Yamaha AW2816 vs. Yamaha AW4416. Any opinions?

Lizard

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Jan 10, 2003, 10:01:14 AM1/10/03

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Hey all.

I want to buy an all-in-one multi track recorder. I went to Gutiar Center
(ugh) yesterday and tried out the Yamaha AW2816. It seemed very intuitive
and easy-to-use. For the same price ($2k), the ROland VS1824 seemed more
difficult to use.

They didn't have a Yamaha AW4416, but I've heard very good reviews about it.
Anyone have any opinions? Is it worth the extra $500?

Also, anyone know where a good place to buy this equipment would be?

And is there any issue with teh size of the hard drive? (64GB)

Thanks for the input!

--
*·.¸_¸.·'¨¨)
¸.·'
(_¸.·' Jonathan

Let's Trade: http://db.etree.org/~lizard~/

Neil Gould

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Jan 10, 2003, 7:22:47 PM1/10/03

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Hi,

Lizard <jat...@adelphia.net> wrote:
>
> I want to buy an all-in-one multi track recorder. I went to Gutiar
Center
> (ugh) yesterday and tried out the Yamaha AW2816. It seemed very
intuitive
> and easy-to-use. For the same price ($2k), the ROland VS1824 seemed more
> difficult to use.
>
> They didn't have a Yamaha AW4416, but I've heard very good reviews about
it.
> Anyone have any opinions? Is it worth the extra $500?
>
> Also, anyone know where a good place to buy this equipment would be?
>
> And is there any issue with teh size of the hard drive? (64GB)
>

I have an AW4416 and a Roland VS-880 (which I've had for a few years now).
I can offer some comments into these units. I can't compare with the
AW2816, so I'll beg off on that one.

My first recommendation is to check out the FAQs and messages on
www.AW4416.com since users can offer a lot more insights into what to
expect with these units. They have a new AW2816 board up which can be
accessed from that site.

My impression is that the software, OS, and firmware of the Roland units
are more solid and better integrated than the AW4416. Roland has also
worked out "the little things" better; such as HDD options and SCSI
connectivity. So, I wouldn't be too quick to dismiss picking one of them.

The AW4416 has great capabilities, and offers much more flexible options
for I/O and interfacing w/PCs. Those features were my main attractions to
the unit. But, if I were looking for a purely stand-alone recorder, I'd
seriously look at the VS-2480 or VS-1880 instead.

That said, to make the AW4416 usable for my purposes, I've had to go to
some gyrations (read: warranty voiding activity) to quiet it down. There
are good user guidelines on how to accomplish this. You may also wish to
have more than the 8 inputs of a stock AW4416. While there are many options
for adding I/O, expect to drop more than an additional couple of hundred US
$ for each of them.

I mentioned that the AW4416 software is less robust than the Roland. One
can crash any machine, but what happens next is important. If you freeze up
an AW4416, you may render the HDD unusable. Unless the HDD *is* usable, you
won't be able to boot the machine. If this happens, the built-in disc
utilities may not be accessible to you, and at that point, the fun begins.
What freezes up an AW4416? Well, lots of things can. Because the AW's
software uses "modes" of operation, simply pressing the wrong button at the
wrong time can do it. I could go on, but best to read the messages on
freeze-ups that users have experienced for a better idea.

About the 64 GB HDD size, you should be aware of something I found out the
hard way. Some 2.5" drives work, others don't. I originally purchased a 40
GB 5400 rpm drive to replace the 12 GB drive that came with the unit. They
don't work. Only 4200 rpm drives seem to work, and of those, only a few
have been tested and verified by Yamaha. I don't know of any 4200 rpm 64 GB
drives, and even if there might be one somewhere, none are listed on any
compatibility list, so that 64 GB limitation is moot.

Ok, so that's (most of) the bad news. The good news is that the mixer
section of the AW4416 is basically an O2R, which means that it has very
flexible routing and I/O options. There are several ways to use aux. sends,
and depending on what I/O expansion you get, several ways to create
returns. I do like the mic pres and sound of the inputs better than the
Roland units. And, if you want "hi-end" A/D, Apogee makes an 8-input card
for the AW4416 at a reasonable price (for them). The EQ and dynamics
processing on each input is also a great feature.

The recorder section of the unit is OK, with a fairly flexible set of scene
and marker options. However, the Roland "scrub" functions actually work
like reel-rocking, whereas Yamaha's idea of this is more like fine-tuning a
radio. Editing on either of these products is a bit of a pain, but usable
if you must.

All-in-all, Yamaha offers a lot for the money, but IMO falls short of
providing a solid OS. Careful use, careful selection of options, and taking
time to learn the things to avoid gives you great sounding recorder with a
good deal of flexibility.

Hope this helps some...

--
Neil Gould
----------------------------------------------------------------
Terra Tu AV http://www.terratu.com
Technical Graphics & Media

Rich Wilner

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Jan 11, 2003, 4:45:56 PM1/11/03

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make sure you look at the akai DPS24. mine has been a joy to use and
it makes the VS-2480 look like a toy. built-in effects, dynamics, CD
burner, 12 decent mic pres, the OS is upgradable via USB, the works.
check it out at www.akaipro.com. I think the street price is
somewhere around $2.5k now.
Rich

"Lizard" <jat...@adelphia.net> wrote in message news:<_eBT9.77165$VA5.11...@news1.news.adelphia.net>...

Taylor Miller

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Jan 11, 2003, 10:57:39 PM1/11/03

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I agree with Rich. I've owned the 2480 and now the DPS24. Two different
leagues altogether.

Sam Schmenk

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Jan 13, 2003, 11:02:22 AM1/13/03

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I have a 2816 and love it. My prior "system" was a Mackie 24-4 and 2
ADAT's with external outboard. From the old system, the 2816 was a
huge leap forward for me in terms of sound quality and overall usage.

Can't speak for a 4416, but if it's only half a K, I'd jump on it for
the add'l features. There is a learning curve for these machines
though. The manual is good and tech heavy, but for a novice, it might
take some additional time to get accustomed to. In other words, you
will really need to read and understand the manual. Once you get the
basics, you'll be fine and you'll continue to amaze yourself with new
tricks.

My personal opinion as an hobbyist, is any of these stand alone
machines are rich boys toys. Certainly pro tools, O2R, or D8B is
required for pro studio applications. That said, it's fabulous for
hobbyist ego overkill self production. Coupled with a great set of
studio monitors, mics, and performance, you can do some great things
on them.

My $.02 less capital gains $.0040
SS

Lizard

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Jan 14, 2003, 2:32:56 PM1/14/03

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Is it easy to use/learn?

"Rich Wilner" <richar...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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