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[supernova777]

What Mac soundcards will work with Pro Tools FREE?
While any Mac sound card with *properly written* Sound Manager input and output drivers should work
with Pro Tools FREE, Digidesign has not fully qualified any of these sound cards for operation with
Pro Tools FREE 5.0.1.

What is Sound Manager?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Manager
The Sound Manager is a part of the classic Apple Macintosh operating system, in Classic Mac OS. It is used to control the production and manipulation of sounds on Macintosh computers.

Using a sound manager capable interface as listed here, will add recording capabilities to powermac's lacking an audio input, such as the quicksilver + digital audio models.

It's important to realize that this is something completley different from ASIO in how the actual hardware communicates with the operating system.
for more info visit :
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec98/articles/applenotes.795.htm

PLEASE NOTE:
Regardless of how many inputs + outputs an interface has,
i believe it will only function as 2 in (stereo L/R) and 2 out when using sound manager + mac os.
but ive also read that some manufacturers drivers are customizable in that u can pick + choose which of the outputs to assign to the sound manager in/outs. not sure if this means that remaining ins/outs would be assignable to ASIO and therefore simultaneously usable with another application, or whether they would simply not function while sound manager is being used. ive also read that some interaces that offer midi i/o would render the midi ports unusable at the same time as sound manager.

**DISCLAIMER** These are THEORETICAL SUGGESTIONS based on the above info direct frm Digidesign, and thus far UNCONFIRMED**


Audiophile 2496
http://www.pallier.org/ressources/enregistrements/Audiophile2496_Manual.pdf
pdf manual makes reference to setting sound manager to "delta"


Audiophile USB

The Macintosh Sound Manager will allow you to select the Audiophile USB
as the system’s audio input and output device. Open the Apple menu and
select “Sound” from the Control Panels list. Then choose Audiophile as
both input and output driver.

tascam us-122
http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/311/US122_Eng.pdf
has a section in the pdf about "Setting up Sound Manager Support – pre-Mac OS X"


Edirol UA-25
http://www.rolandus.com/products/details/704
claims to have sound manager driver support on this page
rear view: http://www.roland.com/products/en/UA-25/images/image_02_L.jpg


Edirol UA-5
http://www.dr-jordan-design.de/ua5.htm
this page details show sound manager compatibility


ESI Waveterminal U2A
http://www.esi-audio.com/products/u2a/
claims to have sound manager driver support on this page


RME Digi 96 series cards
http://www.rme-audio.de/old/english/download/drivers.htm
claims to have sound manager driver support on this page


Emagic EMI 2|6
claims to have sound manager driver support on this page
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/8181/emi-2-6-driver


m-audio Quattro
claims to have sound manager support in its pdf manual
http://ec1.images-amazon.com/media/i3d/01/A/man-migrate/MANUAL000018753.pdf

When working with the Macintosh Sound Manager, the USB Audio Quattro also
functions as a 2 input, 2 output device only

so it seems it loses its midi capabilities in sound manager mode


Sound Blaster Live! mac edition
(hack a pc version to mac! see this thread: http://macos9lives.com/smforum/index.php?topic=1776.msg11169#msg11169)
this will probably be the cheapest option


Delta 1010LT
this article claims mac sound manager support
http://www.macworld.com/article/1020215/delta.html


Motu 828
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul01/articles/motu828.asp
article makes reference to sound manager "The 828 comes with an ASIO 2 driver plus support for MacOS Sound Manager, for the benefit of those who want to use it with iTunes or listen to audio CDs via the interface."


Korg 1212
http://informus.com.br/1212_general_info.htm
" When using these programs with the 1212 I/O as the Sound Manager (MacOS) or Wave (Windows 95) output device, use the 1212 I/O Utility to set the 1212 I/O's sample rate to 44.1kHz."


Roland DA-2498
www.roland.com/products/en/DA-2496/
page mentions sound manager support
"ASIO2.0 (Win/Mac), MME (WIN), WDM (WinXP/2000), Sound Manager (MacOS), CoreAudio (Mac OS X)"

if u know of an addition to this list please post!

