• Hugh
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Topic: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Hello,
I was excited to hear about the ExpressCard MadiFace for laptops.  Our new infrastructure is madi and this would have come in handy for recording, playback, and QC.  It has one problem that prevents us from using it - no analog headphone out.  For our purposes it would be used for acquisition, playback, and QC.  The only way to hear what you have coming in or are sending out is via a headphone output, unless you use an external madi>analog box, which defeats the point of a laptop-based solution.

I recognize the design limitations of a box that is powered from the ExpressCard slot, however good-quality D/A circuitry and a headphone amp are easy to implement and consume very little current.

This limitation prevents us from using this great little box because there's no way to hear anything without a large external box.

H

2 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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  • Registered: 2007-04-06
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

The design limitation is not only the power, but the connection between the little card and the box. You would need additional wires, 5 at least. What cable to use then to connect card and box? How to pass EMI tests then?

An additional analog out requires an active box, with its own power and FPGA and MADI I/O. Similar to using the ADI-642. And then you get WC I/O and MIDI I/O as well. Buy it...

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • Ulrich
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Hello,

I have been also interested in the MADIface for location recording, as replacment for the digiface. However, it seems that such a solution will be a little bit more pricey than we all hoped... 2K EUR just for splitting the signal for monitoring is not that attractive. And ADI-642 doesn't provide ADAT, this could have been handy in some situations as well. Have to think about it...

I would have loved to see some more gadgets on the MADIface, even MIDI is missing. But it would have been possible very well not to power it by the laptop, from my point of view.

Regards, Ulrich

4 Reply by Ulrich (edited by Ulrich 2008-07-31 18:49:45)

  • Ulrich
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

MC wrote:

Similar to using the ADI-642. And then you get WC I/O and MIDI I/O as well. Buy it...

I assume, the ADI-648 would be able to serve as a monitor break out as well?
Does anything contracdict to a setup as follows (application: location recording, classical): 

MADIface input <---------------------------------------------------------------------- Stage converters output (e.g. microphones a/d) = Clock master
MADIface output --> AD-648 (e.g. monitoring output, talkback input) ----> Stage converters input (e.g.talkback d/a)

Thanks for any comments!
Ulrich

  • Ulrich
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Anybody to comment the posting above...?

6 Reply by MC

  • MC
  • MC
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

No problem, except that the 648 has no analog monitoring output itself (the 642 has).

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

MC's Website

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

MC wrote:

No problem, except that the 648 has no analog monitoring output itself (the 642 has).

Hi
Do you mean 1 x Stereo DA (Phones) input which is on front panel of the unit?
Can be this output used for studio monitors too?
Thanks

Datiko's Website

  • From: Germany
  • Registered: 2007-04-10
  • Posts: 9,551

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Yes.

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

Regards
Daniel Fuchs
RME

RME Support's Website

9 Reply by se

  • se
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  • Registered: 2007-07-16
  • Posts: 14

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

I brought a nice madi headphone amp
from directout.com,

It actually have the rme pciexpress connection
on the unit.

Sebastian

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

se wrote:

I brought a nice madi headphone amp
from directout.com,

It actually have the rme pciexpress connection
on the unit.

Sebastian

Did you buy MA2CHBOX.XT ?

Are you happy with it?

Datiko's Website

11 Reply by se

  • se
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Yes, its very good, very flexible,
in many ways it reminds me of RME's own
stuff,
Sebastian

12 Reply by se

  • se
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Btw, Mein is the ma2chbox and not the
xt version.
I dont need the aes connection, and I also
just use optical madi.

The ma2chbox is half price of the xt,

Sebastian

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

se wrote:

Btw, Mein is the ma2chbox and not the
xt version.
I dont need the aes connection, and I also
just use optical madi.

The ma2chbox is half price of the xt,

Sebastian

smile
Lucky you! smile
I hope I'll have that stuff soon smile

Datiko's Website

  • Registered: 2010-05-13
  • Posts: 9

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Another possibility if ADI-648 is available in the control room for other purposes: tc electronic BMC-2 connected by ADAT lightpipe. Also very handy for return channels on stage which have been dropped off the MADI connection in Micstasy (to ADAT).

