ADA convertor

[Tom Smit]

Is the ADA8000 still in favour for PA, or has it fallen out? It seems to be the best low-dollar option to be used for a digital mixer. Or, is there a better quality option for a similar price.

Another question in the same vein: can a Roland or say, a Yamaha unit, be used for a different brand of digital mixer?

[Chris_Allen]

I did see a different XLR input recently but I forgot you made it. There is a replacement for the ADA8000 but I don't know its price point or availability.

Given that these units tend to have adat output, they should all be compatible.

[AntonZ]

The successor to the ADA8000 is out, ADA8200. It should have a more reliable power supply and some other enhancements. It has been "coming soon" for a very long time, is really available for a while now. Initially it was over $300 and still is well over €300 in Europe. Prices have gone down to around $200 in the US.

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ADA8200

Both ADA models are the cheapest converters. Some prefer other makes above the B brand. Nothing is known yet about long term reliability with the 8200. That used to be an issue with some ADA8000 models. The new switch mode power supply should be a big improvement.

[byacey]

I've hear rumors that the ADA8000 use the same AD /DA converter chips as Alesis used in the Adats. I've also hear rumblings that the ADA8200 had some changes made causing inherent sync problems. If this is so, it seems Behringer solves one problem, yet creates another.

[BrentEvans]

Newer ADA8000s and possibly the ADA8200 do not sync with some MOTU products. Whether you will have the problem or not is somewhat random.

I far prefer the M-Audio Profire 2626. The pres sound better, and you have a firewire interface built in.

[Tom Smit]

I far prefer the M-Audio Profire 2626. The pres sound better, and you have a firewire interface built in.

It seems that these are no longer available new, only used.
(It's not for me).

[BrentEvans]

New ones do pop up from time to time on eBay. IMHO a used Profire is worth three Behringers. I have four of them, I'll buy them used until I can't find them any more.

However, if that's not your cup of tea, then also look at the ART TubeOpto, and the Focusrite Octopre Mk2 Dynamic. Either of these are going to be better options than the Behringer. There are also several products which are preamp and A/D only, no D/A.

It's not that the Behringer doesn't work, it mostly does work (with the exception of the MOTU bug). The problem is that their consistency and QC is poor. I have 100% failure with them over a period of 2-3 years, and they tended to fail DURING gigs. I have now excised Behringer from my system with a couple of minor exceptions (four disposable vocal mics and a passive monitor wedge that sounds decent enough).

BE

[byacey]

I've been messing around with 3) ADA8000 and an M Audio Profire Lightbridge in the interest of setting up a portable field recording rig. Despite everything I've read about the lightbridge, it seems to be working fine without glitches recording 24 channels into an old PC laptop running Cubase. I'm amazed, as it only has 256mb of ram, and a 1.13 Ghz PIII processor.