VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Tom Test]

I'm currently using my Echo Mia sound card to do my conversion. I'm happy with my results, but I'm always looking for better sound. I have the impression that I might get a better sound by using the FireWire card in my Mackie 1220 Onyx mixer to do my conversion instead of the Mia (and keeping the Mia for piping the audio back through my monitors).

Am I opening up a Pandora's box here? I'm afraid of complications, conflicts, issues with Windows XP SP3, etc, etc. Should I just leave well enough alone? Or might I get a notably better sound using the Mackie FW card?

(If you go to http://tomtest.voices.com/ and listen to my Political demo, that will give you an idea of my current sound. I'm not doing much TV/radio VO through my studio - more than anything else, I do narration for web-based e-Learning).

Thanks for your 2 cents!

Tom Test
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Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Lance Blair]

Hey Tom, your current sound is pretty good, and it works well for your voice most importantly. Is that the Sputnik through the Onyx as your preamp and then on to the Echo card?

I don't think you'd risk wrecking anything giving the Onyx a spin...it might sound better with your setup, and maybe not.

BTW, which clips of yours are done with the Sputnik, Rode, Heil, and Kel for example? Just curious.
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[Bill Campbell]

I doubt you would get any better "sound" with anything else.
An Echo Mia is a modern sound card with good specs. Even a $2000
converter wouldn't "sound" better, although it might be slightly less noisy.
There's no magic mojo in AD conversion for voice-over recording.

I never really heard much difference when I upgraded a Soundblaster to an $800 Lynx card years ago. Just a hint quieter...but not $800 worth!!

What preamp are you using?
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www.asapaudio.com

[Lance Blair]

I agree with Bill. I've heard good things about the Onyx mixer and conversion, but as a Echo AudioFire user they make extremely good affordable gear, just about the best bang for the buck, and I don't hear a huge difference between Echo users and those with upgraded conversion...there is a point where you will hear the difference but you'd be spending serious bucks where you might be better off spending a grand on a dedicated preamp instead.

I'd take a top preamp into an Echo soundcard over a world-beating conversion set-up, all other things being equal (at least for voiceover).
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Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[Tom Test]

>BTW, which clips of yours are done with the Sputnik, Rode, Heil, and Kel for example? Just curious.

Hey Lance,

THANKS for your feedback. At the time I whipped together this Political VO demo, I was in a hurry and was having issues with the Sputnik (had to return it for a new one) and the PR-40 (sibilance). I know for sure that the first spot and the last one were recorded with my AKG 200 Perception, which I really love for my voice. The 2nd spot, the "real guy" read, was with the Kel HM-1. The other spots, I'm not sure of but most I believe were done with the AKG.

If you wish, I can send you a file which has reads of the same script through all of the mics mentioned above, plus a Rode NTK, RE-20 and a few others. Let me know!

I've just realized I have another option. I'm going to assemble a PC from some old components left over from my bout with upgrade-itis. I have a Digital Audio Labs sound card I can put on this PC, and I'll try the Mackie FW through this backup PC first. If all works well, I can do it on my primary audio PC and have this as a backup to see if it works. If all is okay, then I'll sell my "Frankenstein" PC. This way I minimize the risk of messing up my primary PC that I use every day.

Also, it seems I'd have to upgrade to something like a Great River or John Hardy to get a significantly better sound that the preamps on my Onyx. (I have a bad habit of making lateral moves - gotta bite the bullet and spend the dough).
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Tom Test]

Hello Bill,

THANK YOU for your 2 cents in this discussion. You'd be interested to hear what a fellow from Gearslutz told me: "Ironically enough, I read somewhere that Mackie sources their converters from Echo so you might just be swapping one Echo for another..."

I'm using the nice clean Onyx preamps in my Mackie 1220 mixer. I get the impression they are about as good as you can get without spending $1000+ on a boutique preamp. They are nice and clean, so I am considering getting a mid-range tube preamp to compliment it, and/or a nice preamp like a Great River or John Hardy or Daking.
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Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

[Bill Campbell]

I've certainly read that all those preamps you mentioned are very good.
I've never used any of them. Most of my experience with preamps are the ones built into $40,000 consoles at work. Big old fashioned transformers in them.
I really don't hear much difference in voice-overs recorded thru them or
Mackie mixers, or the DBX 286As I use at home.

Your Mackie Onyx pres probably sound about as good as those "boutique"
company pres do for voice work. Keep in mind, those pres are a $1,000 or more because they sell so FEW of them. It doesn't mean they are worth that much.
Mackie can make high quality stuff for a reasonable price because they sell a ton of those mixers world wide.

Don't be lured into the Gearslutz fantasy.

If you are really wealthy and enjoy gear as a hobby, disregard all of the obove.
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www.asapaudio.com

[JTVG]

Tom,

In my experience, the Onyx preamps are nice and smooth. I also used them with an Echo Mia with good results. Using an Avalon now which reaches out a little further and is richer. But for the price, the Onyx is great and the Echo doesn't seem to give me any reason to upgrade.

One thing to note, if you do install the Firewire card in the Mackie, it will bypass the EQ and fader so you'll have less control.
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Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com