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The Value Of Second Hand Pro Tools HDX Cards & HD I/O Systems Are Dropping Fast - Now Could Be A Good Time To Grab An Avid Bargain

Dan Cooper - Pro Tools Expert

I’ve been suffering from a bit of a studio dilemma over the last six months. I have an HDX 1 card slotted into a 2009 Mac Pro with a single 16x16 Avid HD I/O hanging off the card’s port 1 providing 16 analog inputs and 16 outputs into Pro Tools Ultimate. Not a bad system at all but I’ve gradually outgrown this I/O count. I’ve got to the point where I now need more I/O to be able to record more inputs into Pro Tools for tracking drums. Below is the Avid I/O setup I’ve been using over the last couple of years:

Inputs:

  1. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 1

  2. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 2

  3. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 3

  4. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 4

  5. TL Audio PA-1 Input A

  6. TL Audio PA-1 Input A

  7. Tegler VTRC Input

  8. Avid HD Input 8 - Unused

  9. Schwerkraft Input L

  10. Schwerkraft Input R

  11. EQP-1 Input L

  12. EQP-1 Input R

  13. Creme Input L

  14. Creme Input R

  15. Avid HD Input 15 - Unused

  16. Avid HD Input 16 - Unused

Outputs:

  1. Main Output L To Monitor Controller

  2. Main Output R To Monitor Controller

  3. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  4. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  5. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  6. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  7. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  8. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  9. Schwerkraft Output L

  10. Schwerkraft Output R

  11. EQP-1 Output L

  12. EQP-1 Output R

  13. Creme Output L

  14. Creme Output R

  15. Avid HD Output 15 - Unused

  16. Avid HD Output 16 - Unused

The way I have utilised this available I/O meant I had my three Tegeler Audio outboard units “hard wired” into matching sets of inputs and outputs which enabled me to quickly incorporate any order of these devices into a Pro Tools session via hardware inserts.

The only downside to this is that I used up 6 of the 16 available inputs, 7 of which are taken up by my mic pres. I’ve always kept I/O available for 15 & 16 so that I can easily wire in, test and review products for Production Expert without needing to pull half of my studio cabling out to do so.

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I’ve considered installing a patch bay and wiring the Avid I/O and outboard gear to the patch bay to enable me to free up some inputs for outboard micpres, but from experience I know that I get lazy with physically patching outboard which kind of defeats the purpose of owning this type of gear in the first place if your not going to put the work in getting it all to perform. For me, the outboard I use regularly must be at my fingertips and ready to rock in a Pro Tools session without any faff to get audio running through it.

Here in lies the dilemma. I need more inputs for tracking but I’m not prepared to sacrifice my hardware inserts. What solutions could remedy this?

What Options Could Take To Increase My Pro Tools HDX I/O Count

Focusrite RedNet system was a serious consideration to getting more I/O. I’ve been using it for a couple of months in a fully kitted out Pro Tools HDX studio and I must say it’s an impressive system to say the least. The prices of the RedNet 5 HD bridge & RedNet 4 pres are very competitive and what’s smart about this system is that RedNet can be used along side existing Avid HD I/O interfaces… but I felt more inclined to either expand on the Avid eco system I already had or ditch it all together and go fully RedNet.

I typically come over all ODC when it comes to these types of studio tech decisions as I’m more comfortable with the idea of an integrated matching system not a patchwork quilt of gear. Though I’m sure RedNet running alongside my HD I/O would had worked brilliantly for me I chose to explore the prices of new and used grey face Avid HD I/O and I was quite shocked to see just how much the prices of these units second hand had dropped.

New Avid HD 8x8 interfaces typically sell for around the £3,000 mark, which was roughly the price of these new when they launched seven years ago. On eBay I found a handful of these for around half that price. One auction was asking £1,200, I made the seller an offer and won the bid at £800 which I think is an absolute bargain for expanding my current system though I remembered I needed to chain a number of mic pres off it to get more recording channels into Pro Tools.

