Hi guys,
I'm thinking of purchasing an RME soundcard to improve sound quality & laptop performance from my Maya44usb.
I've been looking at the Thomann website, and I seem to have a couple of options for the model I want.
One is the
RME HDSP RPM MOBILE KIT
http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm_mobile_kit.htm
and the other option is
RME HDSP RPM / RME HDSP CARDBUS INTERFACE
http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm.htm / http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_cardbus_interface.htm
The first one says it is the cardbus & box, but the second is buying them as seperates. The pics of the cardbus look different though, but i can't find any info on what the differences are or whats the best deal for me?
Does anyone own either combination, or knows the difference? It is obviously a lot more than just a discount for buying them together.
Gary
I'm thinking of purchasing an RME soundcard to improve sound quality & laptop performance from my Maya44usb.
I've been looking at the Thomann website, and I seem to have a couple of options for the model I want.
One is the
RME HDSP RPM MOBILE KIT
http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm_mobile_kit.htm
and the other option is
RME HDSP RPM / RME HDSP CARDBUS INTERFACE
http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_hdsp_rpm.htm / http://www.thomann.de/gb/rme_cardbus_interface.htm
The first one says it is the cardbus & box, but the second is buying them as seperates. The pics of the cardbus look different though, but i can't find any info on what the differences are or whats the best deal for me?
Does anyone own either combination, or knows the difference? It is obviously a lot more than just a discount for buying them together.
Gary
Posté Wed 23 Jan 08 @ 1:52 pm
The difference between the two cards i noticed is one is flat and the other has a small attatchment on the end (you can see in the pics in the links above) It says you need to use the flat one as the second card if you are using two or it won't fit????
Apparently the flat one is the one that comes with the rpm mobile, and i've read the following about it:
"The flat card is 100% identical and compatible, but does not offer the Secure BIOS technology of the upper version"
Can anyone explain this a bit clearer for me? i haven't got a clue what they are talking about!!!!
Gary
Apparently the flat one is the one that comes with the rpm mobile, and i've read the following about it:
"The flat card is 100% identical and compatible, but does not offer the Secure BIOS technology of the upper version"
Can anyone explain this a bit clearer for me? i haven't got a clue what they are talking about!!!!
Gary
Posté Wed 23 Jan 08 @ 4:01 pm
Might be worth contacting the supplier directly. I think they may have put the wrong card on top of the box.
If you check the RME website directly, you will see that the cardbus card that works with the system has the wider end. You have to have this because RME uses a firewire cable (but not the firewire standard, just the physical cable itself) to connect the external box to the card.
Secondly, you need to check if you laptop has cardbus because new laptops these days have ExpressCard which is newer but is _not_ compatible. They are both from PCMCIA (a standards organisation) and are roughly the same size, but cardbus is a pin-type and expresscard is a slot type.
I have been watching RME for quite some time and plan to buy one myself. Im planning on buying the HDSPe and the Multiface II.... looking really sexy
If you check the RME website directly, you will see that the cardbus card that works with the system has the wider end. You have to have this because RME uses a firewire cable (but not the firewire standard, just the physical cable itself) to connect the external box to the card.
Secondly, you need to check if you laptop has cardbus because new laptops these days have ExpressCard which is newer but is _not_ compatible. They are both from PCMCIA (a standards organisation) and are roughly the same size, but cardbus is a pin-type and expresscard is a slot type.
I have been watching RME for quite some time and plan to buy one myself. Im planning on buying the HDSPe and the Multiface II.... looking really sexy
Posté Thu 24 Jan 08 @ 6:39 am
Oh dear, i think my laptop has ExpressCard. Does this mean I won't be able to use the RME?
Gary
Gary
Posté Thu 24 Jan 08 @ 7:09 am
Yes, i've just had an e-mail back from them. I need the HDSPe too. Its the ExpressCard one. It was supposed to be released in January but they have a delay in the manufacturer.
Its all looking good again :)
Gary
Its all looking good again :)
Gary
Posté Thu 24 Jan 08 @ 12:58 pm
Um, this looks good... I neglected to mention some details though, and since you actually emailed them, im also very excited.
Currently on the website, there is not expresscard model. the HDSPe is a PCIe card, slot1 type meaning its an internal card. Ive been watching the PCMCIA website about 8 months now looking for an actual expresscard sound device. the only maker of such a thing is Apogee and its for mac only and way overkill for VDJ since the purpose is to stack up to 1024 I/O channels. Hehe, we only need 6 absolute maximum (2 TC, 3 output, 1 in)
So I was preparing myself to buy one of these outboard PCIe bus extenders and then buy the PCIe card with multiface II:
http://www.magma.com/products/pciexpress/expressbox1/
....so now you mention the manufacturer said a new ExpressCard HDSPe interface is coming out very soon? That is extremely cool, now I can spend 750USD less...
