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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: jp118 on August 07, 2006, 05:16:48 PM
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Asking $500 for it which seems a little steep.
I know it's a nice sounding unit- is it for me? I don't know.
I'm looking to record to my new MacBook Pro- looking for a simple A/D pre-amp that I can record stereo feeds from. It must have an USB/FW out so I can record to the laptop.
any and all suggestions appreciated.
thanks!
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Oade does a number of different mods to the UA-5, $500 could be a great deal or could be a rip-off depending on which mod, we'd need more info.
also, it does not have FW out, only USB.
what kind of mics are you running in front of it?
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well... I work at a production company and the only mics I have at my disposal (right now) area RE-50 (standard stick mic for television) and a Sennheiser 416T (shotgun mic- what I've used in the past).
What I have done with the dat machine we have (at work) is run the 416T in mixed with a house feed from the mixer (of whatever venue i'm at).
I'd like to cut out the dat machine and use my new laptop- i will deal with buying/finding better microphones next.
Here is what he is including in the sale:
Box, an External Battery, Battery Cable Car Charger for the Battery. AC Wal-Wart for the Box and the Drivers
I still don't know what exact MOD it is... but i'm hoping to find out. From what I gather from our discussions the MOD added overall better recording components.
thanks!
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one more Q:
I know it doesnt have FW out... but do I need to worry? My new Macbook has USB 2 (as well as FW 800) so should I be concerned? Is there any difference in recorded quality?
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one more Q:
I know it doesnt have FW out... but do I need to worry? My new Macbook has USB 2 (as well as FW 800) so should I be concerned? Is there any difference in recorded quality?
firwire is more stable for transferring at a maintained rate, but there are plenty of people that record to laptops using the USB on the ua-5 without issues.
it sounds as though the ua-5 has one of the performance mods and not just the digi mod. find out which one exactly its either...
t, t+, w, w+, p, p+
if its one of the + moded units then 500 is a good deal, if it doesn't have the + mod you can probably find a better deal on one here in the yard sale
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ok. i got the details:
The Exact Mod is the "Warm Mod Plus"
It includes the Digi Mod, The Input Stage Rebuild in the "Warm" Flavor (ie think somewhat tubelike), and the Power Supply Rebuild (The Plus).
I'm just wondering if this unit is a bit overkill for my needs. I just want something with a USB/FW output....
what else does one do with a unit like this?
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that is a good deal for the W+ mod.
i can't answer whether or not its overkill for your needs. you can use other usb devices that are cheaper, but may not be the sound you want. the warm mod as the name implies adds warmth in the pre stage and is much cleaner than the stock ua-5, its a very nice sounding pre/ADC. i am not familiar with the mics you mentioned above so i don't know if they will compliment eachother.
if you can afford to spend the $500 for the w+ ua-5, i don't think you would be unhappy at all, its a great device and probably one of the better values for a pre/ADC box in this hobby. i believe these units sold upwards of 600/650 new, but i could be wrong.
there are tons of shows on archive.org using the w+ ua-5, i suggest you check some out and see what you think before you purchase.
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FWIW - I recently aid about 600 for a w-mod+ and I love it. I am goin to start taping with my laptop AND my D8 real soon.
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keep in mind that when oade mods the ua5, it takes out the ability to use the ua5 for playback.
Matt
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keep in mind that when oade mods the ua5, it takes out the ability to use the ua5 for playback.
why would it play back to begin with? It isn't recording to anything- just outputing the signal.
thanks for all the feedback!
BTW: what is a D8 (i'm assuming a mic?)
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unmodified you can use the ua-5 to playback from your computer via USB, ie send music from your computer to an external deck - a feature few people with our needs use, but good call pointing it out mmmmmmmmatt
D8 is a DAT deck, you can send a signal via USB as well as a digital out
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Asking $500 for it which seems a little steep.
I know it's a nice sounding unit- is it for me? I don't know.
I'm looking to record to my new MacBook Pro- looking for a simple A/D pre-amp that I can record stereo feeds from. It must have an USB/FW out so I can record to the laptop.
any and all suggestions appreciated.
thanks!
I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
It is $300 street, and sometimes just over $200 here in the YS.
Very stable with Cubase/ASIO drivers.
Richard
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I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
It looks nice- esp. with the multiple inputs, qbase included, and the ability to daisy chain them (down the line)
the reveiws i've read go from outstanding to awful (mostly outstanding), but the awful ones sight digital pops and interference from the box.... do you have this unit?
are you recommending based on your experience or what you think- based on my post- might work for my needs?
THanks again!
