The audio quality of the ADAT's is definitley fine in today's world. I produced a whole series of albums on them at one time and they still sound great. But the reason not to use them is not so much about sound quality but instead it is about the whole mechanical nature of them. They are a bit of a pain that way. They do require regular mechanical maintenance etc and also they are slow in terms of locating at least compared to a DAW.
 
Now the ADAT's can remain in the system because they are always active as A to D converters and back. The optical IN/OUT is always actively patched through to their Analog IN/OUT. ie if you send an ADAT the optical signal the audio will appear on the analog outs at all times. And the other way around too any signal coming into an ADAT wil be sent via its optical OUT.
 
But if the ADAT's are being used as A to D and D to A then you need some sort of PCI card that has at least three ADAT optical connectors on it. RME Make such devices.
 
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_hdsp_9652.php
 
or this:
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HDSPeRayDAT/
 
Then the three ADAT's are connected that way to the computer. The analog inputs are getting all the direct outs from the mixer and the Analog OUTS are feeding into the tape returns of the mixer for mixdown etc.. The Sweetwater option has room for four ADAT's actually.
 
The A to D and D to A quality is now purely based on the ADAT's themselves. But they are fine. If they are the 20 bit models then they do operate at 20 bit which is a bit better. The black face ADAT is 16 bit only. Something worth considering. The good thing about the ADAT machines is that he can go back to tracking with them at anytime and not use the computer.
 
The most elegant solution though is this from Motu:
 
http://www.motu.com/products/pciaudio/24IO
 
It is about $1400 from Sweetwater while the ADAT option is around $1000. Personally I would eliminate the ADAT's from the system and go the MOTU route. Or any nice audio interface solution that has all 24 IN and 24 OUT available. Some of them may use db25 connectors as Mike has also suggested but that is still suitable.
 
Once he starts using a decent DAW and multichannel interface then he will never look back. Also he does not need a 24 analog OUT system either if he goes all digital and ITB either.
 
The number of inputs required obviously depends on the total number of input sources that needs to be recorded at once. I think today too that 24 bit recording is a minimum requirement. Not sure of the ADAT situation but they may have only reached 20 bit depth which is better than 16 bit but not quite as good as 24 bit either. I think that depends on the specific ADAT model.
 
 

Okay, here is some more MOTU pictures, and the MOTU does have 20-bit recording also I see.
http://www.motu.com/products/pciaudio/24IO/specs.html

http://www.motu.com/techs...24-system-requirements

http://www.motu.com/techs.../pci-424-compatibility


the MOTU 24 i/o goes into the pcie-424 or the pci-424 in the computer.
or if the ADAT tape machines have an ADAT connector out into just the PCIe card in the computer and one of those units like the PCIe-424 or RME unit.
Of course I read also that the ADAT tape machines only have a 92dB noise floor level because it is still tape (if you like I guess S-VHS tape sound in which with VCR tape machines or even Beta it also had what was called - FM modulation noise (actually called FM Modulation Distortion) but still close to CD quality which is 96dB floor noise depth.) Hi-fi movies sounded great but not as good as digital nowadays with the 24-bit recording, and I guess FM Modulation Distortion to me did not seem like anything, but that is what they stated in those type of VCR or probably even the ADAT tape machines.
 
The new digital units are probably way better than that and if doing too many dubs on a tape machine that would also raise up the noise floor level and noise would eventually creep into the recording before it got to the DAW inside of the computer. ???????
 
Again the connections in the back of the ADAT tape machines (I did see a picture somewhere searching along reading about those ADAT tape machines which show exactly the back connections on those machines in a bigger picture by searching it up and looking at Images on the search.
 
Whatever and how it can be done will be depend on the back connections - digital if possible out of the ADAT tape machines directly into the PCIe or PCI card in the computer or -- analog along the way until the analog unit changes it to digital and into the card inside of the computer which then is found by the DAW being used.
 
Here's an image almost clear. Are the digital input and output - ADAT???? I do not know. Then you have it looks like 9 pin connectors for sync like an old mouse unit on a computer - serial 9600baud type connector before the PS2 connectors for the mouse were used. (actually called the DB-9 connection after looking at the sweetwater HDSP 9652. So that seems to fit also with that card.
 
http://www.d8apro.com/ebay/ADAT_XTa.jpg
 
that is a picture of an Alesis ADAT XT tape machine being sold on e-bay for $1000 I guess I did not look that long at it.
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/HDSP9652
 
Don't know if the MOTU analog unit is the one that allows 20-bit recording if he has newer ADAT tape machines, or the old ones that only were 16-bit. I don't know about any RME card then or even the MOTU card in the computer, but if 20 bit I suppose the MOTU would fit better for the ADAT tape machines digital out (if it is an ADAT type output and input).
 
Only a card into the computer is needed then.
pcie-424 MOTU
RayDAT
or old one HDSP 9652 RME card.
 
After looking again I don't see where the MOTU- pcie -424 (or pci - 424) card comes separate from the other MOTU unit. It looks as if you have to buy the other analog unit (whatever output) and then the card for the computer comes with that.
 
RME card would be separate (but then 20 bit recording if needed ???)
 
