Very basic Scope card quesiton, anyone??

[VoicOfReason]

I am considering installing a Scope/Sonic-Core Project PCI card. I want to use my current Emu 1212m for audio inputs and outputs, but the Scope card for all the effects. So, what I want to know is if I can utilize the Scope card fully but have all the audio output through my other Emu 1212m card, NOT the Scope card. My Powercore X8 works well this way: all processed sounds output through my Emu 1212m card.

Anyone??

Thanks!

[dante]

Not sure - unless your using an application that can redirect ASIO streams. SCOPE projects can deal with ASIO I/O.. not sure bout other drivers...since I only use ASIO and REWIRE & occassionaly WAV.

[Neutron]

if you are not using the adat on the 1212 you could just connect the scope adat back and forth to the 1212 one.

i have some scope cards and one of the adat i/o gos to the i/o of the 1212 on my sequencer computer, then i have 8 chan each way to use how i like (usually 2 mix out stereo to scope, with 4 mono sends with 8 returns from scope, but sometimes different depending what i need to do

[garyb]

yes, you'll have to route externally. the other way is to use xtc mode(but not with v5 yet). there's a trick to use the card as just a booster card(like your power core), in the xtc forum, i believe.

the thing is, the Scope i/o is very good and there are things you can do with the Scope card, that the EMU can't even think of(like realtime monitoring and insane routing), so you might consider rethinking your operation. i don't think the EMU card has any serious advantages, but it depends on what you are trying to accomplish, of course. you just might have more available to you creatively, than you what may be aware of.

[microraver]

Use XTC mode ( not working at this moment with scope 5 ! )

See here http://forums.planetz.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=27242

P.L.U.R

[VoicOfReason]

Thanks. XTC sounds promising.

The reason I use the Emu 1212m, is because it has very high quality inputs and outputs. The Scope I'm looking at doesn't have balanced outputs. But, maybe I could just replace the Emu with the Sonic Core, or of course do ADAT. Hmmmm...

[garyb]

the cards are available with balanced i/o.

i can assure you, EMU has nothing on Scope.

[VoicOfReason]

I completely agree on the DSP power/quality, but I'm just not sure about the D/A converters. Read here:

"The E-MU 1212M Digital Audio System delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results - 24-bit/192kHz converters (using the same A/D converter chips as Digidesign's flagship Pro Tools 192 I/O interface)..." (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/)

Now, if you check out the Pro Tools 192 product, it is much higher end than any Scope card. It runs almost $4,000: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/

What do you think?

[Fluxpod]

I completely agree on the DSP power/quality, but I'm just not sure about the D/A converters. Read here:

"The E-MU 1212M Digital Audio System delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results - 24-bit/192kHz converters (using the same A/D converter chips as Digidesign's flagship Pro Tools 192 I/O interface)..." (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/)

Now, if you check out the Pro Tools 192 product, it is much higher end than any Scope card. It runs almost $4,000: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/

What do you think?

It is using the same a/d converter chip yes.The analog circuit driving this chip including power supply etc is way different.I heard both and i did work with the 192 a lot.They sound very different.The emu is still very good and imo atleast on par with the scope onboard converters if not a tad better.The price of a 192 cant be compared with a emu or a scope card...its a multichannel converter.

[garyb]

I completely agree on the DSP power/quality, but I'm just not sure about the D/A converters. Read here:

"The E-MU 1212M Digital Audio System delivers everything you need to produce audio on a PC with professional results - 24-bit/192kHz converters (using the same A/D converter chips as Digidesign's flagship Pro Tools 192 I/O interface)..." (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/)

Now, if you check out the Pro Tools 192 product, it is much higher end than any Scope card. It runs almost $4,000: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1212Mv2/

What do you think?

yawn.
the A16 is superior to both onboard converters, but neither onboard converter would be the reason your projects didn't sound great....

[netguyjoel]

I was waiting for that GaryB I new I didn't have to even say it...

[the19thbear]

i know people who hate the creamware converters..

i would say: TEST different things! choose what YOU like!

[netguyjoel]

after the XITE arrives..i'l probably ditch my ADA8000s and look at Focusrite and those alike for ADAT io

[garyb]

most people don't know how to even judge such things. they've only compared through specs or other's opinions. i agree 100% with the "use what you like" thing, but there's a REASON that with all the converters that BOSE could have purchased for their test bench, that they chose the A16 Ultra...

look, everyone has an opinion, and is the knower of knowers, but very few do any work that matters to anyone but themselves, another good reason for "use what you like", i suppose.

[VoicOfReason]

So, the converters on the Scope/Sonic-Core are good converters?

If so, that is good news to me. I could get rid of the Emu.

[garyb]

yes, they definitely are.

[VoicOfReason]

So, the Sonic Core Project card has A16 Converters?

[garyb]

no, the A16 Ultra has A16 converters.
the card has basically the same converter. but of course being inside the computer case, a little noisier. in any case, they're not especially noisy and are very usable. as fluxpod said, the on board converters are on par with your EMU's.

[valis]

Also one might add the following points:

Using 'Pro Tools Quality converters' doesn't really say much because the people who buy Pro Tools as a 'high end' tool and not just for its 'rep' usually say the first thing they did was ditch the 'crappy digidesign converters' and add on something that is (to them) quality.

Saying it uses the same CHIP used in 'pro tools converters' says nothing about the other components surrounding that 'chip' nor anything about quality & stability of the environment you're working in. I think Emu's drivers are (mostly) stable these days (assuming you didn't have an X-Fi before) but the software that controls it is not nearly as good (imo) as the Scope environment, both in terms of the quality of the end result and the flexibility.

Emu 1212m's marketing literature is written to a target audience of 'prosumers' and Emu is owned by a company (Creative) that has largely survived the last 1.5 decades through sheer marketing & absorption of other companies to gain more technology (IP), companies like Emu. Which they then take and strip down to a low-cost high production yield part and pay their marketing staff to pimp the heck out of.

S|C / Scope product marketing is largely absent and their IP is largely their own, and with only minor changes across the last decade has held up quite well.