Using Premiere (and Audition) CC 2018 on macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 (Mac Pro 5,1 and MacBook Pro). Curious what current hardware solutions people are using to monitor and mix surround and multi-channel audio? Looking for USB 2 or USB 3 solutions (not Thunderbolt) that would allow mapping to each speaker for 5.1 or 7.1 setups. Searching through forums and only finding old posts referencing fairly outdated and unavailable hardware. Unfortunately, HDMI embedded audio out solutions will not work and would like to avoid Toslink S/PDIF through a receiver.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Surround Monitoring, USB Hardware Solutions?
- Thread starter bsbeamer
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The way it works in Logic is you use an audio interface with a sufficient number of discrete output channels, then connect a speaker to each one - incl. a sub-woofer. In the preferences you configure with speaker (L/C/R/LS/RS/LFE etc.) is connected to which output of the audio interface.
My guess is it works similarly in Adobe products, but I have not verified this.
My guess is it works similarly in Adobe products, but I have not verified this.
It is basically exactly the same setup within Adobe. I am curious what current audio interface people are using/recommending with macOS 10.13 these days. Recall the PreSonus Firestudio being highly recommended years ago, but has been discontinued.
Ah, I see. I probably can't help you too much (my 5.1 mixing days were years ago, using a FireWire interface). I have two USB audio interfaces myself, an Audient iD14 hooked up to my iMac at home and an Apogee Duet that I carry for recording with my MacBook Pro. They work great with Macs, but neither of them has the number of outputs required for what you are trying to do; I mention it just because my research leading to these purchases has led me to believe that the quality differences that justify the enormous price range of these interfaces are mostly on the input side, i.e. quality of the pre-amps and ADCs. I hear a lot less talking about quality differences for the outputs.
With that in mind, if I were you I'd take a look at the Behringer U-PHORIA UMC1820. Not the prettiest unit (in my opinion), but plenty of outputs and an attractive price tag. The Behringer FCA610 might also be worth a look.
Thanks, will take a look. Saw the UMC1820 from Sweetwater and wasn't sure if it was actually compatible for this usage, or if something else would be "better" for this. There's a few similar units to that. The FCA610 has some really bad reviews of late with units suddenly not functioning or dropping out. Wonder if that is their cheaper line? Have used a ton of Behringer gear over the years and almost always have positive experiences.
Unfortunately, no one really reviews the quality of outputs on these audio interfaces. Everyone's concerned with what it sounds like going in for recording purposes, not what it sounds like coming out. Truthfully, could probably get away with one of the cheap USB cards on Amazon and use a bunch of adapters, but it's not ideal and I am concerned with quality if using it to monitor for mixes.
Unfortunately, no one really reviews the quality of outputs on these audio interfaces. Everyone's concerned with what it sounds like going in for recording purposes, not what it sounds like coming out. Truthfully, could probably get away with one of the cheap USB cards on Amazon and use a bunch of adapters, but it's not ideal and I am concerned with quality if using it to monitor for mixes.
Exactly. Again, I believe this is in part because there is less variation in the output quality between the many different USB audio interfaces than there is in the input quality. I am not an audio professional, but I can hear and appreciate the difference in recording quality between low, mid, and high-end solutions, but I cannot say the same about output quality. For output, unless you go to high-end dedicated DACs (which would cost significantly more), I don't think you'll see much of a difference.