VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

tombrom · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:36 pm Post subject: DAC

Hi VO-BBers...my EM-U 1616m has broken and I need to find a quality replacement. Either a soundcard with breakout box or something else decent.
I am using my old Lexicon Omega and not happy with sound quality.

Any recommendations?
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heyguido · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 12:44 pm Post subject:

Windoze or Mac?
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tombrom · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 1:00 pm Post subject:

PC....but possibly interested in any mac recommendations too.
I use Adobe Audition (for cutting demos) and SoundForge for auditions.
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heyguido · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 2:43 pm Post subject:

Do you have a separate mic preamp or will you be using the pre in the interface?

If money is not an issue, I'd recommend the Sound Designs USBPre2. Pro quality, excellent preamps and converters. Around $600.

For portability, the Focusrite Forte. Has Focusrite's Red1 preamps, Cirrus Logic converters. Not much bigger than a deck of cards. Also around $600.

On a budget, Focusrite's Scarlett series gets George Whittam's nod, and Roland's new Octa-Capture and Quad-Capture are getting good reviews. The Octa-capture also has quite an impressive routing feature for feeding phone patches, etc.
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tombrom · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 3:58 pm Post subject:

Thanks Don! I had heard about the octothingy (sounds like James Bond!)

I have a nice Trident 4T preamp which I am happy with, so really just need a converter preferably with XLR inputs.

I will look into all those units....thanks!
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:30 pm Post subject:

I'm a huge fan of the Apogee Duet 2 (Mac). The Focusrite Forte looks mighty fine though (PC/Mac).

tombrom · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 9:46 am Post subject:

Thanks for the Apogee recommendation.

All these things sound great....but since I already have a great preamp wondering if anyone can recommend a DAC without preamps...maybe they don't exist anymore. Thanks
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markt · Been Here Awhile Joined: 14 Aug 2009 Posts: 217

The Echo Audiofire 2 is an interface only. No preamps at all. Mike Sommer used to recommend it often. I saw one on Gearslutz the day before yesterday for $100, which is a real bargain.

Mark
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Lapianoman · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:33 am Post subject:

tombrom · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:36 am Post subject:

This almost looks perfect...excuse my slight lack of techie knowledge, but is there any difference in sound quality between XLR and TRS cables? If not, then I will get it! Thanks!
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Lapianoman · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 11:56 am Post subject:

There should be no discernible difference between XLR and a balanced 1/4" (TRS) cable, BUT...don't cheap out on the cable!
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John LaPiana
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graemespicer · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 12:04 pm Post subject:

Before running off to get the Echo AudioFire 2 ...

I used to use this exact interface, and loved it. However, it DOES NOT PLAY WELL with Macs any longer (OSX 10.7.4 and later). The Echo Console application and drivers cause random digital clicks in your recordings. I worked extensively with George Whittam and the tech support team at Echo to try and solve this problem, but eventually had to get rid of the Echo product. It apparently works fine with Windows, or older versions of the Mac OSX.

I ended up with a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6, but the 2i2 would probably fit your needs just fine. A warning here as well - the Focusrite products are reported to not get along well with Source-Connect (although I seem to be just fine).

George and Beau Weaver swear by the Lexicon Alpha - a very inexpensive solution. I haven't heard it, but if it's good enough for Beau ...

http://bswusa.com/USB-Interfaces-Lexicon-ALPHA-P3282.aspx
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Leslie Humble · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 2:49 pm Post subject:

What I understand is (and please correct me if I'm wrong George, Lance, or some of our technical pros) If TRS is "balanced" the quality is the same. The main benefit to XLR (and why I use them when I can) is they lock in place better. I have also heard TRS will wear out quicker. The advantage of "balanced" vs "Unbalanced" is in its noise rejecting qualities.

btw +1 on the Echo Audiofire2. I was getting ready to plunk down some serious money on an interface to go with my Neumann, Mojave, and 416. On the advice of George I tried the Audiofire2. It has no PreAmp to interfere with my main Pre Avalon M5 and sounds and works great. I finally have the sound I spent over a year trying to work out and now can work on our craft.

I am on a PC however and it sounds like Graeme has bad Mac experience. If I had a Mac I would get the Apogee Duet.
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tombrom · Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2012 3:02 pm Post subject:

Thanks everyone...appreciate the advice.
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Thomas Bromhead
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Scolaidhe · Guest

If I understand your situation correctly, you have a preamp you like and you're looking for a converter.

May I suggest either the RME ADI-2 standalone AD/DA converter or the RME HDSP Hammerfall 9632 PCI card.

I recently got an RME ADI-2 on eBay. My preamp is the GAP PRE-73 MKII. The next morning, once I figured out roughly what settings I needed for recording -- thanks, TokyoFan, for your help -- I dashed off a couple of quick test tracks with my AT3035, which I hadn't used in years because it sounded... well, dull -- a little "woolly," you might say (AT3035 + dbx 286A + Edirol UA-25 into Audacity).

Well... I could not believe the difference when I listened to those tracks. Hoe. Lee. Cow. It was like I had a whole new mic. (Jacob Ekstroem's "Revival of a mic" thread comes to mind here.) Shocking, really. And interestingly, I didn't perceive such a big change in recording quality with either my RØDE NT1-A or the MXL V69 ME + NOS Mullard that I was testing at the time.

Of course, you'll need an interface to get the digital information from the ADI-2 into your PC. At the time I was using an Edirol UA-25 as my interface. Converter in the UA-25 versus converter in the ADI-2... night and day, as far as I'm concerned.

I've since snagged a "previously enjoyed" Hammerfall 9632 card on eBay to replace the UA-25. (The seller had just "upgraded to a Mac Pro with PCIe slots." He was selling the 9632 because "[it] is just a PCI card so it doesn't fit in the newer PCIe.") I'll be switching to that as my interface in a couple of days, when I get my optical cables from Blue Jeans Cable. (I highly recommend Blue Jeans Cable. And thank you to Ed Gambill for bringing Belden cable to my attention... I think on... some other board, if any... I don't... recall...)

So, big thumbs up from me for RME.

If you're recording straight into a PC, and it's a desktop/tower, then I would propose the 9632 (not to be confused with the 9652, which is digital only). The going "previously enjoyed" price for these on eBay since at least August seems to be in the $200-$250 range. (They sell for $529 new at Sweetwater.) The one I got was probably the fifth I've seen in that range since I started looking in August.

The ADI-2 retails for $949. I paid $536 for mine.

If you go the ADI-2 route and need an interface, my Edirol UA-25 will be on the market soon. I'm actually planning on moving my recording off the computer entirely and using a TASCAM solid-state recorder, so the 9632 will be for playback/monitoring only, and the ADI-2 will be for recording.

(With regard to studio monitors, I would like to express my appreciation for this thread -- as a result of which, I decided to go with a pair of M-Audio BX5 D2 Active Studio Monitors. Got a great deal from Zzounds.com -- thanks, Zzounds! Fast shipping, too.)

I hope this was helpful.