Protools--vs--????, lost in the digi jungle----HELP!! Options

i am starting from the ground up with a home studio ....i definitly want a mac i have my own website and as well as being a musician/composer...im also an artist

what i need to know is basicaly this;;

what is the best and most cost efficant way to build a home studio that will be album quality and provide me with the warmth i enjoyed with 24 track 2'' tape --is this possible on a budget of a few grand or am i fooling myself??--------is protools the right way to go and what kind of mac is best 4 what im doing-----HELP PLEASE---

[Teiwaz]

In response to droltam's quote:

"Protools with Digi hardware sounds better than Cubase/Nuendo or logic."


One just cannot come out with a comment like that without backing themself up with alternative system details! And it comes across as if droltam's talking about a SEMI-PRO Digi product here, the Digi 001...!

So, allow me to recap...Protools sounds better than what software with what hardware?! (a large grey area here)...One of those 001's with PT sounds best?? Again I ask, compared to what software/hardware? Or is droltam talking about a TDM PT system pitted against all other variations of software/hardware?!

First of all, have you ever heard Apogee's high end products? Such as the Apogee AD-8000SE? This unit replaces a digidesign 888/24, and sounds as good as, if not better than, a digidesign 192 (despite the fact that the Apogee has a maximum sample rate of just 48khz.)

Or how about Swissonic's fabulous AD/DA convertors? (Thought I had better mention them, I haven't before now...I slap myself on the wrist...)

Or is a Digi 001 better sounding than an Apogee AD-8000SE/Trak 2 running, for example, with Logic/Nuendo/DP? Is this what you're saying, droltam?! If so, then you may need to do some very in depth homework on pro kit...oh dear.



On a visit to Apogee's offices, I had an extended conversation there with one of their chief product designers and he concluded that the fattest sounding system of all taking ALL platforms (soft & hard) into consideration was...suprise suprise, Steinberg's Nuendo on, of all things, a PC! But that's WITH Apogee convertors, not Steinberg's own hardware. And we're comparing that system with a HIGH END Protools system here, the PTHD system with a 192 interface...NOT a Digi 001!!



I don't even use a PC, or Nuendo, so I'm not biased in this respect. I'm just relaying the facts as I know them.

Another interesting thing to note is the informed opinion of a highly respected drummer here in LA, and he concluded that out of all the digital sessions he has done to date that, a session he did using Apogee convertors and (again) Nuendo was the best sounding hard disk recording he had ever heard. He went on to say that he had never heard his drums so dynamic, so full of detail, and so punchy.

A drummer of his experience and professionalism, who has worked with everyone from Seal to Mick Jagger, knows the ropes, and knows it when his kit sounds good coming out of a pair of monitors.

As a Logic/Mac user, I use Apogee convertors with TDM/ASIO software, and I have to point out that you can't really argue with the fact that Apogee, along with Prism and Swissonic, are among the untouchables when it comes to AD/DA conversion.

As for how actual SOFTWARE performs in terms of audio quality, according to our man at Apogee:

1) Nuendo (PC - shock horror!) and Apogee convertors.
2) Logic Audio Platinum (Mac) and Apogee convertors.
3) Digital Performer (Mac) and Apogee convertors.
4) ProTools (Mac) and Apogee convertors.

To say that ProTools is the best sounding, sounds a little, in my own humble opinion, uninformed. Saying that their HARDWARE sounds the best is really laughable, especially when you're implying that the piece of kit in question is a Digi 001!! That's their budget $700 interface, and it sounds like CARP!



They used to 'sound' the best (they pioneered the first system, Sound Tools). But things have changed and we all have to keep jumping through new hoops in order to not end up convincing ourselves that something that used to be No.1 still is.

It's a painful reality for those who swear by their Digi stuff, but only because you, as an owner of PT, have invested a lot of your time creating your files in their software, and just as you get used to an old pair of slippers, you refuse to stop wearing them despite the fact that they are by now a bit tatty and the soles are wearing thin.

It's an interesting debate. Another important point here is that Bob Clearmountain co-founded Apogee, because he wasn't satisfied with the AD/DA convertors on the market.

I would like to hear from any true professional out there who owns or who has owned high end Apogee hardware to inform us that Digi hardware sounds better (and I'm definitely not referring to a Digi 001 here)...because correct me if I'm wrong, but the only person who would actually say that Apogee ain't as good, is someone who works for Digi...or sells Digi stuff. That wouldn't be you, would it droltam?



PS: Tone, it wasn't out of frustration that we have this opinion. It was out of dissatisfaction followed by liberation (going down the local music store and buying cheaper, and better kit.)