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What would your new portable DAW setup be?
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-aeon-
Aeon
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
546
Posted : Apr 5, 2008 20:25
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i can't recommend it yet, but i'm trying one out next week... if it's half-decent, i think it would be the perfect solution for live sets. |
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x101
Started Topics :
6
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21
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 10:24
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The xio - good reviews from what Ive read online; but no one had mentioned much of the onboard sound/.Id love to know how it goes with ASIO latency..
MIDI: only 1 MIDI Out err
- I believe I would need another MIDI IN?; as I would like to use my pc1600x also.
/so the ECHO AudioFire 4 makes it way back on the wish list.. and wow it has an ON and OFF button (unlike many others I have found; nothing ^&*@s me off more than having to switchoff @ the mains or power board)
Found another controller with onboard:
Primus a25 (neverheard of it before until now)
http://www.infra-sonic.com/bbs/zboard.php?id=test&no=66
and oh dear; whats happend here!!?
http://www.zzounds.com/item--MDOMIDAIR25
M-Audio MidAir 25 - Its wireless! .. and I bet very unrealible to lol
/what do you guys make of these "all-in" controllers? - Im very suspicious; surely it cant beat an external box and controller - or can it?
Look fwd to your hands-on feedback Aeon - cheers mate |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 12:50
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Oh and what's the thing about 17" laptop? We're talking about portability here - I don't see myself getting anything larger than 14".
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Spindrift
Spindrift
Started Topics :
33
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1560
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 13:34
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I had an Ozonic because I wanted convenient setting up live, but I was not happy with the output level of the soundcard and returned it.
Generally I think it's better to avoid all-in-one solutions.
If one part is faulty you end up having to replace the whole unit, and you limit your options since it's a lot of soundcards and controllers to choose from but very few combined units.
@MikeA
A 17" is definitely portable.
I guess most people looking for having a DAW on a laptop is not looking to carry it around every day on the way to work to make music on the bus.
Working on a DAW with a 14" would be extremely bad for the work flow.
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-aeon-
Aeon
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
546
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 17:02
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xio doesn't have midi in, but you can send midi over the usb connection. not sure how the latency will work out...
i'm interested in it because:
a) it does everything and doesn't need a separate PSU
b) it would be nice to have a simple basic synth for live sound which doesn't use any CPU
c) erm, it does everything.
worth mentioning that some people have had problems integrating it with Live 7... i'm on 6, so hopefully it will be ok, but i'm holding off until i know for sure!
as for all-in-one boxes... you do get the feeling that there's probably more compromise involved in designing one. obviously there are more variables and factors to be taken into account when you're combining so much functionality. ultimately the tradeoff is portability and simplicity vs. quality and cost. what do you really need your portable setup for?
i want the best sound possible, but i'm not taking my virus and my studio soundcard to gigs... ok, the Xio only has one set of i/os, it doesn't have separate midi in, its keyboard is probably not as good as a dedicated CME... but digital audio is digital audio. we're not recording symphonic orchestras; it's capable of capturing at perfectly respectable audio quality, and the synth sounds fine for live work. given that the alternative is carrying a separate soundcard, controller, and PSUs and cabling for both... i reckon it's worth a try.
all of the above is just my thinking on the matter  |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 17:40
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Quote:
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On 2008-04-06 13:34, Spindrift wrote:
A 17" is definitely portable.
I guess most people looking for having a DAW on a laptop is not looking to carry it around every day on the way to work to make music on the bus.
Working on a DAW with a 14" would be extremely bad for the work flow.
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Yea well I was thinking of it as a live machine. DAW is different, but for this I have my home studio with the desktop pc.
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Spindrift
Spindrift
Started Topics :
33
Posts :
1560
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 18:12
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@Aeon
I reasoned in the same way when I got the Ozonic.
Before that my setup was quite complicated and I prioritized simplicity very high.
Now I use a Indigo DJ for soundcard which means it's pretty much no extra weight and only one moe thing to do when setting up compared to the Ozonic...to slot in the card into the laptop.
So in practice it's really not a difference worth mentioning when it comes to simplicity.
