Mackie HDR24 Vs Alesis HD24

Hallo friends, i would like to buy one of those two babies, is there anyone using them, may i have some feedback from you?
I actually work with a Motu2408MKIII but at the moment i'm doing a lot of live stuff so one of them should be more comfortable to bring up and down. Thank in advance to all. Maurizio - www.digitallcube.com

I've had a Mackie24/96 for the last year and to be honest suits me fine, I tend to use it as a recorder to bounce tracks back into Sonar in the studio and also record live guitar and vocals throught an ADC into the lightpipe inputs. There are a lot of features that I don't use though and couldn't offer an 'across the board' comparisson.

Mackie have recently updated the bios so that it can take up to 60gig hd's and if you check out on the Mackie forum there were (the last time I looked) a lot of discussions about where the best places to get alternative media are. Also it seems that they have come down in price somewhat since I bought mine (argh!)

Sorry if this isn't much use, but I'm happy with the performance that I get from the Mackie and would recommend one if its got the features you want

Mancio -

Yes, you can monitor what is being recorded onto the HD24 in real time using either the ADAT outs (there are 3 banks of 8 ADAT i/o that you connect via optical cable) or the individual analog outs.

The converters sound just fine to me, and I've seen some reviews of this device that mention the converters on this being very good. I can't compare it to the Motu myself.

Twin Paradox

ORIGINAL: Twin Paradox

Mancio -

Yes, you can monitor what is being recorded onto the HD24 in real time using either the ADAT outs (there are 3 banks of 8 ADAT i/o that you connect via optical cable) or the individual analog outs.

The converters sound just fine to me, and I've seen some reviews of this device that mention the converters on this being very good. I can't compare it to the Motu myself.

Twin Paradox

I think both units have better sound then the MOTU. However, the Mackie sounds better at 48K. I don't know if it's the converters or the analog input stage my guess is both are better on the Mackie.

A couple of observations.

Mackie has apparently decided to discontinue the SDR 24/96 (like the MDR before it) without a replacement. On the Mackie website it already shows up only under the discontinued products. It looks like only the HDR 24/96 is being continued as a product.

I'm not sure what the real advantage is of the Mackie disk being FAT32 format versus the Alesis proprietery FST format. Sure you can set up a slot for a removable hard drive in your computer to insert the Mackie disk, assuming you have a slot available to do that. I suppose you could also set it up in an external Firewire/USB2 removable drive, but that's an added cost. Also, I doubt one is likely to use the drive for anything other than recording on the Mackie, so again I'm not sure that FAT32 format buys you much.

Note also that the Alesis FST format is designed specifically for audio files to reduce seek time relative to that obtained with standard computer formats like FAT32.

With the Alesis, using the Fireport connector, you can choose to transfer files to your computer via the Fireport as wav, aiff, sd2 or sd1 files. That is, the files are automatically converted to any of those formats as you copy them over to your computer. Similarly, you can move files that are in any of those formats (assuming they are mono, 24 bit) back over to the Alesis and it converts them automatically into the format that is used on the FST drive itself. You can also do some very rapid file management actions on the Alesis hard drive from your PC when it is connected via the Fireport.

So, given the way anyone is likely to use these drives, I can't see what particular advantage the FAT32 format of the Mackie really gets you. Sounds nice in the ad, I suppose.

Also, there are two removable drive slots in the Alesis, while the Mackie (I believe) has one fixed internal drive and one removable drive. The Alesis drives are hot-swappable (you don't have to turn the machine off to pull them out) and allow very rapid copying from one to the other for a quick backup.

Twin Paradox

With the Alesis, using the Fireport connector, you can choose to transfer files to your computer via the Fireport as wav, aiff, sd2 or sd1 files. That is, the files are automatically converted to any of those formats as you copy them over to your computer. Similarly, you can move files that are in any of those formats (assuming they are mono, 24 bit) back over to the Alesis and it converts them automatically into the format that is used on the FST drive itself. You can also do some very rapid file management actions on the Alesis hard drive from your PC when it is connected via the Fireport.

