• Registered: 2008-08-14
  • Posts: 28

Topic: Portable Recording with RME

Currently I have a UFX+ and a Octomic XTC connect via MADI. They are well wired into my studio but transporting them to a remote site to capture a rehearsal or live event is not out of the question. I would love to utilize what I have or even expand to a MADIFace Pro if it would simplify moving from studio to location, while even adding new functionality. Here are four thoughts I have had.

1. Simply buy something like the new Sony PCM-D10, use the XLR inputs with a nice stereo pair of mics to capture remote events.

2. Use the UFX+ as a standalone recorder. Is that possible? Can you plug in a couple mics, headphones and record DURec to usb using no other hardware?

3. Buy a decent laptop (I'd appreciate some recommendations for a Windows based laptop), connect just the Octomic via USB, and record into a DAW application up to 8 mics while monitoring via headphones on the XTC. I have never hooked up the XTC on its own. Will it work this way? It has built in converters, right?

4. Buy a MADIFace Pro and run up to 10 mics connected via MADI to the XTC, while still needing a laptop and DAW software.

You can see the price range starts at $0 if I could use just the UFX+, however this is least desirable due to the PITA of pulling it from the rack etc... the Sony is $500. And the up-end requiring the purchase of a laptop and MIDFace is quite high.

One side question, as you add more RME products with headphone outs should you be able to link them all together with TotalFX? If I have a UFX+, XTC. and a MADIFace Pro will that allow me 6 independent stereo headphone outs to use for individual mixes while in the studio? Currently I have not figured out if I should be able to route the AES output single on the UFX+ to the phones of the XTC let alone to an XTC and MADIFace.

Sorry for the length and amount of questions. I would really appreciate more experienced insight. I unfortunately cannot derive this from manuals.

2 Reply by ramses (edited by ramses 2019-05-27 17:06:22)

  • ramses
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  • Registered: 2012-10-14
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Re: Portable Recording with RME

miguel_cullera wrote:

Currently I have a UFX+ and a Octomic XTC connect via MADI. They are well wired into my studio but transporting them to a remote site to capture a rehearsal or live event is not out of the question. I would love to utilize what I have or even expand to a MADIFace Pro if it would simplify moving from studio to location, while even adding new functionality. Here are four thoughts I have had.

1. Simply buy something like the new Sony PCM-D10, use the XLR inputs with a nice stereo pair of mics to capture remote events.

If stereo is sufficient.

miguel_cullera wrote:

2. Use the UFX+ as a standalone recorder. Is that possible? Can you plug in a couple mics, headphones and record DURec to usb using no other hardware?

Yes of course. Plug a Harddisk or SSD to the front USB input, then you can record up to 76 channels (UFX+),
all MADI channels plus all analog inputs.

You can fully control the UFX+/UFXII via display (got some enhancements over the old UFX).

You can also make use of the ARC USB and connect it to the back of the UFX+/UFX II.
You can even plug a switch to the ARC USB to start and stop a recording.
You can store and recall up to 6 prepared standalone profiles.

miguel_cullera wrote:

3. Buy a decent laptop (I'd appreciate some recommendations for a Windows based laptop), connect just the Octomic via USB, and record into a DAW application up to 8 mics while monitoring via headphones on the XTC. I have never hooked up the XTC on its own. Will it work this way? It has built in converters, right?

As you can see on the webpage the XTC became Class Compliant.
It's the best preamp that you can connect i.e. to an Apple iPAD.
For Windows Laptops .. sorry I can't tell which one are really recommendable.

miguel_cullera wrote:

4. Buy a MADIFace Pro and run up to 10 mics connected via MADI to the XTC, while still needing a laptop and DAW software.

Yes also possible.

miguel_cullera wrote:

You can see the price range starts at $0 if I could use just the UFX+, however this is least desirable due to the PITA of pulling it from the rack etc... the Sony is $500. And the up-end requiring the purchase of a laptop and MIDFace is quite high.

I racked UFX+ and XTC's in an 4 RU case to make it portable.
A good quality USB3 cable from Lindy allows you 5m to the PC or Laptop.
Maybe you do not necessarily need to rack it in a server room.

https://www.tonstudio-forum.de/gallery/userImages/51/1000-51205825.jpg

miguel_cullera wrote:

One side question, as you add more RME products with headphone outs should you be able to link them all together with TotalFX? If I have a UFX+, XTC. and a MADIFace Pro will that allow me 6 independent stereo headphone outs to use for individual mixes while in the studio? Currently I have not figured out if I should be able to route the AES output single on the UFX+ to the phones of the XTC let alone to an XTC and MADIFace.

Inside of one TM FX instance you can route anything from any HW input and SW playback channel to every HW output.
And in regards to the XTC this unit has a routing of its own.

I wrote you already in detail how to setup the XTC's phones step by step in the TM FX Control room of the UFX+:
https://www.forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopi … 37#p141637

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub14