5.1 audio card or firewire unit for STP?

Hi folks,

I've been using ProTools LE for years to mix after a picture lock and have never been fond of the user interface. I tinkered a bit with Soundtrack Pro recently and I am impressed with it so far. It seems like an able app for 5.1 and I have decide to start teaching myself surround editing and mixing in it.

I presently have an Mbox 2 and I've been thinking about upgrading to an Mbox 2 Pro, but it doesn't have an optical out for 5.1. Wondering if people could share what hardware they're using for 5.1 mixing. I read Nick's post: "FCS2 5.1 sound," which presents some possibilities. I'm looking for something that has good support/drivers on the Mac platform.

Thanks for any input/information,

Russ

I have used an M-Audio Firewire 410 (and still do when on the road) but my favorite unit is the Focusrite Saffire

[www.sweetwater.com]

Both have a large number of audio outs which can be mapped to the 5.1 channels in Soundtrack Pro. I have mine connected to an Event 6 channel subwoofer and then 5 studio monitors connected to the sub.

I do not use an optical or coax SPDIF signal as that would require encoding to AC-3 in real time while playing back (is this even possible with STP?).

When setting up the system I used a home theater calibration DVD to makes sure the sub and satellites were calibrated to each other and then a basic 5.1 calibration in the Saffire output mixer to make sure the 5.1 channels all had the same SPL level with pink noise.

The only drawback I have seen so far is that the Apple DVD player refuses to see this setup as multi-channel and all DVDs play back in stereo. Using VLC to playback the DVDs yeild perfect multi-channel results.

Good luck in your search!

jgourd,

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking no one was interested on this forum and just noticed your post. Your setup looks like a good one, I'm an Event user myself. I've been eyeing the Focusrite.

>jgourd Wrote:
> I do not use an optical or coax SPDIF signal as
> that would require encoding to AC-3 in real time
> while playing back (is this even possible with
> STP?).

I haven't futzed with it yet, so I don't know whether it will encode on the fly or not. I'm buying a new MacPro later this month which has an optical out built in, so I'm hoping it will support it without additional purchases. Here's a good article on Creative Mac on basic use of STP2 for surround, although it seems like you're probably past it: [creativemac.digitalmedianet.com]

I'll post back when I get it worked out. Thanks again for your kind reply.

-Russ