Original Message 1/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  05:43 AM   -   Standalone D-A necessary?

influx

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I was thinking Id like to try to start running my mixes through say a 16ch analog board...one that has that "sound"...maybe an old soundcraft or A&H...

JUST to set levels and panning pretty much, and the output buss. Maybe get one good compressor to put on the mains...

so..at first I thought maybe get like a hammerfall or something...say 16-24adat outs, and then maybe a Swissonic DA24 or the like

and then I thought well hell...two delta 1010s woud give me 16 outs..or two 2408s?

so my question is, are the DAs on these things "sufficient?" Is it really necessary to get standalone DA converters? Theyre not cheap!

another option would be the Hammerfall with a couple of the 8 out expansions?

and then that goes back to..is there really a point to breaking things out? does it really sound more "open"?

I guess thats why I want to try..to see if I like the way it sounds..you know...crank the channels a bit...see what the FX sound like comin off the PC through a mixer..etc?

hit me with some thought here, fellas! damballah? Psy? Mindspawn? Anyone else with experience with this?

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Message 2/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  06:28 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

d

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There's a diminishing returns thing with all this: you can get some degree of quality spending not a whole lot up to a point and then every little improvement costs you a whole lot. An apogee DA-16 would run you, what, 2800US or so new, and you'd still need sumpin like an RME 9636 to feed it lightpipe signals (and some people contend the apogee's sound ain't all that). MOTU's 24i/o system's about half what the Apogee DA is. Does it sound that much inferior? Maybe if you're mixing some audiophile jazz records, but otherwise... I dunno. Also, does motu's stuff behave any better with winders than it used to?

yes, getting your ad and da out of the environs of the computer does help.

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Message 3/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  06:56 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

psylichon

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High-end A/Ds and D/As can make the last bit of difference in your chain. My boss (who is a sick fucking audiophile) claims his Apogee PSX-100 delivers warmer digital mixes on the master buss than analog. Of course, having 24 channels of that quality would be serious overkill, but it does make a difference.

But not for what you do. Get a 2408 or Hammerfall (both great converters with expandability) and get the signal in a nice warm board. It will make a difference, especially for drums. But don't be tempted to run EVERYTHING through it.... some things should be clean  

psy

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Message 4/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  07:22 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

influx

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right, but I dont have to OD everything. I mean..if its not gained up at all, just where it belongs, itll stay clean, no?

I need to research something with 16 analog outs. heck maybe even 24 

nah..16 would be enough. group the drums, etc...

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Message 5/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  08:06 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

smudge

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Hiya Influx

I am running three delta 410's (24 outs) through a Mackie 32:8:8 with outboard focusrite compression, Lexicon verbs and TC delays. Best of both worlds I reckon. I'm going to have a ramble now. So I don't use verb, delay or compression plug-ins (but I am after that vintage warmer for indivdual tracks) and I overload the gain pots for distortion so don't bother with distortion plugs either. I think running 24 card outs down a analogue board replaces some of that "digital glassey" sound that some people get when mixing inside the computer. Hope that helps.

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Message 6/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  08:15 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

Influx

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well...sure...thats the point. so maybe the deltas are ok, too

Ill be using plugins tho. Im not about to go buy racks of gear again.

anyone ever use the old A&H SR series boards? they make a 16...

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Message 7/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  08:31 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

Influx

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24 channels of input and output^^^^

only need OUTPUT tho!

looked at RME. Get the digi9636 and two AEO-8s, would give me 16 channels of analog out, but on unbalanced cables (they use send/return cables to do it)

looked at ST Audio, too, but to get 16ch would require TWO dsp24 cards, and TWO of DACIIIs

then theres M-Audio, and I guess I could get two delta 1010s, or two 410s, but I dont like the RCAs on the 410s

heh.

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Message 8/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  09:34 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

smudge

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what does rca stand for again?

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Message 9/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  10:09 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

smudge

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their gold plated and everything.

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Message 10/43                 Date: 21-Jul-03  @  10:20 AM   -   RE: Standalone D-A necessary?

psylichon

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I would get a second-hand mk2 or 3 MOTU 2408 and a Presonus Digimax LE for the second bank of 8 analogs. Or a used ADAT.

psy

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