Will a 003 Factory & an iMac make a good small studio setup?

[sleepless]

Hi People,

First post on here! I'd like to know, before I simply go out and buy it, if the cheapest iMac together with the Digidesign 003 Factory would make a good small studio setup (both from a technical point of view and a practical one)?
I currently have a lot of analogue studio gear I want to sell off and move into the modern way of recording and mixing. I used Pro-tools LE at uni 9 years ago and loved it but since built a studio based around Fostex D160 hard disk recorder and a Soundcraft 16 channel studio desk. So obviously Im aiming to keep all the things I could still use like guitars, amp simulators, leads, DAT recorders, etc, but flog the Fostex, Mixer and loads of old outboard processors that now come bundled with Pro-tools LE (or 8 whichever?)
Ive looked into it loosely but just wondered if anyone had any comments? Is this a good upgrade idea to save loads of space in my house and update my recording and mixing?
The iMac is £950, has a 2.66 processor, 2 gig RAM, 320 gig hard drive, Firewire 800 port. Im concerned about the firewire issue, do I need a special lead to connect the 003 Factory to the iMac as its Firewire 800? Ive looked on Digidesigns site where a link shows you whether your computer is compatible with Pro-tools and its the most confusing thing Ive ever seen!!

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me with this!

[TrevCircleStudios]

Yes. That'll be a pretty powerful set-up if you are planning to go ITB

[sleepless]

Hi thanks for replying. Do you know anything about the firewire thing? Also what do you mean by going ITB?

Cheers

[TrevCircleStudios]

I wasnt aware imac was FW800 nly but you can easily by a cheap adapter from Maplins.

ItB means 'in the box' ratehr than OTB (out of the box) being analogue

[terminal3]

The biggest technical hurdle with your proposed configuration is that the iMac only has the one Firewire bus... so, yes, you can get an adapter and run the 003 with no problems, you need a storage solution. In this case, a Firewire external hard disk daisy-chained to the 003 will probably be the best option - tracking to the internal drive is probably not the best idea. However, it's not quite as good a solution as a computer which can do a second Firewire bus via an expansion card (Macbook Pro 17" or previous gen 15" & 17" or Mac Pro). You may get some bottlenecking, basically, is the potential problem, but it will all still work fine - if your sessions get very dense and/or complex then you can say "I warned you," but for simple-to-medium-level complexity you'll be OK.

USB drives are not recommended for audio, although having said that I keep some sample libraries on USB disks on my Macbook Pro, but I don't record/track/mix from them. The data throughput is too stuttery for it to be reliable.

[sleepless]

Hi,
Yes on Apples site it says the firewire port is FW800 so Im guessing it is! Yes my plan is to go ITB then, Im basically sick of so much space being taken up by all the large analogue pieces of gear I have currently and just fancy moving on from hard disk tape machine style recorders to a computer system. Im guessing Pro-tools is the way to go still but Im a little out of touch. I found the LE version I used at uni years ago very straightforwards and easy to use so shouldnt find it a problem picking it back up again.
I just dont want to spend £1000 on an iMac and £1300 on a 003 Factory only to find out they dont quite work together fully you know?!

[EdRyan]

As mentioned previously, I'd look at getting a macbook pro.

Apple do some good deals on refurbished units. At the mo, there is a 15" pro with a slightly better spec then the Imac you are looking at for £1300.

http://store.apple.com/uk/product/FC...mco=MjE0NjE5MA

Its worth it for the extra ram and hard disk space. Plus the ability to use the expansion bus for a 2nd dedicated firewire card...oh and portability as well.If you need the large screen and external keyboard. You can hook these up afterwards.

My advice when buying Apple products is to take out the Applecare scheme when you purchase the mac. It's a lot cheaper then doing it afterwards, and believe me its a lot cheaper then forking out if anything goes wrong after 12 months. So far my mac has cost Apple more to fix, then it did to buy a new one. Luckily, I took the plan...so they are paying for it !