The next step - RME FF 400 with a Delta 1010lt....

help me to understand something...

currently i use the delta as my I/O interface. quality is sucker a$$ fair. breakout cable has RCAs which i utilize.

If I were to buy a RME FF 400 to use primarily for signal in, getting the sound out to my monitors would still have to come from my Delta Pci card. right? Since the 400 does not come with any Pci card , it throws all signals through a firewire cable.

Am I to understand that Sonar 8 would recognize the 400 so I could select the proper input channel for my guitar coming in, and still use the Delta 1/2 channel for output to my monitors? Is this compatible? Is this proper?

I understand that the 400 is the preamp, it is the AD/DA converter, and pretty good ones at that. I dont need more than 2 channels in at one time, I am a solo artist, thus I simply overdub.

I just need help understanding the In's and outs....I hear the product is great but will it work for me?

Does this make sense?

Also, the firewire thing.. i have a port on the front of my DAW for firewire...also on the motherboard, not a card, on the rear panel...i read something about Texas instruments, maybe someone could clarify...

thx in advance..

well now im confused...(nothing new, hehe)

I use the delta card as my main soundcard for the pc. i use my studio monitors for everything from youtube to games to sonar....i disabled and removed the junk pci express soundcard from the pc when i built it. so ... maybe i just dont get it.... but sound has to go out to the monitors from somewhere. and i only planned to use the 400 for good quality takes. nothing more...

thus, the inputs on the delta would now become obsolete. but not the output feeding my speakers ..right?

Rme 400 for in, delta for out

7-string_guy


well now im confused...(nothing new, hehe)

I use the delta card as my main soundcard for the pc. i use my studio monitors for everything from youtube to games to sonar....i disabled and removed the junk pci express soundcard from the pc when i built it. so ... maybe i just dont get it.... but sound has to go out to the monitors from somewhere. and i only planned to use the 400 for good quality takes. nothing more...

thus, the inputs on the delta would now become obsolete. but not the output feeding my speakers ..right?

Rme 400 for in, delta for out

you're thinking in linear terms.  why do you think you can't use the RME for OUTPUT?  the RME has outputs too, right?  so whatever you've got plugged into the 1010, unplug it and plug it into the RME.  the RME is a full soundcard just like the 1010 is.  you certainly do not want to try to use the RME for INPUT and the 1010 for OUTPUT in sonar.  you'll get out of sync tracks!
 
as far as your question about firewire - I would suggest that yes, you get a PCI firewire card with TI chipset on it.  what you're saying above is that you have a VIA onboard chipset and that probably won't work well with the RME.
 
so buy a PCI/FIREWIRE card and replace the DELTA 1010 with the PCI/FIREWIRE CARD, move all of your inputs AND outputs to the RME and don't worry, be happy!

You CAN leave the 1010 in and use that for computer gaming and video watching but if you try to use the RME for input and the 1010 for output while recording you will have sync problems because they don't use the same clock.  you're not using your soundcard just for the input, you use the input and output, or don't you monitor anything while you're recording?  and I mean ANYTHING?  if you run sound out to your speakers while you're recording - even the OTHER tracks, softsynths, Metromome, ANYTHING then you're using the the output.

my daw is for everything as well.  I disabled my onboard soundcard and I use the MOTU external FIREWIRE device as my ONLY soundcard.

but as I said if you want to use the 1010 for everything EXCEPT recording you can do that, BUT you MUST use the RME's outputs FOR recording.  DON'T try to use the 1010 and the RME at the same time in sonar - you'll screw up your project!

That solves it then....I have seen the light.....

The onboard or PCI express cheepie sound card cant read 24bit or anything above 48000kz, that is why i disabled it. Sonar gave me a error window saying that it would have to default to 16bit just having the cheepie enabled....so i took care of that.

I doubt that there will be an issue with having both the 1010 and the RME hooked up IRQ wise...asw windows is set to use Deltas 1/2 out for everything..

Now for Sonar...I'll have no problems what so ever (in theory, i have not bought it yet)using both in's and outs of the RME while tracking. Simply move two cables and change the output under Master. but when im done tracking, i could go back to mixing on the delta card. since the ad/da conversion is done. The greater quality tracks will be saved in the project,  so thats that. I just did not want to have the RME powered up if it is not needed after the tracking.

thanks guys...


 

Ya, you should get 3% from whoever i buy it from for the sell.  I had not even gave thought to the clock ordeal. that would have been a nightmare.

one question though...I see the back panel has 1/4 ports as outputs...I'm sure I can assign channel 1 - Left and channel 2 - Right, correct? out to my monitors. probably with the software mixer it comes with..

Awesome Sauce