Currently on the website, there is not expresscard model. the HDSPe is a PCIe card, slot1 type meaning its an internal card. Ive been watching the PCMCIA website about 8 months now looking for an actual expresscard sound device. the only maker of such a thing is Apogee and its for mac only and way overkill for VDJ since the purpose is to stack up to 1024 I/O channels. Hehe, we only need 6 absolute maximum (2 TC, 3 output, 1 in)
So I was preparing myself to buy one of these outboard PCIe bus extenders and then buy the PCIe card with multiface II:
http://www.magma.com/products/pciexpress/expressbox1/
....so now you mention the manufacturer said a new ExpressCard HDSPe interface is coming out very soon? That is extremely cool, now I can spend 750USD less...
Posté Thu 24 Jan 08 @ 10:12 pm
you might want to look at focusrite saffire le, I got it and works with vdj
Posté Thu 24 Jan 08 @ 10:22 pm
thanks lex, i took a look. it look sweet, but ive been using firewire for a few years and the only thing im going next is expresscard. i record and produce as well so i need something better
@gary, i sent a mail to RME as well and they duly confirmed it. hopefully by end of month (which is very soon). ive been watching for expresscard products for over a year now, so i can wait a few more weeks. i have a few buddies that use RME and its among the top of the line you can possibly get in that price range... good purchase on they way for both of us :-D
@gary, i sent a mail to RME as well and they duly confirmed it. hopefully by end of month (which is very soon). ive been watching for expresscard products for over a year now, so i can wait a few more weeks. i have a few buddies that use RME and its among the top of the line you can possibly get in that price range... good purchase on they way for both of us :-D
Posté Fri 25 Jan 08 @ 9:00 am
Paz I can see your point and is valid for a desktop, but to go from pcmcia to pcie to a pcie card hmmmmm.
please let me know how well worked after you done testing
please let me know how well worked after you done testing
Posté Fri 25 Jan 08 @ 9:29 am
@ Paz :)
I hope its released soon!!
I hope its released soon!!
Posté Fri 25 Jan 08 @ 12:15 pm
lex, what do you mean? it was a bit silly for me to entertain getting a bus extender and then stick a desktop card in it and use it on a laptop, but ive always done video work as well, so i kinda needed it.
this was also a decision based on that PCMCIA themsevles even said 'its not likely they will make soundcards in expresscard'. i knew that wasnt true, but only apogee has their stackable 128-channel rigs for mac.
so basically, expresscard is the portable version of PCIe. it has super-high bandwidth and low latency, although whitepapers show that it is comparable to normal PCI bus. for laptop users, it becomes a formfit issue. got this expresscard slot but cant use it for my sound. otherwise i would have just bought an emu cardbus rig which is quite cheap these days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard
An interesting quote from a guy on northernsounds.com:
You should also keep in mind, that most of the time, the
specified latency from the driver just includes it's "own"
internal latency. The USB-stack itself also has some
latency which needs to be added onto the value that
the driver shows!
So from my experience USB is no match for Firewire and
definately not for PCI...
THis is the RME press release for NAMM:
http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=5393
This is a latency testing tool, supposedly accurate within .5ms which measures what the lowest latency on 'clean sound' is. Problem is i have never been able to make the damn thing work on my xone or m-audio or my friends emu 1616m... even with playing around with the loop patching
http://centrance.com/products/ltu/
this was also a decision based on that PCMCIA themsevles even said 'its not likely they will make soundcards in expresscard'. i knew that wasnt true, but only apogee has their stackable 128-channel rigs for mac.
so basically, expresscard is the portable version of PCIe. it has super-high bandwidth and low latency, although whitepapers show that it is comparable to normal PCI bus. for laptop users, it becomes a formfit issue. got this expresscard slot but cant use it for my sound. otherwise i would have just bought an emu cardbus rig which is quite cheap these days.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressCard
An interesting quote from a guy on northernsounds.com:
You should also keep in mind, that most of the time, the
specified latency from the driver just includes it's "own"
internal latency. The USB-stack itself also has some
latency which needs to be added onto the value that
the driver shows!
So from my experience USB is no match for Firewire and
definately not for PCI...
THis is the RME press release for NAMM:
http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=5393
This is a latency testing tool, supposedly accurate within .5ms which measures what the lowest latency on 'clean sound' is. Problem is i have never been able to make the damn thing work on my xone or m-audio or my friends emu 1616m... even with playing around with the loop patching
http://centrance.com/products/ltu/
Posté Fri 25 Jan 08 @ 9:57 pm