This was one of the biggest features that caused me to get my HD24. Now if only Alesis can keep it in stock. I have been waiting 2 weeks for it to come.

Considering I got both the HD24 and the Fireport for $1350 out the door, I'm not complaining yet.

This transaction has me looking at GC sales a lot different. The followup of the guy who sold it to me is really bad. No one else at GC was able to pickup where this guy left off during his days off. Not even the manager. From now on, If GC doesn't have it in stock right there or in another store close by, I am not getting it.

ORIGINAL: New Member

Conley,
You did fill out the free Fireport coupon and sent it in right? Or else you will be waiting forever, Alesis are the one's you must deal with for the free Fireport it does not come with the unit just reg it on their site and fill out offer and send it in took me a few weeks though to but it was free:)

I got mine very quickly from Alesis even though they said it was "backordered". I really like the Alesis HD24 and the fireport makes it sooo easy to transfer tracks. Very slick, very fast. Just what the doctor ordered!!

Hello
Last year I was choosing a recorder to replace my ADAT xt and after much thinking I decided to buy the HD24. The reason behind this was
a) driver size (no fix for using larger drives for the Mackie existed then) and most important
b) FAT file system. As I understod it the Mackie cached about 15minutes of data then concatenated the pieces and started to cache again. If the power goes out during any point in those 15 minutes the file is corrupt and you loose up to 15 minutes. On the HD24 you loose only the very second you loose the power (I have tested it). For me doing liverecording it is a must that I do ot loose minutes if the power goes out. OK, I guess I could buy a UPS but it felt more safe using the HD24.
Also,
c) it is convinient to have tsr connection for all i/o.
/Johan

You did fill out the free Fireport coupon and sent it in right? Or else you will be waiting forever, Alesis are the one's you must deal with for the free Fireport it does not come with the unit just reg it on their site and fill out offer and send it in took me a few weeks though to but it was free:)

No coupon to fill out. This is a deal I worked out with GC.

We will expect a full report...

ORIGINAL: manciosax


I've noticed that the Alesis HD24xr can record up to 24 tracks simultaneously at 24/96 ... Any other new comment is welcome!
Bye Mancio

Not correct. When recording to the Alesis HD24 at 88.1 or 96 K sample rates you are limited to 12 tracks only.

Twin Paradox

Macio -

I think there's some confusion caused by the less than clear advertising descriptions of the high sample rate capabilities of the HD24 XR (which, as you note, has the built in EC-2 that can also be purchased separately and installed on the original HD24).

As a side note, the orignal HD24 also can record and play back at 88.2/96 sample rates, but only via the ADAT i/o. The EC-2 board expands that to analog i/o at 88.2/96.

However, it is limited to 12 tracks at the higher sample rates.

Take a look at the article at this site:

http://www.alesis.com/news/reviews/1927.PAR.Alesisarticle.pdf

It's a review of the HD24 with the EC-2 updgrade, and it describes on the second page how it is limited to 12 tracks at 88.2 or 96K rates.

You can also go to the Alesis website for downloading manuals:

http://www.alesis.com/downloads/ftp/ftp_images.htm

Look at the one for the HD24XR. See page A6 which also describes the 12 track limitation for 88.2/96.

Unless something has changed very, very recently, I believe the info that you got from someone at Alesis is, like some of their advertising, not exactly consistent with the details printed elsewhere. I would take this info back to whomever you spoke with at Alesis and get it clarified.

Twin Paradox

Hallo Friends,
i've got the last important question before buying the HD24.
Here's my question: is it possible to record from the analog IN and in realtime to monitor from the digital OUT.
Thans!!!!!
Mancio

If you're using the HD24 in a live situation, what's the maximum recording time you can achieve?

I know it depends on size of drive, but what I'm getting at, is say you were booked to record an all day festival, is there a way of 'continuous recording' (ie swopping drives etc) or do you at some point have to stop (because of partition size etc).

Cheers,

Al

Cheers Twin.

Al