recommendations for 8 in / 8 out ADAT converters in 2024 ? (older Apogee Rosetta? RME ADI-8?)

[z11111]

At our studio in our B Room, I have an RME Fireface UFX+ over USB 3.0 and an additional 16 ins and 16 outs for hardware inserts / outputs to console using a Ferrofish Pulse 16 MX over MADI. The Ferrofish is a great, great sounding unit, especially for the cost.

I purchased an RME Babyface Pro FS for my home edit rig and it was worth every penny in terms of functionality, stability, and sonic performance. The only thing I don't love is lack of I/O -- there are two separate stereo outs but they're for driving headphones, and then just the main stereo XLR outputs.

I would like to have the option to use outboard gear at home as HW inserts in Pro Tools, but that requires expanding the I/O of the Babyface Pro FS over ADAT. Another Ferrofish unit would be nice, but considering I'm limited to just 8 in and 8 out with the ADAT functionality of the Babyface, it doesn't really make sense to buy a Ferrofish unit with 16 in / 16 outs. I'm looking at the older Apogee Rosetta 800s, older RME ADI-8, older RME Hammerfall Multiface, etc.

It doesn't need to be anything extremely fancy since it'll just be used at home, but I also would like something comparable in quality to the Ferrofish Pulse 16 MX or I/O of my larger RME UFX+. Balling on a budget here. Been a LONG time since I've looked into ADAT converters...

TL;DR: any budget-concious recommendations in 2024 for a single rack of 8 in / 8 out converters over ADAT?

Thanks

 

[SubSpec]

If you can find a Lynx Aurora with the ADAT card installed you'd be golden, the bang for the buck on those is amazing these days. Tricky part is finding one with the ADAT card though, they seem more of a rarity while HDX and no extender cards are available all day long for cheap. Other than that, from my own experience an old Multiface is a pretty safe bet.

One that I have been curious about is the SSL Alpha Link. You see these things cheap (relatively) on eBay and Reverb with tons of I/O and connectivity options and it's SSL. Reviews are pretty much non-existent though...

 

[fragletrollet]

Ssl alphalink AX. More io than your Babyface can handle on adat (24ch in and out) but is massive bang for buck. Seen one go here on bm for 350$! More usual around 5-600. Was around 2500 when I bought mine...

 

[z11111]

If you can find a Lynx Aurora with the ADAT card installed you'd be golden, the bang for the buck on those is amazing these days. Tricky part is finding one with the ADAT card though, they seem more of a rarity while HDX and no extender cards are available all day long for cheap. Other than that, from my own experience an old Multiface is a pretty safe bet.

One that I have been curious about is the SSL Alpha Link. You see these things cheap (relatively) on eBay and Reverb with tons of I/O and connectivity options and it's SSL. Reviews are pretty much non-existent though...

Yeah exactly -- have looked at these here or there and they almost always have Digi / HDX cards or FireWire installed...

Ssl alphalink AX. More io than your Babyface can handle on adat (24ch in and out) but is massive bang for buck. Seen one go here on bm for 350$! More usual around 5-600. Was around 2500 when I bought mine...

good to know! was looking at these years ago before I bought the Ferrofish Pulse for MADI.

 

[scott2000]

I'm looking at the older Apogee Rosetta 800

I was actually impressed with the AD on the 200...But these are getting long in the tooth and repairs aren't something to take lightly since Apogee doesn't support them. Don't think they even want to repair them either iirc... but they're pretty nice sounding ..

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Focusrite Clarett+ OctoPre are not too expensive and seem fairly versatile. I have a couple of small studio clients using these and they seem to be pretty happy. Not at the top end but good value for money if you find one second hand.

