First of all thanks to all responded to my newbie/conversion questions. I switched from working on a PC to a dual 867 Mac. Not out of choice (although I love Macs, but the old, used PC died where I had all of my tracks)


Thanks for your help!!! I realized that the M Audio 2496 Audiophile card was half size but it does fit (I'm an idiot). I'm not so sure as to how to use the cable that comes with the unit (1 I/O for midi and a stereo cable for audio). What I used to do with the PC was use the stereo ins and outs on the card and go into a Mackie 1604 VLZ and mix from there on individual channels combined with the board from my software. Also that MIDI hookup on the breakout cables seems kind of limiting. What I'd like to do is use my MOTU micro express and have all of my MIDI stuff go into it and work from there. Radio Shack here doesn't have anything that will fit properly so I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy that serial to USB cord. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

alton

P.S. I'm so out of the mix with all of this stuff, I can't remember how to properly hook up my audio channels to my patchbay (Tascam PB32P). 8 channels running to my patchbay. The outboard gear I can (hopefully) figure out. Thanks again.

alton,

I'd really recommend downloading the manual to your Audiophile card/breakout solution since it is going to give you the most information on the "how's" you're asking.

The manual is available here. On page 4 of the pdf, it looks like the top two RCA jacks (Red & White) on the card are for your analog in (L&R) and the second pair of RCA jacks are your analog out (L&R). The breakout cable is for the MIDI in/out and the SPDIF in/out.

The Micro Express uses USB to get MIDI in and out of your Mac, so there is no need to buy a 'serial to USB cable'. The Mac MDD you have won't have a Mac serial port on it and the DB15 port on your Audiophile card is for your MIDI/SPDIF I/O and is not technically a serial port, even though it looks like a PC serial port.

The Tascam patch bay will allow you to route your audio, but with only the 2x2 I/O of the Audiophile card, I'd still recommend your manual for more information on the best solution for your desired configuration. Between that and the Mackie page on your mixer, I think you'll make some headway. Unfortunately, in order to get that many I/O streams configured, you'll need a mixer with an SPDIF interface to use in place of your Mackie.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck on the continued conversion to the Mac. Once you're comfortable with the switch I think you'll truly enjoy the change.

peace