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I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
.... but the awful ones sight digital pops and interference from the box....
You can get these kinds of things with any laptop based recording rig. Most likely these problems were because the person running it didn't tweak out their windows op system. I have personally had lots of problems with my HP lappy based multi rig until I set up a dual boot and tweaked the hell out of xp. There are also blips that some lappy's create when the internal charging unit checks the battery for charge (remove the battery or don't use wall power and all is good), and there is a firewire patch available through microsoft that handles a lot of other issues for audio recording through firewire. Most mac lappy users will tell you they don't have any problems ever so you are probably in the clear either way. If you have heard problems from mac users I would listen, but don't listen to reviews with pc's.
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mac lappy users will tell you they don't have any problems ever so you are probably in the clear either way. If you have heard problems from mac users I would listen, but don't listen to reviews with pc's.
whats a pc ;)
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I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
It looks nice- esp. with the multiple inputs, qbase included, and the ability to daisy chain them (down the line)
the reveiws i've read go from outstanding to awful (mostly outstanding), but the awful ones sight digital pops and interference from the box.... do you have this unit?
are you recommending based on your experience or what you think- based on my post- might work for my needs?
THanks again!
I am recommending base on experience.
As far as crackles and pops go, I have noticed problems with all interfaces and various software. The only combination to work reliably for me is Presonus + Cubase. By the way Steinberg, the makers of Cubase, are the ones who developed the ASIO standard used on PSs. So, I figure they got it right. This combo is solid.
That said, I would go with a standalone hard drive recorder any day. That's why I just ordered an Edirol R4 :).
Richard
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That's why I just ordered an Edirol R4 :).
Richard
Got big plans for that box? :)
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That's why I just ordered an Edirol R4 :).
Richard
Got big plans for that box? :)
Well the first step is just to record four tracks without carrying/powering(!) a laptop.
But I'll be sure to modify it. I'm already thinking I'll throw a few AD8620's in there. And fix the caps. And...
If anyone has opened it up, please shoot me a PM. I want to know: 1) what power supply is in there (+/-5V, or hopefully something better, like +/-12V), 2) what opamps are in the current one (someone said JRC 2114 I think).
Richard
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Asking $500 for it which seems a little steep.
I know it's a nice sounding unit- is it for me? I don't know.
I'm looking to record to my new MacBook Pro- looking for a simple A/D pre-amp that I can record stereo feeds from. It must have an USB/FW out so I can record to the laptop.
any and all suggestions appreciated.
thanks!
I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
It is $300 street, and sometimes just over $200 here in the YS.
Very stable with Cubase/ASIO drivers.
Richard
Agreed. Much better box (feature-wise). The preamps will probably not be as nice as the modded Oade preamps in the UA-5, but Presonus makes very good sounding gear and you won't be disappointed in the least. The multitracking ability and included Cubase software make this a deal that can't be beat.
Another option that's not quite hit the street is the Mackie Satellite.
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Asking $500 for it which seems a little steep.
I know it's a nice sounding unit- is it for me? I don't know.
I'm looking to record to my new MacBook Pro- looking for a simple A/D pre-amp that I can record stereo feeds from. It must have an USB/FW out so I can record to the laptop.
any and all suggestions appreciated.
thanks!
I recommend the Presonus Firebox. This also has four analog inputs (two mic, two line) so you can do matrixes later on.
It is $300 street, and sometimes just over $200 here in the YS.
Very stable with Cubase/ASIO drivers.
Richard
Agreed. Much better box (feature-wise). The preamps will probably not be as nice as the modded Oade preamps in the UA-5, but Presonus makes very good sounding gear and you won't be disappointed in the least. The multitracking ability and included Cubase software make this a deal that can't be beat.
Another option that's not quite hit the street is the Mackie Satellite.
My experience is that the preamps are better than a modded UA5. At least *my* modded UA5. (AD8620 + AD712 opamps, replaced capacitors). \begin{geek} The nice thing about the the Presonus is that it uses +/-15V (compared to +/-5V on the UA5) and it has a discrete transistor front end (compared to opamps only on the UA5). \end{geek}.
Richard
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thanks for all the suggestions!
I will be in the FAQ/research section boneing up on my terminology!
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Surprised that nobody has mentioned the Sound Devices USBPre. It's only 2 channel but I used it successfully for a little while recording into WaveLab with no issues at all. You actually don't need ASIO drivers to run it. It mounts as an external sound card and you just select it as your recording source in WaveLab or whatever software you're using. I was also running XP without any optimizations for recording -- just my personal PC -- never a single glitch. These can be had for $450 used, but they don't show up too often.