[supernova777]

i know arjen_1 has a Waveterminal.. perhaps he can test if it works with PTFree & its sound manager driver?

i can test the Delta 1010LT.

if the delta 1010LT supports sound manager im guessing most of the M-audio Interfaces will also!
this goes for the Edirol/Roland Interfaces that support mac os 9 aswell..
 
maybe someone else with a Sound Blaster Live can test that? (i dont have one)

http://www.motu.com/techsupport/technotes/document.1999-02-25.9569614158
this document discusses pci sound manager support but im not sure to which motu cards its referring..

heres more on motu & sound manager:
http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/articles/motu-issue-motu-audio-interface-sound-manager-applications/
seems to be referencing the PCI-324 card

[MacTron]

iMic, I mean Griffin iMic

I also have an old unbranded USB audio similar to Griffin iMic, with audio stereo in/out under Sound Manager. (But 5.1 out under ASIO)

[Protools5LEGuy]

I also have an old unbranded USB audio similar to Griffin iMic, with audio stereo in/out under Sound Manager. (But 5.1 out under ASIO)

I am sure a photo will help us find them on eBay. There are trillions USB sticks out there.

OT: Is SoundManager limited to 44.1 kHz and 16 bits?

Later added
http://web.archive.org/web/20041011153518/http://developer.apple.com/documentation/mac/Sound/Sound-44.html is not clear enough.

[supernova777]

OT: Is SoundManager limited to 44.1 kHz and 16 bits?

Later added
http://web.archive.org/web/20041011153518/http://developer.apple.com/documentation/mac/Sound/Sound-44.html is not clear enough.

yes it is, GOOD POINT! i have seen documentation stating that interfaces that support sound manager must be put into 44.1 mode for it to work correctly.
and that is Directly on topic!! not off-topic;)

great link too from the web archive.. thanks for that addition

[Knezzen]

Don't pretty much every sound card support Sound Manager?

Digidesigns TDM cards does, so add Pro Tools 24 and Pro Tools 24 MIX to the list as well.
And all the M-Audio Delta series cards.

[arjen_1]

i know arjen_1 has a Waveterminal.. perhaps he can test if it works with PTFree & its sound manager driver?

Hi,
The Esi Waveterminal u24 doesn't support soundmanager. Aiso only. I've sold my waveterminal....The Rme card is better.
Greetz,
Arjen

[supernova777]

The Esi Waveterminal u24 doesn't support soundmanager. Aiso only. I've sold my waveterminal....The Rme card is better.

http://www.esi-audio.com/products/u24xl/
i see now that u had a different waveterminal then the one i listed above.  my mistake.

[supernova777]

Don't pretty much every sound card support Sound Manager?

only if the drivers were written. some do.. others dont..
the pt of this thread though is more to focus on the widely available + easily obtainable options.. so im not about to suggest to a noob who wants to use pro tools free to buy a 24mix system!!!!

the goal is to help those who want to learn + use pro tools free.

[IIO]

Don't pretty much every sound card support Sound Manager?

of course. the soundmanager is part of the OS and that is the only "soundmanager driver" you can have.

i dont even know why i care to answer to this thread.

[supernova777]

of course. the soundmanager is part of the OS and that is the only "soundmanager driver" you can have.

i think its BLATANTLY CLEAR that certain hardware has support for sound manager, and others do not.
that is, the ability for a peice of hardware to take over for the built in audio hardware and to function as the sound manager device.
some pieces of addon hardware have this capability, and others do not, hence the purpose for this thread, to assist someone new to the boards,
looking to use protools free, but they have a quicksilver or digital audio mac, this list is for them to peruse the options.
now please...your statement above is incorrect, PLEASE BE QUIET if u dont have anything of value to add.

[DieHard]

The ability for a piece of hardware to take over for the built in audio hardware and to function as the sound manager device.

I am looking for my list, which I fear is lost, but we tested about 4 or 5 interfaces back in the day with proTools free and even though they had sound manager support, they did not totally work in PT free.  So I suggest that we get people who have these interfaces to test it and then we can make a "Known working" list. The SB for mac (or PC with our drivers) should be a good candidate, did anyone test it yet ?

