Inputs vs. outputs

General
1

In my first few days with the Meta I’ve found that I rarely use all the outputs, and I always want more inputs. Obviously other people will have other use cases — the Meta can do almost anything — but I suspect one very common use will be a pair of stereo outs and a ton of modulation ins (and audio ins, in the case of effects patches).

So I was surprised to notice that the I/O extender seems to have six ins and eight outs. Given the existing eight outs on the module, I’d prefer to see an extender with 14 ins! (Or maybe eight ins, two knobs, four buttons.)

Curious if others have the same experience or if I’m an outlier. Maybe you guys are all making matrix mixers!

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2

Hi,

I keep looking and haven’t found any, so I have to ask:
Where is the information on expanders?

-james

3

I dont know how official these are, but there are links on Modular Grid for them (with the exception of the wifi expander)

4

I don’t believe 4ms put these up - someone took the shapes from one of the many videos about. No wi-fi version as there wasn’t a clear shot of it. There are several comments about (here, modwiggler etc) where Dan has explained that they will be producing the expanders over the next few months starting with the wi-fi expander, hopefully available September/October. So I would guess they would be rolling these out over the next few months thereafter - which all seems very reasonable to me. Target price suggested around $100. This is early pre-sale info so obviously things may change. I’m sure the forum will be one of the first places for the real announcement(s) in due course.

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5

Gotcha. I use MG all the time to find new modules AND plan my own setup. The first time I saw expander info was through MG’s posts.

6

Is there an update on when the expanders will be available?

7

I see your point. Though it depends on if you using it as a modulator or modulating it. I’m very new to this module but I see NLC modules like triple sloths and would like all those outputs.

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8

MAYBE early November for the Wifi Expander?

9

I just wanted to voice my agreement with this post. For me it seems kind of obvious that most users will want/need more inputs than outputs. This might be a pipe dream, but wouldn’t it be amazing if we could choose whether a jack is an input or an output? I’m not sure whether the hardware would allow for that.

10

no hardware codecs (analog ) IO is not interchangeable, inputs use ADCs, outputs use DACs. ( *)

note: digital, on some pins, some chips can be read or write configurable.

often the number of ins/outs you see will be a simple reflection of the codec chosen, and what it has a available - given it the layout is same as MM, its likely same/similar chip in use?

as for wider, ins vs outs…
generally sure,
but if you’re using the MM as a modulator, or you want separate signals (perc or osc outputs) - then lots of outs is great.

so it depends… with limit ins, you can still be ‘cunning’, since you can generate modulation internally (and just sync via e.g. gate), or use midi, so there are options.

unfortunately, as we see all too often in eurorack, if you have a lack of outputs there is nothing you can do…

my personal preference though is a 2:1 ratio of in/out … e.g. 8/4 16/8, seems to be a reasonable compromise.

( *) ok, I believe with the likes of FPGAs you can do this BUT these are expensive / specialised knowledge, they are not really a viable option for most devs

11

Personally I love having more outputs! I have the I/O expander and I find my self using all the outputs and not so many inputs. It depends on how your MM works with your case. I love using the MM as a modulation source and for sequencing so more outputs are great! But I can see that having more inputs would be great too!

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