Then the final volume out in probably volts of the ADAT tape machines vs. the input level accepted by the ADAT computer card. (I know some outputs of even consumer stuff long ago may put out a level of up to 2 volts instead of the usual 1 volts depending perhaps, and if that effects the ADAT input and output and all of that - probably in the manual of the ADAT tape machine and Specs of the computer card used. (all that stuff).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Couldn't he just take it out a track at a time? And in to a sound card and in to SONAR/X2? Then once it's in the box, you don't need the console/ADAT setup? Not elegant I know, but it seems like it would work.

my fireface has an optical ADAT connector?
 

• Input Digital: 1 x ADAT optical or SPDIF optical, SPDIF coaxial (AES/EBU compatible)

 

The Ray DAT or the Presonus version would work.  I haven't used them but have heard of success w/ the RME thing.
 
Moto.
 
But I don't know if how good the sync would be between 3 adat units and the computer interface.
 
The TC Konnekt 48 has 2 sets of ADAT, but only for 8 channels (it does smux, which is 4 channels of ADAT at 96 or less).  Which might not be a bad way to go - a double or single adat equiped interface and transfer 8-16 channels at a time.  The guy likes ADAT because that is what he knows.  When he gets the digital audio in a DAW and starts editing, he might decide just to skip the middle man ADAT.
 
@

Spacealf - Jeff - Robby - AT
 
Thank you for the in depth posts, ideas and information.  I will look this over and offer these ideas to him.  He knows his routing much better than I..so I will have to look at that in more depth.
 
He has, and continues to turn out professional audio recordings, from music to VO to book readings, and Mastering.  But he is really limited with automation, effects etc..all the cool stuff of a modern DAW.  I agree, once he starts learning Sonar, he will say "What the heck have I been doing all this time?!?!" ...atleast that's what I hope he says! 
 
Thank you again for all of your expertise, I will have to pour over these posts a couple times

The RME 9652 is only 16 channels in and out on ADAT. You can see the arrows on the Sweetwater image. There is some typing errors on RME pages.
 
The RayDAT would be the way to go for all 24 channels of all the ADAT tape machines then, as it is more like a total of at least 32 channels in and out  probably 36 in and out with all the total connections and a bit newer card that has some other things that may help also.
 
Well, that is about it. I read something where the RME Adat connections are Alesis ADAT type connections for sure for another unit RME makes.
 
Well, however, all channels at once into the computer or 8 channels or whatever can be assumed to be handled by the ADAT tape machine digital connector (if ADAT and it looks like it) straight into a computer card (and sync lock if that works and looks like it would) into the DAW of the computer.
 
I would check first and make sure by some sound salesperson, or whomever than me on this forum.

 
whooping 24 channels all at once then recorded in Sonar.
 
and then somehow it has to come out or go to something to listen to it all being played back in Sonar.
Soundcard? Audio/Interface?  ???????
 
 Edited again, because I am not thinking here on this I guess. If ADAT out is digital then there probably is no voltage on anything, that would be analog outs and like that connection. Duh!
 
Well, off to find a brain somewhere, that is all.
Digital out of the ADAT tape machines to digital in ADAT of the computer card (RayDAT) used, I guess would work then, but check with other sound people perhaps if you buy a computer card like the RayDAT and check with them.
 
Okay I am out of here.
 
 

The wise thing to do is remove the ADAT's all together from the system. The machines themselves are not getting any younger. As they get older they also require a bit more regular maintenance. A head replacement would not be worth doing. They are a bit of a mechanical nightmare. The three of them take up 9 rack units for a 24 IN/OUT device. The MOTU interface is only a single rack unit of space for the same IN/OUT. Think of the other things you can put in there! And quieter (motor noise) too. (from memory they draw around 115 watts I think so three would be using 345  watts of power compared to about 20 watts for the audio interface, stop using so much energy!)
 
There is the issue of having ADAT masters in storage from previous projects. I have quite a few still. You only to keep one machine to be able to transfer anything even if you have sessions that span three tapes.  You can use the ADAT optical connector of course to take 8 channels of audio at once digitally but you could also transfer using the analog IN/OUT of the audio interface if you had to. It would still sound pretty good. (There is an old JLCooper sync box that converts ADAT sync to midi timecode which is very cool. You could find one on ebay. Your DAW will chase lock the ADAT then. It locks up instantly and is super stable.)
 
Playing with ADAT sessions inside a DAW once transferred is fun and there is a lot one can do with those tracks further. Just set the session to 48K sampling rate and away you go. The ultimate device for transferring ADAT's over to a DAW is a system Alesis made called Connect. I have it still. It has a PCI card with ADAT optical IN/OUT and also the sync IN and OUT. The computer takes control of your ADAT. It transfers digitally into folders. If a session is over three tapes it punches the transfer points in and out for all of them so you transfer 8 tracks at a time for each tape in turn but end up with all 24 tracks in a folder in sync ready to import. 

That will do it (what Jeff said). There is all kinds of ways to do it. RME drivers on the computer probably will not support 20-bit so only 16-bit will work out of the ADAT tape machines. The RCA phono plugs can work out (as analog does) to 1/4" guitar cord type plugs to input into a recording unit but the cord length usually will be only 3 or 6 feet long unless making special cords.
 
It's the same ol' consumer type connections to pro-audio type newer connections that warrant usually in the end - just change to something new and forget the Past.
 
Tape Machines only last so-long and then they are usually dead and gone. Bury them if having to and either start anew or fiddle around with it if a person must.
 

The only challenge is, RME stands for R*** My Exit... They're not cheap.