[supernova777]

yep the whole pt of the thread  is to get a list of them together.. and get some confirmed results for peopel to rely on.. thats why, for now, theres a disclaimer at the top..
hopefully we can give the top 3 *confirmed* reccommendations at a later date.

im not sure of the tascam us-122 (not the 122L) as ive never had one but for the features it looks like it could be a really great starter interface for pt free.

i think it might be the only one with inserts on the inputs

[MacTron]

I also have an old unbranded USB audio similar to Griffin iMic, with audio stereo in/out under Sound Manager. (But 5.1 out under ASIO)

I am sure a photo will help us find them on eBay. There are trillions USB sticks out there.

Here you have a picture. I know that this can't serve a lot of help ...



EDITED TO ADD:
This unbranded USB audio interface and the Griffin iMic works with Pro tools Free 5.1

[supernova777]

http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre/

Mac® OS 9, Sound Manager compatible, OS X Core Audio (32-bit only), PowerPC or Intel-based Mac

heres another usb device ive never seen before

also another pci, ive never coem across aswell:

http://www.digigram.com/products/product_infos.php?prod_key=11750

    6 simultaneous inputs/outputs.
    4 balanced analog inputs/outputs +4 dBu/-10dBV.
    Balanced digital stereo input/output in AES/EBU or S/PDIF formats.
    Versatility and exceptional audio quality:
        Sample rate: 8 to 96 kHz.
        PCM resolution: 8,16 or 24 bit.
        Excellent audio performance, even at lowest resolution.
    Very low latency, due to hardware and software architecture (by default at 48 kHz: 8ms, minimum: 1.5 ms).
    Multiple applications may share the resources of a single card.
    Dedicated control interface permits routing and mixing between different hardware and virtual inputs/outputs.
    Universal PCI compatibility (3.3V ready)

Manual:
http://www.digigram.com/download.php?w=pdfmanual&product=1827&key=f70d2cd294a2b23f96b40f5a48d108c0

seems to be a midiman delta type card thats been rebranded to "digigram" brand

[Knezzen]

So, once more. Im confirming that the Pro Tools MIX 24 and MIX systems works with Sound Manager, as well as these Digidesign cards:

Pro Tools|HD
Digi 002
Digi 001
Mbox
Audiomedia III
Project II

Same with the M-Audio Delta series of cards (they all use the same driver).

And of course no one would recommend a MIX 24 system to a "n00b", but that was not the purpose of the thread anyway. You wanted Sound Manager supported hardware, and I posted the supported hardware I know of.

[supernova777]

also,
the documentation of the generic ploytec usb driver (http://www.usb-audio.com/) appears to say that it can be used with sound manager... by disabling an extension

http://www.usb-audio.com/install.pdf

How do i use USB Audio via Sound manager?
Switch off the “PGUSBAudioDriver” via “Extensions Manager” and replug the interface

[supernova777]

And of course no one would recommend a MIX 24 system to a "n00b", but that was not the purpose of the thread anyway. You wanted Sound Manager supported hardware, and I posted the supported hardware I know of.

of course knez:) thank u for contributing;)
but using sound manager for pro tools free compatibility when u have a digi or ptmix system is kind of backwards hehe when u could use normal version of the app

i have just read that event/Echo Gina/Mona/Layla/Darla "24" devices do not support Sound manager
indicated in this manual: http://files.echoaudio.com/manuals/echo24_mac_manual_3.1.1.pdf

aswell many terratec devices do not support sound manager. i suppose they didnt want to go through the trouble of doing the drivers. being more pc centric.

[MacTron]

The SB for mac (or PC with our drivers) should be a good candidate, did anyone test it yet ?

I've tested it just now, and YES, The Sound Blaster Live with the Mac drivers (and iMic mod) works with Pro Tools Free 5.1.

[supernova777]

The SB for mac (or PC with our drivers) should be a good candidate, did anyone test it yet ?

I've tested it just now, and YES, The Sound Blaster Live with the Mac drivers (and iMic mod) works with Pro Tools Free 5.1.

great news... this is definately the cheapest, easily available option. these cards were distributed all over the world.