Unfortunately there is no equal product if your laptop doesn't have a PCMCIA slot, but with a bus powered USB soundcard and controller the added complexity is connecting one extra cable compared to an all-in-one solution...again maybe not too much of a concern I think.
If you do feel the need for an extra synth that doesn't take CPU I can see the attraction with the XIO though.
Personally I do not have that need, but if you do one thing to keep in mind is that you become totally reliant on the XIO working ok.
If my soundcard died I could use the internal soundcard on the laptop or maybe borrow one.
And if the controller died I could make a set with the mouse and keyboard.
But if you have a set where some parts should from a XIO and you don't have enough CPU to quickly change so the parts can be played on a VST instead it could be quite an issue.
Of course one cannot always plan for the worst, but it can be something to keep in mind when configuring a setup for live use....the more modular your setup is the easier it becomes to resolve any issues that might appear.
@MikeA
Sure...live use is a different issue.
I guess it depends on how you work live if you actually have any use for a big screen, but for me carrying a laptop with a big screen is not too much of a trouble....the difference is maybe 1kg between a 14" and a 17". That wont really kill your back even if you would have many gigs every week 
The major concern for me is resolution when it comes to live use.
For a DAW high resolution and big screen is nice, but for live I think lower resolution is good and I don't really need much screen area.
And since many 17" has very high resolution I would prefer a low resolution 15" for live purposes since scaling down from native res becomes very unsharp.
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x101
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
21
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 18:21
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Quote:
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Spindrift wrote:
I had an Ozonic because I wanted convenient setting up live, but I was not happy with the output level of the soundcard and returned it.
Generally I think it's better to avoid all-in-one solutions.
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Agreed, and sounds logical
Quote:
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Spindrift wrote:
@MikeA
A 17" is definitely portable.
I guess most people looking for having a DAW on a laptop is not looking to carry it around every day on the way to work to make music on the bus.
Working on a DAW with a 14" would be extremely bad for the work flow.
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I have to totally agree.. I would never consider a 14", the screen resolutions are way to small for me to work with. I am used to working with a 22" screen as a designer, so for me I have to go with a WUXGA (1920 x 1200)
Edit
I dont gig every week.. so I can justify carring a 17" /20% gig 70% in a fixed position on some desk - To think of what I used to carry to gigs back in the day!!! CRT screens/.desktops/.and then some.
good replys people. |
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-aeon-
Aeon
Started Topics :
10
Posts :
546
Posted : Apr 6, 2008 19:27
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Quote:
| If you do feel the need for an extra synth that doesn't take CPU I can see the attraction with the XIO though.
Personally I do not have that need, but if you do one thing to keep in mind is that you become totally reliant on the XIO working ok.
If my soundcard died I could use the internal soundcard on the laptop or maybe borrow one.
And if the controller died I could make a set with the mouse and keyboard.
But if you have a set where some parts should from a XIO and you don't have enough CPU to quickly change so the parts can be played on a VST instead it could be quite an issue.
Of course one cannot always plan for the worst, but it can be something to keep in mind when configuring a setup for live use....the more modular your setup is the easier it becomes to resolve any issues that might appear. |
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yeah, putting all your eggs in one basket could be problematic!!! imagine the horror if it failed...
i don't have any CPU concerns either - my laptop is my main studio machine so it's well specced. but the thought of having a pre-mapped, reasonable quality, zero-latency synth for live sounds is still really attractive. i don't think i'd write with the Xio - i have a Virus - so i'd only want to use it for live synth playing, and for those purposes i reckon it would be ideal.
i'll let you know in 8 weeks whether it worked out |
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x101
Started Topics :
6
Posts :
21
Posted : Apr 8, 2008 14:52
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Spoke to a tech/..
HP Laptops are a no no (yes even the business range)..
Been recommended Toshiba | ASUS | MSI!?
more scanning google for posts now.
Inclined to go ASUS? though im sure they use Ricoh!!! argh |
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Mike A
Subra
Started Topics :
185
Posts :
3954
Posted : Apr 9, 2008 23:08
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Actually I'll take a control keyboard and a mixer to a live, so another 1" or 2" wouldn't matter that much.
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