I’ve just discovered this audio interface which seems interesting for those using heavy or sophisticated audio and midi configurations.
Apart from the fact that it is possible to connect 2 computers and automatically switch from one to the other in the event of failure, a few points that caught my attention in terms of performance and security:
12 Balanced panel reinforced XLR outputs
DIN-MIDI in and out port + Ethernet MIDI with 22 ports of connectivity for rugged long-distance MIDI connections
Audio Protection helps stop unwanted noise from corrupt audio sources/files from making it into the audience
Automatic and manual computer switching modes, for lightning-fast switching between connected computers
100-240v switching power built-in
That’s probably for the best. I owned an iConnectAudio4 some years ago and the audio drivers weren’t great at all. Would get crackling at 256 buffer size with just a couple sounds layered, got a MOTU and the problem went away. iConnectivity is great for MIDI though.
The only reason I think you’d get this over the usual rme or motu would be if you want a redundant playback setup, which could be critical if you have lights and video that needs to sync to your system and playback must not fail at all cost.
I wish this was out several months ago before I got the more expensive Radial SW8-USB, but the older half-rack version of this playaudio12 seems to be popular. The thing with having the redundant 2nd laptop setup though, what if it’s the playaudio12 (or my radial) is the one that fails? Nothing’s 100% I guess…but at least on my Radial it has a 2nd powersupply that kicks in in case power on the other fails.
Anyway, I’m still a newbie learning GP, but for me the new audio playback features in 4.7 looks like a big step in the right direction. I’d like to ditch my DAW (DP
11 & Live) completely for performance as well as backing tracks, but I think I can’t yet since I’m reliant on sending timecode to lights & video, plus I need to be able to chase the singer if she happens to skip a section, or even just a measure, without losing the band and everything else following the timecode (which I can do with Live).
