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Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 12:03 pm
by freddan
Is A-8 only 16 bits? Thought it was more... What about A-16? Anybody know anything about this, any product sheet with data or so on?

/freddan

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 12:10 pm
by subhuman
18 bits. But it sounds better than many "24 bit" converter boxes on the market.

Also, the A8/A16 have been discontinued for quite some time. Only chance of finding them are on the used market.

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 12:36 pm
by freddan
Yep, I have found both A-8 and A-16 used. What do you think I should pay for them?

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 1:26 pm
by subhuman
Roughly $300 / A8 and $700 / A16, but maybe MORE maybe LESS, depends on condition and age, etc. Since the A16 is one of the few devices that does sixteen (16) 1/4" i/o in one rack space, it may be worth more than that even.

Keep in mind the new 24bit Luna Box Minimum Advertised price is $555 - 8x8, half-rack, RCA FIREWIRE

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 2:17 pm
by freddan
Always these purchasing desicions to make... :smile: Would an A-8 be preferrable to an Alesis AI-3?

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 3:38 pm
by John Cooper
i have two A8's and they sound great. i've never used the alesis so i can't compare.

couple notes about the A8/16: it has a fairly noisy fan in it so you'll want to keep it away from your ears. also, it doesn't remember the setting of the slave/master switch when you power down. defaults to master, which is frustrating cuz i want them to be slave - have to remember to set it everytime i turn them on. i've emailed CW about this and their resident electronics geek has told me that there may be a hack using a 555 timer to simulate the button-presses on power-up. haven't pursued that yet, but plan to. will post results when i get around to it.

anyway, here are the specs scanned from the manual:

<IMG SRC="http://www.planetz.com/image/a8-1.jpg" border="0">

<IMG SRC="http://www.planetz.com/image/a8-2.jpg" border="0">

-john

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2001 5:20 pm
by freddan
Beautiful, thanks!

Well nosiy isn't good as I'm trying to record vocals in the same room as the HW. Could put the device together with the computer in the sound-proof box but that wouldn't be the best way.

I guess you want Pulsar to be master and the device to be slave?

/freddan

Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2001 7:52 am
by John Cooper
yeah, i run pulsar as the master, and everything else in the studio as slave.

even if i wanted an a8 to be master, only one of em could be master, and the other would have to be slave, so i'd still have to deal with the button-on-powerup thing.

re: fan noise. i'm pretty convinced that the converters don't get THAT hot. i've thought about sticking a thermistor (temperature variable resistor) between the power source and the fan, which would hopefully keep the fun slow or shut down unless it gets hot...

-john

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2001 11:41 am
by freddan
I wonder if you could exchange the fan for a less noisy one, if lucky it's a standard size fan. I'm thinking of bidding on an A-8 for $200...

What's a 555 timer BTW? I guess I could run the A-8 as master to solve the "button-press" problem.

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2001 12:34 pm
by freddan
OK, I won the thing at the auction.... :smile: $200.

Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2001 3:33 pm
by John Cooper
$200 is a good price!
a 555 timer is an electrical part number, which can be used in all kinds of electronic circuits...

-john

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 7:30 am
by subhuman
Yeah you scored @ $200 bucks. Nice work man!!

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 7:33 am
by freddan
Thanks! :smile: And I got myself a pair of Event 20/20bas too. So now I guess I have to rearrange (again) the studio tonight...

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 8:13 am
by subhuman
20/20bas... ahh, nice choice. We use those exact speakers here, I think John Cooper uses them too. :smile:

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 8:19 am
by freddan
Yeap, I've been around listening to different speakers and found that the 20/20bas are the ones for me :smile: Deep base also at a low volume. Perfect for electronic music I think.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:15 am
by algorhythm
good to hear these comments on the 20/20bas - i just got a pair this weekend. :grin: they are used (one year as secondary monitors; ie light use) by a close friend.
was US$375 a good price? i very much like them and think them to be worth it.

the bass is great at low volume (which i am sure my downstairs neighbors appreciate!).

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:17 am
by freddan
$375 per speaker is a good price! I paid about the same. Can these be the Pulsarian spekers??? :smile:

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:18 am
by John Cooper
yeah, great speakers! :smile:
very nice clean even sound, good imaging.

enjoy!
-john

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:21 am
by subhuman
I paid $879 for my pair brand new about 2 or so years ago. Me & my studio mates chose them over the more expensive Mackies in blind tests, they seemed more accurate in the midrange & low end -- down to something like 35Hz.

A, your price was a steal.

Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2001 9:21 am
by John Cooper
they also make good space heaters :smile: those amps generate a LOT of heat. good for cold winter days. lousy on hot summer days (like today in california, HOT!)

-john