PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Hello Planet Dwellers i would like some of your opinions on what would be the better purchase and most bang for the buck, the AI-3 or the Luna 2496 I/O box?

If you want a pro interface, get the Alesis. The Luna box does not have balanced connectors.

the alesis has adat only and does not support s/mux. hence, sampling rate is 48khz max. you might use it together with other studio equipment. I read it has wc out, but no in.

the luna box is zlink only and thus limited for use with a cw card with zlink interface (luna series or pulsar2 with zlink i/o board). it does 96khz max.

balanced vs unbalanced i/o was mentioned already...

can't tell you something about sound quality.

-greetings, markus-

Thanks guys for your feedback, so the Alesis is a more professional interface but is limited to basically adat only and doesnt have as many I/O features as the luna box.
So how much of a difference does a balanced interface have versus an unbalanced one?

hi
I go them both, and AI-3 is my favorite.

+
Alesis - balanced jacks / optical
dig clock if only outputs is used
Luna - 96kHz

-
Alesis - not 96kHz
Luna box - RCA connections
Z-link (witch work verry well)

Soundwise - The newest equipement always sounds better!

Conqueror's Reign wrote: So how much of a difference does a balanced interface have versus an unbalanced one?

as far as I know balanced cables are important if (very) long cables are involved, like in live settings, not like in the usual homestudio environment.
If you need balanced cables in a homestudio to filter out hum and other unintended waves you better should check the grounding/interference circomstances of the studio

The Behringer ADA8000 is another options and is essentially a budget version of the AI-3, including 'genuine' Alesis ADAT chipset and AD/DA converters. They work well with Scope.

cheers.

Great, balanced cables are more resistant to outside noise than unbalanced cables, that can be a very important point to consider. So are unbalanced cables the reason behind the ghost in the machine, when radio stations play thru your equipment . That freaked me out with a amp i was using really bad!

no, most likely that was bad shielding(ground).

Yes balanced is really only important in long cable runs.

Thanks again guys, so cables with poor shielding are the cause behind the radio issue. Any suggestions for good studio cables to get the most out of using the AI-3?

This is probably off topic a bit but would a power conditioner like the furman for example be a good way to keep your cables free of noise in addition to balanced cables?

Arela with the AI-3 is it possible to connect one of the analog outs into one of the analog ins?

is it possible to connect one of the analog outs into one of the analog ins?

No - but easy done with routing in SFP (ADAT OUT to ADAT IN)
I have my preAmps to ADAT IN - via a SFP Mixer - to ADAT OUT for speakers.
(and parallel with eg ASIO dest )

Connections are: Analog in - ADAT out or Optical in - both ADAT and analog out.

a power conditioner could be helpful, but for me, it's the mobil phones that makes the speakers crackle.

the luna box and behringer ada8000 can connect out to in, like when using an external reverb or compressor or.....

I was probably wrong, saying you cant patch a out to an in on the Alesis, It's just i never thought of it

Planetz is great its like going to a class, everyday its something new to learn and understand but the thing that stands out is how everyone is willing to help each other with their issues, quite the model for the world dont you think? Thank you all for your input.