Gabriel

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Hi, recently I had an opportunity to see madiface in action. 56 channels were recording simultaneously directly to Mac Book pro. Only thing which was strange for me, the signal was controlled from laptop's integrated sound card. That was really interesting for me as I heard before that to monitor madi signal from madiface you need a ma2tchbox or RME adi642. In such case, is it possible if I use any other third party sound card connected to laptop and assigned as a default sound card, as a monitoring device?   Thanks.

Datiko's Website

16 Reply by cigame (edited by cigame 2013-11-30 09:29:53)

  • cigame
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  • Registered: 2007-05-03
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Have a look at the Ferrofish A 16 Mk 2.
In my case in conjunction with Madiface, 2 Micstasy, 2 Octamic D and analog headphone amp,
I can have lots of inputs and even 8 discrete stereo headphone mixes.

UFX+, FireFace 802 FS, Digiface USB
12 Mic, M1610 pro, Micstasy
MacBookPro M1
Logic Pro X
  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

cigame wrote:

Have a look at the Ferrofish A 16 Mk 2.
In my case in conduction with Madiface, 2 Micstasy, 2 Octamic D and analog headphone amp,
I can have lots of inputs and even 8 discrete stereo headphone mixes.

Thanks, that's really interesting, but I am interested in more than  16 channels.

Datiko's Website

  • Hugh
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Hello Datiko,

If you're running MacOS you can Aggregate the MadiFace and the headphone output to make a combined CoreAudio device.  Set the MadiFace as the clock master and turn off Resample on the headphone output.  This has worked well for us (we finally bought them once we realized we could do this).  Using Nuendo we make the headphone output the Control Room output, works well.

If you're running windows apparently there are utilities that allow the same but I don't know which and how good.

Hugh

19 Reply by cigame (edited by cigame 2013-11-30 09:38:28)

  • cigame
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Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Datiko.
You mean you need more than 16 analog outputs?
It's a MADI interface with with two ADAT ins and 16 analog ins and outs.


Hugh.
Be careful not to plug out the headphone when using aggregate.
The mac than switches the output and recording will be interrupted.

UFX+, FireFace 802 FS, Digiface USB
12 Mic, M1610 pro, Micstasy
MacBookPro M1
Logic Pro X
  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

Hugh wrote:

Hello Datiko,

If you're running MacOS you can Aggregate the MadiFace and the headphone output to make a combined CoreAudio device.  Set the MadiFace as the clock master and turn off Resample on the headphone output.  This has worked well for us (we finally bought them once we realized we could do this).  Using Nuendo we make the headphone output the Control Room output, works well.

If you're running windows apparently there are utilities that allow the same but I don't know which and how good.

Hugh

Thanks for an answer.
As I understand, it is possible to assign Madiface as a default sound CoreAudio device? (I run Mac OS)
Actually I do not have madiface yet. I am going to have madi recording system as soon as I can buy, but before I want to know all important details. Actually most of all I want to know headphone and monitoring control when using madiface (USB).

Datiko's Website

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

cigame wrote:

Datiko.
You mean you need more than 16 analog outputs?
It's a MADI interface with with two ADAT ins and 16 analog ins and outs.


Hugh.
Be careful not to plug out the headphone when using aggregate.
The mac than switches the output and recording will be interrupted.

As I mentioned I do not have RME madi setup yet. But when I buy I want to have up to 36 channel inputs.
It's interesting if that device can record more than 24 channels.

Datiko's Website

  • From: Georgia (Tbilisi)
  • Registered: 2011-11-19
  • Posts: 8

Re: MadiFace expresscard - reason I can't purchase

cigame wrote:

Datiko.
You mean you need more than 16 analog outputs?
It's a MADI interface with with two ADAT ins and 16 analog ins and outs.


Hugh.
Be careful not to plug out the headphone when using aggregate.
The mac than switches the output and recording will be interrupted.

Now I checked and it has 16 plus 2 adat channels. So, it is 32.
That's really interesting. I shall read about it more attentively. Thanks!

Datiko's Website