Topic: t.c. electronic konnect 8

[rowjimmy]

Has anyone seen, read about or, (better yet) used one of these yet?
http://www.tcelectronic.com/Konnekt8.asp



I was looking around to upgrade my m-audio firewire audiophile 24/96 to something with preamps and I've read all about the Firebox and I've kicked around the MOTU UltraLight and even the EMU 1616m. This one is brand new, cheaper than both the motu and the emu and reportedly even has a standalone mode. I'm fixing to contact them for specifics on the standalone feature (which seems to operate much like the Ultralight in that you can set it up while connected and save the config) and on the power requirements... (It will run on FireWire Bus Power or DC but I'm curious as to what it wants on the DC side.)

Sweetwater has it for $299 : http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Konnekt8/
There is also the $499 konnekt 24D which includes more inputs (ADAT/TOSLINK) & outputs (2 additional TRS) and some DSP features. I'm not particularly inclined to f0rk the extra $200 for all of that right now, though.


Most of my recording is home-studio oriented and tied to my laptop but I do occaisionally get out to tape a show and hope to get some worthy mics in the next year for more live taping.

(edit to smallify the images & make them links)

[rowjimmy]

So I contacted t.c. electronic and they were pretty quick to reply but not so forthcoming with the answers... See below -

I have read all I can find on your site about this new product but I still have a couple questions about this device. Your description of the Standalone Mode operation is rather vague. Is it possible to pass a mixed signal combining the various (non-midi) inputs including the combo inputs, rca-inputs and s/pdif-in out via the s/pdif out?

To be specific, I (and others whom I know may be interested) record live concerts on an unofficial basis as a hobby. It would be useful to be able to leave the laptop at home, connect my microphones and run the signal out via the s/pdif into the digital recorder of my choice. It would be doubly useful to be able to mix in a signal from the line inputs.

Assuming this functionality is available, it would also raise the question how does one set the sample rate, etc for the digital output or, is there a default for this mode?

The power question is much simpler... If I were not to use Bus Power, what are the power requirements for the device? (While in the field, AC power is not always available.)

Hi,
Thanks for the interest. The product is not yet released and any information is only preliminary at this point. Once we get closer to ship date, again nothing public at this time, we'll have all the full features available to you. Please keep checking our website for further info as it becomes available. Again, thanks for the inquiry. We're excited about this product. Cheers!

[Ryan Sims]

Well that's bull.  +T for the try.

You probably already saw this, but Sweetwater has on their site that it works in, "full feature standalone mode" which is promising.

[rowjimmy]

Yeah. It was supposed to make a Summer 06 release... looking less and less likely.

But, I'm going to keep my eyes on this as it's price and promised features are quite attractive.

[rowjimmy]

Well, TC Electronic now notes that the Konnekt24 is shipping and the Konnekt8 is just weeks away from the loading dock.
With this, they have also released the User Manual online here: http://www.tcelectronic.com/media/Konnekt_US.pdf
Note that this is the manual for both models (konnekt 24 and konnekt8) but they are pretty good about noting which features may only apply to one or the other.

The standalone mode is not fully documented for the Konnekt8 though. At least, not to my satisfaction. On the 24, there is a button specifically for recalling your presets but that button has been replaced in favor of an AUX monitor button... It does seem possible tho, to control the levels of 4 simultaneous analog inputs (for matrixig, of course!) as well as the analog output levels.

I'm just about to get in line for one of these...

The Power specs are also good news:
Power Supply (Included)
12V DC, Adapter for 90 to 240 VAC, 50 to
60 Hz (auto select)

Power Consumption:
<14 W

[udo]

They are hyping their preamps quite a bit. Is that just marketing or can anybody confirm that they make good preamps?
If the preamps are as good as the presonus this unit would be quite tempting ...

[rowjimmy]

I can't say for sure as preamps don't seem to be their primary business. They've got some DSP lines and guitar effects lines (they've been around since '76) that seem to get universally high marks. I was in a shop the other day talking about this piece of gear and the name tc electronics alone turned some heads.

I've also poked around and seen great reviews on this Pre that they make: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GoldChannel/

Hopefully some reviews of the Konnekt24 will come out soon.

[rowjimmy]

Spoke to Sweetwater today and they do not have anything on a street date for either model yet... 
They're supposed to let me know when THEY know more... (or, anything at all, I guess.)

[rowjimmy]

Spoke to Sweetwater today and they do not have anything on a street date for either model yet... 
They're supposed to let me know when THEY know more... (or, anything at all, I guess.)

WOW. Talk about timely... This just in:

Jonathan, the ETA for the Konnekt8/24 is 10/11/06 - We have a few on order at the moment. Let me know if I can further assist you.
Cheers,

Matt McCreary
Sales Engineer

Sweetwater Sound
5335 Bass Rd
Fort Wayne, IN 46808

[rowjimmy]

So the Konnekt 24D (the model with ADAT and built-in DSP) is out and people are getting their hands on them.

Here's a site with some discussion and first-hand reviews. It's not all positive (seems natural) but I'm not discouraged.

http://www.soundonsound.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=353736&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=&fpart=all&vc=1

[bluegrass_brad]

They are hyping their preamps quite a bit. Is that just marketing or can anybody confirm that they make good preamps?
If the preamps are as good as the presonus this unit would be quite tempting ...

I dont have experiance with their preamps but TC makes top notch effects and delay units, I have used them alot.  Build quality is excellant.

[rowjimmy]

Apparently there have been ongoing concerns with their PowerCore series firewire drivers. the above thread, though seems to suggest that the drivers aren't much of a problem.