Choosing an 8 channel mic pre wasn’t difficult. Audient’s 880 has a great reputation for sounding great at a reasonable price. New, these units sell for around £800 but after my bargain Avid HD I/O find I was feeling lucky so I ventured back into the world of eBay to hunt down a second hand unit. As luck had it there was an auction asking £600 that I felt was a bit steep. A cheeky offer of £400 secured the deal, total spend £1,200 on expanding the I/O in my Pro Tools HDX rig but the story doesn’t end their, I had to reach for my wallet a couple more times. I had to get an Avid Mini-DigiLink cable to connect the extra HD I/O to the spare port on my HDX card and two 75 Ohm BNC cables to loop sync the devices together which added another £75 to the spend.

My Newly Updated Avid HD I/O Setup

Inputs Across Both 16x16x16 & 8x8x8:

  1. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 1

  2. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 2

  3. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 3

  4. Focusrite ISA 428 Mkii Input 4

  5. TL Audio PA-1 Input A

  6. TL Audio PA-1 Input A

  7. Tegler VTRC Input

  8. Avid HD Input 8 - Unused

  9. Schwerkraft Input L

  10. Schwerkraft Input R

  11. EQP-1 Input L

  12. EQP-1 Input R

  13. Creme Input L

  14. Creme Input R

  15. Avid HD Input 15 - Unused

  16. Avid HD Input 16 - Unused

  17. Audient 880 Input 1

  18. Audient 880 Input 2

  19. Audient 880 Input 3

  20. Audient 880 Input 4

  21. Audient 880 Input 5

  22. Audient 880 Input 6

  23. Audient 880 Input 7

  24. Audient 880 Input 8

Outputs Across Both 16x16x16 & 8x8x8:

  1. Avid HD Output 1 - Unused

  2. Avid HD Output 2 - Unused

  3. Avid HD Output 3 - Unused

  4. Avid HD Output 4 - Unused

  5. Avid HD Output 5 - Unused

  6. Avid HD Output 6 - Unused

  7. Avid HD Output 7 - Unused

  8. Avid HD Output 8 - Unused

  9. Schwerkraft Output L

  10. Schwerkraft Output R

  11. EQP-1 Output L

  12. EQP-1 Output R

  13. Creme Output L

  14. Creme Output R

  15. Avid HD Output 15 - Unused

  16. Avid HD Output 16 - Unused

  17. Main Output L To Monitor Controller

  18. Main Output R To Monitor Controller

  19. Avid HD Output 19 - Unused

  20. Avid HD Output 20 - Unused

  21. Avid HD Output 21 - Unused

  22. Avid HD Output 22 - Unused

  23. Avid HD Output 23 - Unused

  24. Avid HD Output 24 - Unused

For the money I don’t think I could have found a better, more cost effective solution. If I was to buy the Avid HD I/O and Audient 880 new I would have had to shell out nearly £4,000. A RedNet solution would have been just over £2,000. It’s always worth checking for used gear if budget is a factor. I wasn’t prepared to break the bank over this studio dilemma but I was keen to address it.

Through my research I was quite surprised at the second hand value of Pro Tools HDX related Hardware. There were HDX cards listed for less than £2,000, which if a sensible offer were to be made could quite possibly secure it for a lot less. The blue face 192 HD I/O boxes are also going for a couple of hundred pounds which was again another consideration of mine but the ages of these devices put me off.

If you are looking to expand the I/O in your Pro Tools HDX rig then I strongly recommend you search the used ads. Many of these devices are going for a lot less than you think. Lots of big Pro Tools HDX studios are switching out their HD boxes for fully RedNet system meaning you can save quite a lot of money on these grey face boxes.

If You Were In My Shoes, What Solution Would You Had Chosen?

The options I found were to buy either a new or used grey face Avid HD I/O with an eight channel mic pre or switch it out for a full RedNet rig. Put yourself in my shoes, which of these solutions would you had chosen, or would you have gone for something different altogether?

Discuss…

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