RME 9652

Hello,

I am looking to upgrade my soundcard as I will be needing alot more inputs from now on. Currently I have an Edirol UA-101 which I like but I don't have any serious experience with anything else.

I have the option just now of the RME 9652 and of course it seems a bit bewildering to someone used to exterior soundcards. I plan to buy 2 Focusrite octapres (one with the compressors) and maybe a third a bit farther diown the road (the RME has 3 ADAT slots I believe). 

My question is really about how to monitor out of the RME- I have Roland ds8 monitors that play nice with both octacapture and ua-101 digi outs and I understand I could send audio from the RME to the ds8s, but how to get a headphone out? Is this what an ADDA converter is for?

If so I can get my hands on one of them very cheap too- A "Lucid 8824" but it's a bit of a different paradigm to what I am used to and am worried I am wasting money on gear that may already be obsolete or pretty close to it.

If any 9652 user could detail their modus operandi it would be very useful.

Other options I have are the saffire 56 with an octapre or two or else wait for the roland studio capture to drop.

Tim,
I'm pretty sure you had the Hammerfall 9632.
The 9652 is 3 banks of ADAT (I don't know how they come up with 52 channels).
It does have 64 bit drivers, the Hammerfall 9632 does not.
The 9652 is a PCI, not PCI-e card; some of the new MB's have issues on the PCI buss.
Backwoods looks like you are buying used?
You should make sure your MB PCI buss is not "bridged"; I think that's right.
Dig around, there has been some discussion here and at the RME user forum.
And as Tim said, usually you are using a digital console for your analog in and out.
The 9652 has no analog in or out, maybe the "expansion board" has some, but that's an add on.
HTH
Tom

Thanks timidi- you're a bloody legend!

Saved me some coin and incompatibility hassle. 

Might also have a look at the RME babyface and steinberg ur824 is supposed to be quite good too.

Thanks again.


Thanks for chiming in mike, we must have been typing simultaneously. Ok, I see the octapre dynamic is adda so presumably I could have plugged cans amplifier into an output on that. It's a moot point now as I am on a 64 bit system. What sound card are using for tracking bands mike?


Holy crap! Deering amps come to the party with a crucial insight. It's all on again! So I can go 9652 with a couple of octapres and an out from the r,e back to the octa dynamic from whom I steal an analog out! So crazy it just might work, might have a look at some spec sheets now...

DeeringAmps


Tim,
I'm pretty sure you had the Hammerfall 9632.
The 9652 is 3 banks of ADAT (I don't know how they come up with 52 channels).
It does have 64 bit drivers, the Hammerfall 9632 does not.
The 9652 is a PCI, not PCI-e card; some of the new MB's have issues on the PCI buss.
Backwoods looks like you are buying used?
You should make sure your MB PCI buss is not "bridged"; I think that's right.
Dig around, there has been some discussion here and at the RME user forum.
And as Tim said, usually you are using a digital console for your analog in and out.
The 9652 has no analog in or out, maybe the "expansion board" has some, but that's an add on.
HTH
Tom

Now I remember. Tom, I'm pretty sure the 9652 (what I have. I ran 16 channels into my mixer from Sonar) is 2 adats on the initial card. There is a sister card thingy that either comes with it or you add on to get the other 1 adat. so, there's 24. plus 2 spdif, 2 analog as far as I remember. Easily googable I guess. Anyway, yea the PCI buss thing was a concern for me also. The 9632 is just 1 adat. I do miss having those other 8 channels using the AIO though.

Backwoods. a "Legend"????? Ok.. LOL. Well, that was the name of like my first band (The Legends) I was in like in the 60s or so. So, I guess I am/was a Legend....:)

Anyway, yea incompats. The way RME just dropped support like that really pissed off a lot of folks including me.
(but yet I bought another RME)

Not sure about the octapres. Sweetwater shows them as NO digital inputs, which would be weird if true. 

Backwoods,
Do your research.!
IF the PCI buss is flakey on the newer MB's (and I "think" there are issues),
the 9652 could go the way of the 9632.
If you are "married" to ADAT the raydat (the raydat is PCI-e; IIRC) would be the way to go.

Tom

Back, there is nothing wrong with adat 24 bit something with the 9652.
it is all just digital data. 

It is all hard to figure out though. 
I'll sell you mine if you want it. $300.
Let me know.

FYI, for using with a 64-bit OS, the one to get is the later "HDSP" 9652 version. The earlier "DIGI"  or "Project Hammerfall" 9652 versions never got 64-bit drivers.