rather capture two kick mics, two snare mics, individual tom mics, plus all the other stereo stuff, and maybe a mic in the stairwell too. You know how it goes.

There are a number of new products that are designed with me in mind: lots of mic pre’s, digital output. After surveying the market I narrowed my choices to two:

• Mackie Onyx 800R
• Focusrite Octopre LE

Feature-wise, they’re very similar:

 +------------+------+------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------------+
 |                   | Line | Direct | Line     | Phase  | High   |   Phantom    |
 |            | Pres | Ins  |  Ins   | Outs     |Reverse | Pass   |    Power     |
 +------------+------+------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------------+
 |  Onyx 800R |  8   |  2/8 |   2    | Via DB25 |   8    |   8    |    Indiv.    |
 | Octopre LE |  8   |   8  |   2    |    8     |   1    |   8    | All or none  |
 +------------+------+------+--------+----------+--------+--------+--------------+
 +------------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------+--------------+----------+
 |            |  Word Clock   |           |   Sample  | ADAT Lightpipe| AES/EBU/SPDIF| Mid/Side |
 |            |  In   |  Out  | Bit Depth |   Rates   |  In   |  Out  |    Outputs   |  Decoder |
 +------------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------+--------------+----------+
 |  Onyx 800R |  BNC  |  n/a  |   16/24   | Up to 192 |  n/a  |  Yes  |      Yes     |    Yes   |
 | Octopre LE |  BNC  |  BNC  |     24    |  44.1/48  |  Yes  |  Yes  |      n/a     |    n/a   |
 +------------+-------+-------+-----------+-----------+-------+-------+--------------+----------+

The main difference, according to both manufacturers, is the quality of the pre’s. Of course, both makers claim their pre’s are superior. But that’s always the case.

The price difference is nontrivial — the 800R streets for $1000, whereas the Octopre costs $800 (including the ADAT card).

None of the feature differences seemed compelling. I love the idea of having a mid-side decoder (as on the 800R) because I’ve had issues with phase problems in stereo recording. However, I own only one figure-of-8 mic, a Beyer M-380, and it’s probably not suitable for the sorts of things I’d like to record via mid-side, e.g. my dulcimer.

I believe the Octopre is limited to 24-bit output, which I’d like to be able to use, but if my host or firewire drive can’t manage 13 channels @ 24 bit, I’d need to run at 16 bit. Or buy expensive new computer gear.

So, unable to decide, I bought one of each.

I’ve read positive reviews of both units, but I haven’t seen a head-to-head comparison, which is what I really wanted: sure, both pre’s sound great… but which sounds better?

Tune in for Part II…

Tags: octopre, 800r, daw, protools, shootout, onyx, mackie, focusrite
posted to channel: Music
updated: 2006-04-01 06:32:40