Audio Geek Zine

Until today I thought the M-Audio Profire 610 and 2626 were the same with different I/O count. Perhaps this is my own ignorance, but I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking this.

On a forum a member was having trouble re-amping with his 610. The 2626 owners have no problems re-amping so I decided to compare the specs on the Line outs of each interface.

Profire 2626 Line Outputs (Balanced)

• Frequency Response +/- 0.1dB, 20Hz to 22kHz
• +/- 0.6dB, 20Hz to 80kHz (192kHz)
• Dynamic Range 110dB, A-weighted
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio -110dB, A-weighted
• THD+N 0.0013% (-98dB), 1kHz, -1dBFS
• Crosstalk < -110dB @ 1kHz
• Maximum Output Level +20.2dBu balanced, typical
• Output Impedance 300 Ohms, balanced

Profire 610 Line Outputs (Balanced)

• Frequency Response +/- 0.1dB, 20Hz to 22kHz
• +/- 0.2dB, 20Hz to 80kHz (192kHz)
• Signal-to-Noise Ratio -108dB (A-weighted)
• Dynamic Range 108dB (A-weighted)
• THD+N 0.0016% (-96dB) @ -1dBFS, 1kHz
• Crosstalk < -105dB @ 1kHz
• Maximum Output Level +15.9dBu balanced, typical
• Output Impedance 940 ohm balanced

So What?

With the Profire 610, you won’t be able to properly re-amp, especially if you’re hoping to get Hi-Gain tones from your amp. You will distort the D/A before getting enough level into your re-amp box. The Profire 2626 does not have this issue because it operates at a higher level.

Those aren’t the only differences, the input stage of the 610 isn’t as good as the 2626 either. It’s really unfortunate, the 2626 is a great interface, but it’s not portable, if the 610 had the same specs in a smaller size it would be really great.

Full specs for the Profire 2626 are here

Full specs for the Profire 610 are here

After months of dragging my heels, I finally upgraded my monitors. For years I’ve been using Behringer Truth active monitors and getting pretty good at mixing on them. A few weeks ago I purchased a pair of Yamaha HS50 monitors. These are very different speakers.

HS 50M

• 5″ White polypropylene cone
• ¾” Dome tweeter
• 70-watt biamplified power
• XLR and ¼” connectors
• Room control and frequency response switches

They are affordable nearfield monitors with tight bass and accurate mids.

Read the rest of this entry »

Today Chris Bryant of Show Me Pro Tools announced the release of his FREE Quickstart guide for Pro Tools Users. You just have to subscribe to the newsletter to get it.

Go right to The Quickstart guide on Show Me Pro Tools

I’ve just had a brief browse through the guide and immediately had to stop and spread the word. It is really good and covers all the basics. It’s 164 pages and is packed with pictures and diagrams to make learning easy. It covers everything from system requirements, to mixing down a song.

A nice bonus with this FREE guide is the 9 tutorial sessions included.

Malice posted this on The Womb a few days ago. [edit: after this was linked on GS the original post was found] I don’t think he was the original writer, but this is so dead-on to the typical Gearslutz reaction I had to repost it. If you’ve ever asked for advice or looked up gear reviews on Gearslutz you should get a kick out of this list.

1. Low-end gear means anything under $2000.
2. Everything made by Neumann is crap today. I mean Grade-A dog diarrhea. People only use it because of hype or because they have deals (like LA Guitar Quartet – the KM184 actually SUCKS for guitars, but they have an endorsement so they HAVE to use them…)
3. The Yamaha NS-10M is the worst speaker in the world. The sound is somewhat like putting tape over the mouths of two macaws and tasing them simultaneously (make sure they aren’t flush against the wall).
4. The only monitors anyone should ever use are the ADAM A7’s or maybe – JUST MAYBE – the Barefoot speakers or the Dynaudio M3’s. And you really need a sub for those.
5. Avalon 737 is trash.
6. Avalon 747 is trash.
7. The Avalon M5 is OK “for bass.”
8. The only mics that can be used for classical guitar are the $2500 Schoeps or some equally priced Sennheiser. Otherwise, nothing in your mic cabinet will work.
9. Teams of well-paid German, Austrian, and Russian engineers consistently miss the mark, because any piece of equipment can be modded by you for $30 in parts to make it sound “just like a Neumann XX” (vintage of course).
10. Anything with the number “500″ on it is a great piece of gear.
11. Anything that says Apogee is good.
12. Anything that has a cat logo or the name of a type of cat is good.
13. The Fireface is really the only firewire interface anyone should ever consider. Everything else – EVERYTHING – belongs in the skip.
14. Why aren’t you using a Mac?
15. The TLM 103 is by far the worst microphone made. It makes everything sound like Fiona Apple wrapped in carpet.
16. The TLM 49 is a close second. It makes everything sound like Barry White garggling wasps.
17. You should’ve gotten a Soundelux U195. God, it is so much better than any Neumann.
18. Or a Peluso 2247.
19. If it doesn’t say Neve, it is crap.
20. If it doesn’t say API, it is crap.
21. If it doesn’t say Manley, it is crap.
22. In a “comparison post,” whatever YOU own is BETTER, regardless of whether you’ve ever heard of it or used it, or if your gear was even listed in the OP’s comparison.
23. Any piece of equipment that is available at Guitar Center or American Musical is crap, except maybe a U87, but that is junk too unless someone from GS swallows it and sh*ts it out, a technique used to simulate 40 years of delicate aging.
24. Any gear that is good must’ve been pulled out of a much larger object and modified to fit in a rack by the actual person that designed it.
25. Trident is now crap.
26. The jury is still out on Toft, but we’re pretty sure it is crap since it is often mentioned in the same breath as Joe Meek.
27. Did I mention that Genelec makes the WORST monitors in the world? Just absolute horse-sh*t.
28. Anything touched by Joly is better than any mic ever created, including a vintage U47.
29. Anything that starts with a G is a good piece of gear (Great River, Grace, Golden Age, Gefell, Grado) EXCEPT Genelec, of course.
30. There is no gear – NONE – worse than Mackie. Mackie is worse than late 80’s Nady gear. The HR824’s woofers are made of goat dung and the tweeters are made from the severed wings of demon locusts, and to dare use anything with a Mackie pre will summon brutish beasts from Netherworld who will feast on the souls of your family.
31. Bring your lunchbox everywhere, because no commercial studio has anything that competes with the 512c.
32. U87’s are not compatible with anything made by Universal Audio (which is all crap anyway, just unusable)
33. The Shure SM7 is awesome… BUT IT BETTER BE AN A/B/(no letter).

This is a continuation of the recent shootout with female vocals.

The mics:

• M-Audio Nova
• Audio Technica AT2035
• M-Audio Solaris
• M-Audio Sputnik
• AKG C 414 B-XL II
• Audio-Technica AT4060

The source was Will singing the second line of ‘9 Crimes’ by Damien Rice. Each recording is a separate take. No processing has been done. Drop all the files into your DAW, keep the piano track active if you like.

Scroll down to the bottom to get the files.

The order of the files has been changed so you’ll need to guess which is which.

Leave a comment with which mic sounds like the best fit for his voice and I’ll email you the answers.

Other things to think about:

Which mic sounds like it’s the cheapest?
Which mic sounds the most expensive?
Which 2 mics are the tube mics?

The sound files

Get the files here: http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1053122/VocalMicShootOut2.rar

Leave a comment with your guesses and I’ll email you the answers.