New imacs and MOTU 828

[ChrisFitzgerald]

Hi. I'm completely new to these forums, and am extremely glad to have found them. I'm looking to get into computer recording (moving up from multitrack minidisc) and am considering going with the MOTU 828 system. My question is about what kind of machine I'll need to run this kind of setup...my budget for the machine is fixed at ca. $15-1700. Everyone who likes Macs seems to talk about the G4 tower, which is out of my price range. Will the new imacs handle the MOTU 828 reasonably well? I'll be recording all live acoustic instruments, a maximum of 8-10 tracks at a time (4 musicians). Are there any outside party reviews of this machine available? I'm having a heck of a time finding info on how it performs, and have found NOTHING regarding coupling it with any digital music programs. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Chris Fitzgerald

[SteveR]

The new iMac 800 is undoubtedly a decently swift machine. The downside it has on the G4 tower is more to do with it's lack of PCI architecture than it's slightly slower system buss and slower HD drive (5400RPM, compared to the 7200RPM on the tower).
However, if you connect a Maxtor, or similar, Firewire drive to it, it might manage more tracks than the tower using it's internal EIDE.

I have always lusted after the MOTU firewire solutions but some people have moaned about the quality. That's not everyone though..

If your budget is for the Mac and the MOTU then you may find that going with the cheaper (and possibly better) Delta 1010 from audio and get yourself a low end G4 tower with the 7200rpm HD...

SteveR

[ChrisFitzgerald]

Originally posted by SteveR
The new iMac 800 is undoubtedly a decently swift machine. The downside it has on the G4 tower is more to do with it's lack of PCI architecture than it's slightly slower system buss and slower HD drive (5400RPM, compared to the 7200RPM on the tower).

I have wondered about this. The lack of PCI expansion doesn't bother me because the firewire can handle all that I need to do. How important is the speed of the HD drive? I was actually looking at the middle priced imac, which is only 700 Mhz. Would this be a problem as well? And last, if I connect a firewire drive to an imac, can I record directly onto it, or only back up onto it?

However, if you connect a Maxtor, or similar, Firewire drive to it, it might manage more tracks than the tower using it's internal EIDE.

I have always lusted after the MOTU firewire solutions but some people have moaned about the quality. That's not everyone though..

I've not heard anything negative about the quality of these units from any Mac people...al the negative stuff I've heard has been from the Windows Nazis. Have you heard of Mac problems with the 828?

If your budget is for the Mac and the MOTU then you may find that going with the cheaper (and possibly better) Delta 1010 from audio and get yourself a low end G4 tower with the 7200rpm HD...

SteveR

The cheapest price I've seen on a G4 tower is about $2300, and for that I don't even get a keyboard or monitor. Whatever computer i get has to be mobile enough to make trips from the 1st floor of my house (Music Room) to the 3rd floor (Study) on about a once-a-week basis...which makes me think that the imac or a powerbook are my best options. And I have doubts about whether I can afford a laptop that has enough juice for what I need to do. If you know differently, please do tell!

Thanks again for your input.

Chris

[SteveR]

My G4/400 is more than two year old now and was released around two and a half to three years ago... I still never seem to run out of steam on a massive Logic Audio session and I do tend to work it to the limit... I have always wondered what doing music on a dual 1 ghz machine would be like... Well, it would be almost identical but the session could be smothered more with Fx and more tracks. I can honestly say, I don't need them...

As far as the $2300 for a mac is concerned, you can probably do better than that. England is an expensive place to buy and you can still get a end of the line G4733 tower for less than £900 (plus taxes @ 17.5%). Monitors are cheap as are printers and scanners. You do get a really nice keyboard and mouse with the towers and the iMac..

On the 828 front. There is more than likely no difference with the 828 on a Windows machine versus a Mac apart from the Firewire works properly on a Mac... There are definately some Firewire drive issue presently on the windows platform as I have been dealing with them recently...

