Hello everyone here at Da7 forum!

I have been seriously thinking of re-newing my equipment lately.. Gonna buy me a couple of flat-screen lcd monitors and getting things a bit neater in my studio. So I have been wondering if maybe its about time to get myself a new digital board with "upgraded" pre`s and smaller in size compared to the Da7. But, there is still room for doubt in my mind when it comes to the Da7...

Is the Yamaha 01v96 a better choise for me? I am using Cubase SX these days as my main DAW and I rearly use the Da7 for anything but micpre/routing to my Adat soundcard. And for monitoring back via Adat again into channel 17-18..

Heh.. I guess my real question is : Should i get a new mixer or not? Does the Yamaha pre`s sound better than the Da7`s? Any of you people using the Yamaha o1v96?

Hi and welcome.
If 96K is a must, then the DA7 is out of the running. It only does 48K.
I have only good things to say about my (2) DA7's. Ramsa and this site have been super. But things are changing. I don't know about your area, but here, Panasonic is out of the pro audio market. The DA7 is still available other places, just not here in the USA. Does this mean I will be selling mine? No even close. The boards are great and (IMHO) have better pre's than the Yamaha's. I also like the layout of the DA7's over the Yamaha's.
But in the US, Yamaha won the war. They have lots of new gear out and have a long history. I also have Yamaha gear and I'm very happy with it.
So ask yourself, do I go with a mixer or outboard gear? Do I want 96K?
I (and many more here) can tell you, the DA7 is a powerful mixer that has a great sound. You just need to see if it fills your needs.

Correct me if I'm wrong,

But I checked out the O2R 96 (I know it's not the 01...) and I thought that the gating section was totally lame. As far as I could see (fiddling around with it at the store) there is no way to set the gating threshold lower than -60db. That's fine for gating drums and such, but a lot of samplers and synths have a noise floor around -80db and I am able to get my 3 DA7s to gate out all my gear's noise while still being imperceptible when I play quiet sounds. I have about 70 channels of samplers and such so for me the O2R route would be a noisy one... or did I miss something?

Andrew K

The 01V96 has a lot more headroom than the DA7.
Can use 16 faders at a time in remote mode and u can set up the custom buttons to do what u like to control the daw.
Sound wise the 01v sounds a little thiner than the DA7 but really clean and that was when I set everything at flat.
EQ in the 01V....hate it...didn't really get a chance to try any other effects or dynamics.
If I make a change from the DA7 it will be to a Yamaha DM1000...big features...bass management and touch sensitive faders which sets up the the channel strip without pushing a whole lot of buttons.
For the money the 01V is a bargin with all the features it has to offer, but the multi button pushing to get around the desk will drive u nuts. Oh and that little green screen was not for me either.

Nick

Thank you for your replies everyone. I have been reading some reviews of the 01v96 today, and i do get the feeling it is a great mixer at a good price..

The 16 daw faders at a time option is a nice feature, and i like the size of the mixer as well compared to the Da7. A couple more XLR mic inputs won`t kill me either. I have been using the Da7 since -98 so its not that i know its features, but as i said earlier, it`s time to upgrade.. Maybe i should save some more money and go for the DM-1000 later.
Time will tell. Again thank you for your replies.

Haven't we leaned that regardless of what the glossy brochures might say its not printed specifications, fancy feature sets or higher sampling rates that makes one (digital) console sound better than the next?

Are we aware that it happens to be the right combination of analog circuitry, well regulated and isolated power supplies and properly applied DSP processing that make one "more musical" sounding then the next.

HELL... even at 96-192kHz sample rates most mixers have typically more tha 10dB cross talk and residual noise and 3dB less dynamic-range than the DA7?

Have you checked your rear-end latley? …it should be obvious to some that with 24 channels of AES/EBU, TDIF and ADAT I/O options along with control room talkback and two studio monitor paths the DA7 can be used in music recording, postproduction and broadcast.

Let's face it, mixing 38 or more inputs on three or four layers with 48 comp/limiters and 4-band EQ’s can be challenging but not with the DA7; a logical layout with 21 faders, color coded LED’s, rotary controls, single-button operation and short-cuts, individual channel flip, a custom 4th fader layer and an optional meter bridge, make it easy, it's not a keyboard mixer on steroids..

Sad but true...The (much beloved) RAMSA WR-DA7 is no longer being sold in the U.S. **They are still in production (for a little while longer) in Japan .

Some accessories such as meter-bridges, tandem cards analog I/O and MAX software are getting harder to find in the U.S. The manufactures 1 year warranty repair and replacement parts are still available at www.panasonic.com.

The end of an era...The last rear engine Volkswagen "Bug" rolled off the Tijuana, Mexico assembly line yesterday.

Good luck and [FLAME ON]…

you forgot to mention how cute the DA7 is.

seriously, though, tip top answer. higher sample rates don't guarentee anything. the DA7 always seemed more of an analogue/digital hybrid to me compared to the compitition, which is why i chose it. most other brands simply don't have the mastery in analogue design, especially when you consider digital design is still pretty much in it's infancy compared to the history an analogue circuit has. ramsa are past masters in this field, so i couldn't see me sell up eitherway.
j

You could actually get a Motu 2408 MKIII or a Hammerfall, use their analog inputs/outputs, and get rid of your mixer altogether if you want to streamline.
But I just like my DA7.
Jim K.

I agree with maric, too. Higher sampling rates mean dodo, except for hard-drive manufacturers, at least until you hit 192k... then MAYBE! The bottom line is it STILL needs to be playable by the masses meaning Sample Rate Conversion and you will pay top $ for good SRC, e.g. Weiss sfc2 @ $3500 www.weiss.ch/sfc2/sfc2.html .

jkruta, I tried going mixerless and it just wasn't a happening thing - even though I mix in Pro Tools and only use the DA7 for monitoring. First, it didn't sound as good. But even if I were to get different converters, it was a hassle switching programs to adjust a fader.

Then I managed to turn on the mixerless mixer without my word clock generator on and blew out two tweeters from the digital pssshhh. Yeah I'm a putz, but the DA7 just gives you a word clock error message when that happens.

Going mixerless is appealing, but I've decided that there's a reason for having a mixer - even if it's big and only sits off to my side instead of in between the speakers now. It's just too convenient to give up.