Question

Hi all,
So I am about to have a major studio makeover and I would love your advice. 

Currently, I am running a Toft ATB24 with an Orion32 into Studio One. This has been a great setup for some years but since my PC upgrade last year my Orion32 only now works in 24ch mode and after many hours with Antelope support, I have been told, there isn't too much they or I can do to fix it.

My plan is to sell the Orion32 and Toft and go down the path of an all PreSonus setup. The thing I am having trouble trying to figure out is which would be a better option for my needs? I have been tossing up between the Quantum, a couple DP88's and faderport16 or a StudioLive32 Series iii. 
I do a lot of tracking in the studio with live bands and a lot of drums tracking as well so I would like to have at least 24ch, with the option of being able to insert outboard equipment if I need/want. 

What are your thoughts between the two setups? Latency issues, preamps, converters, advantages, disadvantages, etc.

Any insight would be much appreciated, thank you. 

Answer 1

Both solutions will work great for studio applications, but they provide different advantages. I'll try to give you some insight:

If you want to record at sample rates higher than 48k, you'll probably want to go with the Quantum solution as it supports up to 192k.

When monitoring analog sources, both will give you super low latency. With the StudioLive Mixer you will monitor using the mixer rather than having to use input monitoring in the DAW. The Quantum does not have a DSP mixer, however it's round trip latency is extremely low (on a modern computer you can expect between 1-2ms round trip).

If you want to monitor plugins on the input, then the Quantum will definitely give you better latency for this application. For example if you want to track using a particular reverb running live. Or using a guitar amp simulator, etc..

The big advantage of the StudioLive mixer is that it's three products in one - a multi-input recording interface, a digital mixer and a control surface. So you get a huge bang for the buck. It also has a ton of very useful peripherals like EarMix and NSB Stageboxes if you need to set up headphone mixers for artists or track in a different room. And keep in mind - the StudioLive mixer has tons of DSP that you can use without taxing your computer's CPU (Compressors, EQ's, Reverbs, Delays, etc) And you can choose to track totally flat or print these FX.

Regarding inserting outboard equipment, both will allow you to do that. Each channel of the Quantum or StudioLive mixer has true line inputs that bypass the preamp circuit. So you can easily use outboard preamps and outboard gear.

Regarding A/D conversion - The Series III Mixers are 115dB dynamic range. The Quantum2626 is also 115dB however the two larger Quantums are the best with 120dB dynamic range.

The Quantum/DP88 rig may be a bit more portable if you ever need to do a mobile type gig because it's all rackmountable with the exception of the Faderport16. However, the StudioLive mixer doubles as something you can use on a live gig as well as in the studio.

Like I said, both are great solutions and I don't think you'll be disappointed with either.

Hope this was helpful to you!