Another AD/DA Question....

scarboro78

scarboro78

NYC HIP-HOP AMBASSADOR
Hey Guys,

Sorry about beating this to death, but I've been reading a bunch of threads on the subject and doing some research and I'm not exactly sure what the best investment for myself would be. Currently I don't have a converter in my recording chain and I would like an AD/DA for the obvious added benefit and also to be able to run stuff out of my DAW through outboard equipment without any loss in quality. From what I've read, I think the Rosetta 200 is probably my best bet (I only need 2 inputs at most) but I just wanted to get some other opinions before I go ahead and spend a little over a grand on a piece of equipment. Here are some of my questions/concerns:

1) I currently have an Aardvark LX6 soundcard, would I need to upgrade this or does it not matter anyway since I'll be skipping its built-in converters?

2) Should I get an AD/DA with a USB or FIREWIRE option? Is there any advantage?

3) If I do get one with USB or FIREWIRE, can I take my soundcard out of my recording chain?

Thanks in advance for any advice guys.

My Current Chain:
AKG 414XLS II or BLUE Dragonfly > Avalon 737 > Aardvark LX6 (MBOX for Playback) > Cubase SX > Event TR8's & Event Tria's
 
Using a Firewire or USB thats not part of your Soundcard inputs would be bypassing your Soundcard.

You would still use your Soundcard to process audio coming to and from the Firewire as far as I know.

I know in my software I have to choose an Audio Device whether its my Nuendo/RME 9652 or my Built In Audio Device.

You would really only upgrade your soundcard if it gives you problems like latency etc.

In a typical scenario, you would have a specialized soundcard for recording unlike a standard soundcard for normal PC audio which has terrible latency issues.


I have 2 Nuendo/RME 96K AD/DA converters with 8 TRS ins and 8 TRS outs. Also has TDIFF and ADAT Optical ins outs throughs.

Runs into a Nuendo/RME 96/52 Audio Card Optically.

All from my outboard mixer and gear.

Depending on what AD/DA you choose, you may have to route back into your Soundcard depending on how you connect the AD/DA to your PC. Unless you go Firewire or any other input that isnt connected to your soundcard.

Having any extra inputs on an AD/DA is always helpful, but the only thing that really matters is what best suits your long term hardware setup goals.

The nice thing about having an ADAT Optical setup or TDIFF on your AD/DA converters is that should you ever decide to go Pro Tools or something you will have the option to connect your existing equipment to certain Digidesign equipment like the Digi002 or even some models of the Digidesign HD Converters.

Then you could have all the inputs of your Digidesin gear plus the existing inputs on the AD/DA you already have.

Hope any of that helps.
 
Thanks for the reply,

So for my needs, would the Rosette 200 be a good buy? I really don't have any need for more than 2 inputs since I don't record bands. Mainly hip-hop and r&b. I would like to be able to run my vocals through my compressor/eq during mixdown without any loss in quality.

By the way, is there any difference in quality/integrity/fidelity (or anything else ending in 'Y') between going into the computer via USB/Firewire or S/PDIF?
 
Once the signal is converted to digital (toslink, ADAT, SPDIF, USB, Firewire, the signal retains it quality in the digital world as long as its remains at the same sample rate (44.1, 48, 88.2, 96...etc) Any thing that changes the digital from one form to another can degrade the signal every time conversion takes place. Another factor is how good the clock signal is. If the clock signal has subtle changes in frequency due to drift, signal degradation takes place. The extent the signal quality declines is affected by the quality of converters, frequency stability in clocking, and dithering when changing sample rates such as resampling to 44.1 khz for CD burning.

The Rosetta should do nicely for what you indicate that you need.
 
Thanks for your reply and your explanation. I've been recording at 24bit/44.1, so I'll make sure to keep everything at these same settings.

Thanks Again.
 
If you get an outboard converter with firewire or USB, it shoudl replace your soundcard. At that point the converter would become your soundcard also. You may want to also look at the Lynx Aurora converters. Very close to the Apogee in quality, less expensive, gives you 8 channels.
 
xstatic said:
If you get an outboard converter with firewire or USB, it shoudl replace your soundcard. At that point the converter would become your soundcard also. You may want to also look at the Lynx Aurora converters. Very close to the Apogee in quality, less expensive, gives you 8 channels.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for chiming in Xstatic. I'm actually getting a great deal on a Rosetta 200. So it'll actually come out about 700 bucks less than the Aurora. So I'm thinking that's the way to go. I'll probably end up getting the firewire expansion card for the Rosette somewhere down the line so I can take my soundcard out of the picture completely. I think at this point it's probably the weakest link in my chain.
 
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