[DagsParticipant]

….oh, and also phantom power of several AR2412 channels down the cat5 as well as all the above.

[DagsParticipant]

Hi gang
I was told by an audio colleague that the Qu24 might not be able to simultaneously take all 24 ins and 12 outs offered by the AR2412 as the processing power of the console cannot run all the built-in FX, EQ, dymanics etc and also reliably convert all that digital data from the breakout box.
The GLD desk, being the more expensive mothership, has all the grunt to handle pretty much anything thrown at it, but the Qu series, being the ‘entry level’ series (albeit an awesome one) doesn’t have the capacity for driving that much digital processing.
Thoughts? Experience?
Is all of the above just hoo-hah?

Interested to hear if anyone has successfully run a fully loaded AR2412 with a Qu24 running 4 FX engines, and dynamics on all channels (…..and recorded to a HD via USB-A) at the same time.

Dags

[DagsParticipant]

Hi Dave

I was informed (in another thread) that up to 1.5m standard USB cable will work fine (not sure what you mean by ‘powered’) but any longer than about 2m and there could be errors with audio transfer.

Dags

[DagsParticipant]

Hi there Ratchet.

Agreed, it seems strange that the HPF isn’t there as part of the ‘standard’ PEQ module that is also used for the inputs.

But I tend to use the GEQ for the main & mix outputs and fully cut 20Hz, 25Hz & 31.5Hz (or higher depending on the speakers) in order to tighten up the low end and protect amps/speakers from damage.
Granted, the GEQ may only cut 12dB of each frequency, but this might be sufficient to suit your needs?

Coupled with a HPF on all input channels that need it, I haven’t found myself desiring a HPF on the outputs.

Dags

[DagsParticipant]

+1 for random/shuffle playback for .wav files on Qu Drive.
Uncertain how difficult it is to code a ‘random play’ feature but it sure would be handy!

Dags

[DagsParticipant]

Yep – You got it right 🙂

[DagsParticipant]

Nah – I don’t think I’ll bother spending any $ on the older computer.
I had an hour to myself (yippee!!) and I was able to test the same ‘virtual soundcheck’ session on the 2008 Intel Mac under OSX 10.6 and it works a treat.
So for the purposes of getting my mate’s head around the desk operation this will be fine….we’ll just be kneeing on the floor to operate the Qu24 🙂

The PPC I’ll keep for live tracking when bands need more than 18 inputs.
…though someday I’ll save myself a lot of trouble and invest in a post-2009 macbook pro which would handle it no probs and be much more convenient to carry.

Thanks again for your help Andreas.
Greatly appreciated!

Dags

[DagsParticipant]

I’m rather stuck on 10.5.8 for the older Power PC Mac…Snow Leopard requires an Intel machine.
If I can find a really cheap 2008 Intel Mac Pro (same as my studio Mac) that is still in great working order I’ll grab it but it will require me making some money from this hobby first.
My tax accountant shakes his head every year at how much of a loss I make 😉

Great idea about the USB2 PCI expansion board for the PPC but I don’t know if PCI-X USB expansion cards are still available?

I have a few things to ponder now.
But the desk itself is still a killer live mixing console with the ability to record the performance so this technical glitch isn’t a huge deal. Still happy with the console itself!

Thanks so much for your help Andreas.

[DagsParticipant]

Nicely answered Andreas!

I have a 2008 Mac Pro running 10.6 as my main studio computer. I’ll patch it into that sometime this week and see if I have more success with streaming via USB-B from it to the Qu24.

The older mac can still be used as a live gig recording device if I need more than the 18 channels that the Qu-Drive can handle.
But it sounds like I can’t use it as a playback device.

Pity, as I had hoped it could still be a bit more useful to me…maybe as a bookend? 😉

[DagsParticipant]

Hmm…..I just read back over an earlier query I had and it might be that Mac OS 10.5x is too old for the Qu24 to sync with.
Seems strange as I don’t think core audio has changed much since it was first brought introduced.

I have been able to go the other way; recording a ‘test one two’ via USB-B into the mac for all 24 channels.
All channels were active and recording and I simply moved the mic from input to input to check the connection. So even though there was no audible sounds on the channels that didn’t have the mic connected at the time, it was still striping 24/48 audio successfully to all 24 channels simultaneously.

[DagsParticipant]

Nicola – smaller photo of the firmware page is now uploaded

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[DagsParticipant]

Hi gang

Phil, no my audio problem doesn’t manifest like that. What I’m experiencing is like some kind of signal degradation effect has been strapped across the main outs which builds and builds until the audio just cuts out. I’ll have another go at getting a recording of it even if it is just through my iphone placed close to the headphones I am using.

[UPDATE – sample attached. please turn down your speakers!]

Andres, It is a desktop tower Mac. Programs/system on one internal HD, audio projects on a second internal HD, as has been recommended since the ’90s 🙂 Both HDs are nowhere near full.

Nicola, It is an older Mac running 10.5.8 and uses the standard Mac core audio protocol. Qu24 has the latest firmware V1.73 which came pre-installed as I only bought the unit home last week after it had to be ordered in from overseas.
(Tried attaching a photo of the firmware screen but it is larger than the allowable 1024kb)

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[DagsParticipant]

Yep – it has handled larger sessions than this.
There’s also no processing whatsoever on any of the channels in Logic except for the IO plugin to route the audio to the Qu24.
I set it up as a virtual sound check session to run the Qu24 through its paces and so I can get a friend up to speed with using the desk for a festival we’ll be working at in a month.

Edit: I should also mention that every channel has its output set to ‘off’ so that there is no chance of feedback loops occurring. The IO plugin taps the audio signal before the fader and sends the audio to the Qu24 which I am monitoring using headphones.

[DagsParticipant]

Hi Bob. The USB cable is only about 1m or so in length and is quite thick as far as USB cables go (not one of those thin, highly flexible types). I read somewhere that it cannot be longer than about 2m because of signal degradation so I made sure the one I bought isn’t too long.

[DagsParticipant]

Thanks Lou!

…I’m in Aus, so not much choice down here as to what to buy & where to buy it from.

…..and it’s all really expensive ;p

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