14 inches of snow have closed my state since Sunday, but I used the time to bring up a DAW in the intended studio control room, the last major audio project here before we phase into video setup.
 
I was planning to use the network and analog snakes to control and process audio from the Tracking Rooms, but recently decided I want a digital pipe as well.
 
Current config is an M-Audio 2626 w 2 Behr ADA-8000s Lightpiped together, and an M-Audio Fast Track Ultra via SPDIF, in the tracking room, I'm thinking of replacing the Fast Track Ultra with another 2626, and adding a third 2626 in the control room, but the key to making this happen is the only ADAT patchbay I've discovered, the Frontier Apache.
 
Anyone have experience with this unit?
 
Specifically, is it reliable long term? Functional for this purpose, especially regarding sync? I want to be able to mix and match 8 channel ADAT flows between 3 2626's at will depending on short term needs, is this a viable concept and will the Apache do the job?
 
Finally, what are my options for audio interfaces for the control room that have more than one ADAT port? Pro's and con's? Are some so well suited for high end audio production that they overcome the advantages of experience and current use in an all Profire 2626 environment?
 
Thanks for any help you may be able to give.

It is an outstanding device. I used one for years, and kinda wish I had kept it.

Thanks Bill. Do you know if they are still being produced? The latest data I've been able to find is from about 2003.
I have also read that they exhibit no synchronization issues because they actively echo sync. Or timing...I'm not really clear on this. Do you still set attached devices as master and slave? If not, what DO you set them to instead? Currently, the 2626 on the primary DAW in Tracking is the master for the ADA 8000s and FTU, in a perfect world, either the master could float, without much hassle, or the whole master slave thing could go away.
 
I havethe circuits and power strips in the tracking room set up for easy Global on and off. There's a ton of outboard gear included with that, that I would rather not run if I'm just mixing down in the control room. On the other hand I'm going to dual-use the control room as a vocal booth /auxiliary tracking/overdub room and I can see controlling the DAWs from either location from time to time.
 
Any enlightenment you can offer is MUCH appreciated!

Horizons expanding as more data comes in.
 
MADI is a lot more than I need and would probably involve new DAW hardware, but a Fireface 800 and the Apache look like I could put together a total of 40 digital I/O in a highly configurable array across 3 rooms with whats already here and working well.
 
Another 2626 and the Apache would be the same, I/O wise, but I'm liking the looks and flexibility of the TotalMix DSP control software, especially the I/O at one glance possibilities.

No matter how I add this up, I'm one ADAT port short of finding global functionality with a single additional device.
 
The 2 ADA-8000's are the rub. One set of 8 outs handles FX processing, the other headphone mixes. Both need to be operative while tracking, but I could get by without either on mixdown, some of the time, meaning the TR doesn't have to come up to mix and master, at least not every time.
 
I also don't necessarily HAVE to have the CR up to track.
 
Looks like the Apache is a must, as is another interface for the CR. At that point opportunities abound, it really comes down to pre's, as long as at least one ADAT port exists on the new interface.
 
MADI is nice, but would require new interfaces all around to take full advantage of. I will however, avoid limiting future expansion, by getting a CR interface with at least one MADI port.
 
I hope the Apaches are still available when I pull the trigger.

If the "Frontier" is the same company that made my Frontier Tranzport, according to Sweetwater they are out of business.

Wow... I hope that is not the case, I really like all my Frontier gear!!!
 
Returning to the OP... MADI is cool, and even plain old lightpipe can do a lot, but I'm off on a new path - networked audio. It is not (yet) inexpensive, but as it gains some market acceptance I think prices will drop. I am using a Symetrix Radius right now as my first test, and it works well, and it was easy to configure, and it sounds great. These are the same folks that designed the Lucid family of converter... and those were generally considered to be great converters.

So you might want to take a look - Symetrix sells 12 input and 12 output breakout boxes, the only other thing you'd need is the Dante Virtual Sound Card, which is available from Audinate
(http://www.audinate.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=235)
 
None of this means you can't do great things with lightpipe - the Apache solves a lot of problems, and if you can't find one of those you can also look for the M-Audio Digipatch.
 
Keep us in the loop...
 

2010 is the latest driver for any product on their web site. 
2004 is the only manual available for the Apache. 
 
 

It would appear, from a note on their splash screen, that they are out of that business, and happily creating IOS apps. More power to them I guess, I'll miss their innovative designs, but I am hopeful they are making a few bucks on apps!

I am uncomfortable  using secondhand gear at a nexus point like a control room interface, so I may go with something like a MOTU 2408 mk 3, with 3 ADAT optical ports.
 
I could leave both ADA8000s in the Tracking Room, but one would hang off the MOTU via thruwall ADAT, and a second thruwall ADAT would connect the 2626 with the MOTU. I'd have to do some repatching once, to move some FX sends from the second ADA8000 to the 2626, and then would be able to record from a 16x16 I/O bank in Tracking w the control room power off cold. That will leave all 8 headphone monitor sends 
, FX and main monitors operational in the TR, without bringing up the CR, and allow access to some outboard processing as well.
 
Then, without repatching, bringing up the CR would open the door to an additional 8 analog channels direct thru the MOTU, 8 more thru the TR's second ADA8000 via the MOTU, and offer one additional set of 8 channels of analog I/O between a second supporting track room on addition of one more PC and any single ADAT port interface, with all the long cable runs being ADAT. This last scenario will lead to some sync issues, as the MOTU would need to be the master w all three rooms up, while the 2626 would need to be master w just the main TR up.
 
I like what I'm seeing with Focusrites L3 network audio over Cat5 via Dante, but that would involve significantly more expense and reconfiguration, downtime, and uncertainty, all in the midst of an ongoing Future Industry Standard Protocol fight, which might leave me unsupported in the not too distant future.