 

[z11111]

Focusrite Clarett+ OctoPre are not too expensive and seem fairly versatile. I have a couple of small studio clients using these and they seem to be pretty happy. Not at the top end but good value for money if you find one second hand.

yeah I have a client using one of the Clarett+ units for tracking at home and the audio I get back from them is always solid. Looking more towards just converters though because a) already have "interface" taken care of with the RME and b) I don't need any preamps

 

[Rob Flinn]

One that I have been curious about is the SSL Alpha Link. You see these things cheap (relatively) on eBay and Reverb with tons of I/O and connectivity options and it's SSL. Reviews are pretty much non-existent though...

Actually it was designed by a company called sydec & ssl bought the intellectual property..

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

yeah I have a client using one of the Clarett+ units for tracking at home and the audio I get back from them is always solid. Looking more towards just converters though because a) already have "interface" taken care of with the RME and b) I don't need any preamps

The OctoPre has only ADAT it’s not an interface - no connection to computer, requires ADAT send and receive - Mic/Line input, Line output - the TRS inputs on the combo are line level, the XLR are mic level. There are also inserts on each for FX gear. The outputs are via a D-Sub connector on the rear panel so require a breakout cable.

 

[john12ax7]

You could add lucid 88192 to the list, sounded good though the one I had had pin 3 hot on inputs, supposedly fixed in later versions

The rosetta and adi seem pricey for such old units.

The lynx aurora is solid, but as mentioned adat not as common.

I would say ditch the babyface and adat and just get an 8 or 16 channel interface that suits your needs.

 

[Kelvin Zero]

Would a Behringer ADA8000 be worth considering? Super cheap

 

[the_racker_reilly]

This might be a bit of a curveball, but there are also a few discontinued half-rack units like the Aphex 141 and 142, or Swissonic/Sonorus/MusicNet AD24 & DA24, they tend to be very cheap when they pop up. Dynamic range of the AD24 is apparently 117dBA, which seems respectable enough...

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

Would a Behringer ADA8000 be worth considering? Super cheap

Ran hot - prone to supply failure - the 8200 replacement is marginally better but underwhelming performance

 

[Roboburger]

No love for MOTU on here? I regularly use old MOTU units, which comes with a stand-alone preset mode of no-computer-needed bi-directional ADAT Conversion. I use an old USB/firewire 400 unit in one studio.

 

[Tubetec]

I had my eye on a Lynx Aurora with protools interface , but I couldnt find the adat card at a reasonable price ,so i had to let it go .
These things also run very hot ,so all the caps end up cooked .

Cheaper interfaces dont tend to have proper line level inputs , I use an adapted ADA 8000 with the mic preamp board ripped out . It runs nice and cool now .

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

The ADA8000 had lack of ventilation - causing power supply failure - other issues as well.

 

[Kelvin Zero]

I use an adapted ADA 8000 with the mic preamp board ripped out . It runs nice and cool now .

That sounds interesting, my next project. I'm not near mine at the moment (picked one up for A$100). Is the preamp board going to be obvious to me when I open it up?

 

[cyrano]

There are only two boards in the AD 8000. One is containing the mic preamps, the other has the digital parts and the outputs. So it's easy. Just unplug the mic preamp board and go directly into the AD section.

The only way it overheats, is running on 110V in a cramped rack. I have 6 of them atm, and none of those has failed due to heat. One channel seems to have a weak AD input. Not too bad for 48 channels, some of those are over ten years old.

 

[RoadrunnerOZ]

It all depends on the ambient operating temperature - we are pretty hot in summer here so heat failure shows up real soon
They changed the power supply in the 8200 to a totally different type because of this design flaw.

 

[Tubetec]

The boxes with 16 in/outs also tend to run very hot , bound to be if its all rammed into a single rack space .

The front PCB on the ada8000 is hot glued into place , but its easy enough to remove ,
Theres an additional op amp at the input to the A/D , it sets the gain .
I just went in direct balanced to the Wavefront chips , so max input is around +17dbu .

I was thinking of getting get the RME digiface Usb , with 4 optical ins/outs ,
then looking out for more ada8000's to mod ,its only 48khz though
Be nice to have the 96khz option on Alesis HD24 though ,