recommendations for 8 in / 8 out ADAT converters in 2024 ? (older Apogee Rosetta? RME ADI-8?)

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It all depends on the ambient operating temperature - we are pretty hot in summer here so heat failure shows up real soon 🔥
They changed the power supply in the 8200 to a totally different type because of this design flaw.

RME seems to have the same reputation. They have a warning in the manual to provide adequate ventilation when you rack those. It's what you get for providing up-to-date drivers for +20 years old hardware. My FF400 lasted 20 years before it needed a recap. It's one of the RME interfaces that runs mildly hot. The external power brick (made in Corea?) is still working perfectly. The FF800 otoh, only lasted 16 years before needing a new SPSU board. That was still available at a reasonable price. It's a separate internal board. Only needs a screwdriver to replace it.

Guess who designed the Behringer ADA8000...
 
I have various bits of gear , dating back at least 70 years , conventional transformer/bridge,capaciatance filter , thats still works ,
just the way it left the factory ,
says something about the times we were in ,
now its all designed to be tossed the in the bin after a handful of years,
shame upon us ,

Id say a good bet would be to take a Lynx or Ferrofish , transplant it into a slotted top 3U rack so it breathes properly .
 
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Seems that manufacturers today choose components working to minimum tolerances - expecting equipment to be ideally racked and spaced in an air-conditioned environment. SMD components soldered hard up to a pcb especially on the underside of a board with bad case ventilation have to be prone to failure. In the earlier days things used to be built around the much more limited range of products and over tolerances especially in voltage ratings for caps were common - like 5V rails using 16V caps. I have seen newer gear with strange values chosen - 25V caps on a 22V rail is one that springs to mind even though the supply itself was switch mode with voltage sensing.
 
Also just an aside / in response to the conversations regarding heat above: my RME UFX+ doesn’t run super hot nor does my Ferrofish Pulse 16 MX, but I try to keep space open above and below both of ‘em and they’re in a well ventilated enclosure. The Ferrofish is usually a bit warmer but nothing unusual.
 
Behringer Germany according to the original site listing from Behringer - the 8200 uses Midas mic pre’s according to the blurb.

RME is a dual business. One side makes the interfaces. The other side is an engineering and design outfit. And that's who designed the ADA8000. Afaik it's the only Behringer designed by a third party.

The ADA8200 is designed by Behringer, afaik. The first production run was manufactured by Phonic Taiwan, that released a number of these under their own name. That release under a different brand has been done before. I guess this is to get feedback from the market before the mass-production starts.
 
My rig at home is UFX+, Clarett mic pre via adat and Boredbrain opt x. Love the Clarett, but did have to get the PSU replaced. I would still buy one new today, as I really love the way they implement the outputs. The opt x is really great if you have even the smallest modular rig. For those of you who are synth curious, I also run my Elektron devices in Overbridge, and utilize the analog i/o for getting in & out of PT/Ableton.
 
Don't sleep on the older Presonus DigiMax FS...it is a 8 channel preamp purely ADAT and uses a really decent discrete design...really good build and probably the most versatile straight ADAT device we've ever had...

We picked up one for $80 because it wouldn't stay powered on, changed out the psu caps (20 years old) and its been solid as a rock...

The preamps in this thing run on a 30v rail...beefy! It's all discrete and class A...plus you can also use the direct outs as well as send it ADAT, also has line inserts/returns...

It does only go up to 96kHz but you get 8 channels...

Read up on it...check Reverb...it bakes our ADA 8200 like a egg left in the Tucson sun...
(We only use the ADA 8200 for drums...)
 
No love for MOTU on here? I regularly use old MOTU units, which comes with a stand-alone preset mode of no-computer-needed bi-directional ADAT Conversion. I use an old USB/firewire 400 unit in one studio.
I use the 16A and don’t have any issues with it. 16 analog line in and 16 out, which is the main reason I bought it - didn’t need mic pres or dis on my interface, good audio quality, comprehensive software control, would recommend. I had a 1st gen traveler in the past that I wouldn’t recommend, the audio quality seems much improved on their newer stuff
 
We had some MOTUs. They are fine. Sound good. Well made. I was impressed with their cast alu chassis, for instance.

The only reason we stopped using them, is because the local importer changed it's service. Before, we paid a resonable exchange rate for repairs. Sometimes we got a new one, usually the exchange was a repaired one. That suited our administration well. They always suspect some monkey-business if repairs are expensive. Of course, not if the price is fixed and known beforehand.

These days, they feel you should simply buy a new one. Out-of-warranty repairs are slow and fairly expensive.

We bought Behringer ADA8000s. Cheap and cheerful. And RME interfaces. We can usually fix what goes wrong with them in-house. Parts are available and reasonably priced. But, most important to us: drivers are updated frequently and even for very old gear. Frankly, RME is the only manufacturer I can think of that cares for old stuff. I used to hate RME. Until I was forced to use one and RTFM. It took a while, but I can't live without TotalMix and DigiCheck these days.
 
Ive never used RME ,
but Ive been keeping an eye out for one for years ,
I think its fair to say of all the interface manufacturers , they've shown a huge commitment to keeping the drivers even for the older stuff going .
Many of the others have adopted the 'into the skip' and buy new business plan for their customers ,
Apogee being probably the most serious offender in this regard, theres no way Id ever reward that kind of business model by buying new ,
Firewire is still an option for me , via thunderbolt , I see an Apogee ensemble going cheap ,

The RME digiface USB ticks a lot of boxes for me , but it has no convertors apart from in the headphone circuit , what it does do is optically and galvanically isolate your computer rig from what ever convertors you use ,
 
Focusrite Saffire Pro 40 and MOTU 2408 mk2 in standalone mode here, EVO SP8 would be nice new ADAT converter, nice price, too.
Long time user of the Safire Pro 40 here - I’m considering adding a Black Lion Audio Revolution EXP, and then grab an RME Digiface when the time comes for major upgrades. I’ve also been eyeing the MOTU 24ai and 24ao, and/or the Ferrofish with Digiface.
 
The FF800 otoh, only lasted 16 years before needing a new SPSU board. That was still available at a reasonable price. It's a separate internal board. Only needs a screwdriver to replace it.
Only 16 years 😄
Not many audio interfaces would still work after 16 years, especially the drivers.
The RME digiface USB ticks a lot of boxes for me , but it has no convertors apart from in the headphone circuit , what it does do is optically and galvanically isolate your computer rig from what ever convertors you use ,
It ticked a lot of boxes for me too. Bought it for €350 and combining it with a ssl alphalink and a behringer ada8000. All working and sounding perfectly. Big fan of these boxes.
Also have a FF802 which i used before the digiface usb, and that one is still running like new after 9 years.
 
I'm also a big fan of RME.

My ff800 has been running everiday since i bought it (used) in 2010.

The PSU failed 2 years ago. I replaced all the lytics in there and it was back in the rack.

I have a ferrofish with it for 16 more line in and outs.

If i had to change, i would keep the same.
 

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