Firewire-based Recording System For Mac & PC
If you fancied the well-specified, Firewire-based I/O of Digidesign's Digi 002 but didn't need its control surface functions, you now have a cheaper alternative in the shape of the Digi 002 Rack.
When it comes to the higher end of the audio production world, there is no doubt that Digidesign's Pro Tools systems, combining quality hardware/DSP and software, are the dominant platform. Indeed, those who read Mark Wherry's Nuendo 2 review in the September 2003 issue of SOS will have got a sense for how difficult it is for Steinberg to break Digidesign's dominance, despite the very impressive functionality of Nuendo as a music production system.
In recent years, Digidesign have done their best to bring the essence of the Pro Tools environment to the project and home studio market — and one aim of the strategy has presumably been to get users started with a basic Pro Tools setup with the hope that they will upgrade to one of the more sophisticated Digidesign systems. Therefore, over the last few years, users have seen Pro Tools Free (a cut-down software-only introduction for no cost!), the USB-based M Box (software plus audio/MIDI interface with a sub-£400 price tag) and the Digi 001 (software plus a PCI card/external rack).
More recently, Digidesign have added the Digi 002. As with the other home/project studio products, this system depends upon host-based processing but does feature high-specification multiple ins and outs, MIDI and a hardware control surface. All this is connected to the computer via Firewire and comes bundled with the Pro Tools LE software. In their December 2002 review of the Digi 002, existing Digi 001 users Derek Johnson and Debbie Poyser were extremely impressed with the audio quality, flexibility of I/O and the well-designed mixer control surface (read the review on-line at www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec02/articles/digi002.asp).
While representing good value for money, the Digi 002's £2000-plus price tag might be more than some potential users could bear. Enter, stage left, the latest addition to the Digidesign product line: the Digi 002 Rack. At about half the price of the Digi 002, this essentially provides the same Pro Tools LE software and I/O hardware, without the control surface. As the name suggests, it is housed in a very sturdy 2U rack case, making it easily portable.Read More
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