The issue with the 828 wasn't to do with reliability, rather the quality of the Mic preamps and such.. They do come from people that spend a lot of money on mic preamplification so it might not be of any concern to most. I just thought I would bring it up..

The 5400rpm drive is an issue. I wont say it makes a ton of difference, but it's got to make some. Check out the April edition of Sound On Sound magazine (Uk but available from WH Smiths and the like) as it has a firewire drive roundup using programs like Logic Audio and Dp3 with desktops and laptops. The amount of tracks they achieve is quite impressive to say the least..

Final line.. I would buy one of the new iMacs as I think they are georgeous.. They are fast, sexy, with one of the nicest screens I have ever had the pleasure to sit in front of...

Regards

SteveR

[ChrisFitzgerald]

Steve,

Thanks for all the info. I found out today that I can get a G4 tower that runs at 800 Mhz, 40 gig HD (7200 rpm), and 256 Meg ram for about $1600. I could then add an Apple flatscreen monitor for about $600. So, I'm looking at $1900 for the complete imac system with superdrive, or $2200 for the G4 with 15" flat screen and CD-RW drive only. I'm thinking that the expandability might make the G4 worth it... any thoughts? Is the hard drive size and RAM amount okay on the G4 for audio?

I planned on getting a Presonus Digimax 8-channel pre if I get the MOTU 828 so I wouldn't have to worry about the pres on the 828. I'll have to do some research on the Presonus as well.

Thanks again,

Chris

[SteveR]

Originally posted by ChrisFitzgerald
Steve,

Thanks for all the info. I found out today that I can get a G4 tower that runs at 800 Mhz, 40 gig HD (7200 rpm), and 256 Meg ram for about $1600. I could then add an Apple flatscreen monitor for about $600. So, I'm looking at $1900 for the complete imac system with superdrive, or $2200 for the G4 with 15" flat screen and CD-RW drive only. I'm thinking that the expandability might make the G4 worth it... any thoughts? Is the hard drive size and RAM amount okay on the G4 for audio?

I planned on getting a Presonus Digimax 8-channel pre if I get the MOTU 828 so I wouldn't have to worry about the pres on the 828. I'll have to do some research on the Presonus as well.

Thanks again,

Chris

It's hard to say. I love the new iMac tons but it's always nice to have the beefier machine. I haven't read up on the changes in the G4 chips recently and have lost track of the system buss speeds to be able to compare them fully. I know that the 7200rpm drive will make a good amount of difference with the amount of tracks. I think the iMac has a 100mhz system buss whereas the G4 towers (new ones) have 133mhz. I think the HD buss might be 133mhz too which opens up additional internal HD upgrade possibilities. Not so easy with the iMac... ;(

I would check out the 828 in a way that, if you didn't like it, you could take it back and exchange for something else. If it doesn suit you and you have the G4, there are many cheaper audio options available with the PCI architecture. I wish it was a Firewire world (and it might very well be in the coming months/years) but there is too much support for PCI at this stage.

Add up the price of the iMac with the 828 and compare that to a G4 tower with the LCD monitor and something like a M-Audio Delta1010. I think they maybe similar and the pre's are well respected

Keep in touch..

SteveR

[ChrisFitzgerald]

You are correct about the buss speeds and the hard-drive speeds. This is one of the main things that makes me feel that the G4 may be the way to go...

I'm pretty sold on the 828 because of some killer reviews I've been hearing on it. If I have to, I'll skimp on the monitors I planned to buy if I have to in order to not blow my budget out of the water if I get the G4.

Thanks again, hope to run into you again on these boards.

Chris

[SteveR]

If your sold on the iMac, I can hardly blame you. You shouldn't be disappointed.. ;0))

Talk to more people about the 828... Owners specifically...

www.harmonycentral.com

Check out their discussion forums, specifically the Recording Forum and Mac forum, there are a few owners there..


Cya

SteveR