antichef
pornk rock
like others on the board, I'm the proud owner of an ART Digital MPA (the gold colored one). Some discussion about these came up on the thread regarding the group buy preamps (which I'm definitely in line for, btw)
I love the way mine sounds, and I have found that the quietest and bestest way to get the signal to my DAW is via the digital out (via a MOTU Traveler), but I've had to wrestle to get there. I get a result I'm happy with if I 1) use the coax (not optical) s/pdif out with a nice 75ohm cable, with 2) an external clock (the Black Lion Audio Microclock, in my case), terminating the "clock through" output at ART's direction, 3) at the "2x" sample rates, that is, 88.2khz or 96khz. *All* other approaches I've tried (including all combinations of optical cables, other sampling rates, slaving to the ART clock, slaving to my MOTU traveler clock, AES/EBU, ADAT) result in, at best, clicks and pops, at a worst, big static noise, or no sound.
No big deal, really, since I'm very happy with the the arrangement that works, but recording at 44 or 48 khz with the same conversion/clocking quality would be nice, especially for recording interviews and stuff.
Last night, I opened the box, and stared into the abyss (with the help of some lights in the room), and further research here yielded this:
so... while we're on the subject...Well, let me tell you something about your cheapo MPA. I've had mine for over two years now. It has a five year warranty. Last week I emailed ART because my input gain pots are scratchy. Cleaning hadn't helped. I told them I didn't want to take it out of service, so could they please send me replacement pots, and the VU meter lamps as well. They answered me same day, and the parts are on the way.
I love the way mine sounds, and I have found that the quietest and bestest way to get the signal to my DAW is via the digital out (via a MOTU Traveler), but I've had to wrestle to get there. I get a result I'm happy with if I 1) use the coax (not optical) s/pdif out with a nice 75ohm cable, with 2) an external clock (the Black Lion Audio Microclock, in my case), terminating the "clock through" output at ART's direction, 3) at the "2x" sample rates, that is, 88.2khz or 96khz. *All* other approaches I've tried (including all combinations of optical cables, other sampling rates, slaving to the ART clock, slaving to my MOTU traveler clock, AES/EBU, ADAT) result in, at best, clicks and pops, at a worst, big static noise, or no sound.
No big deal, really, since I'm very happy with the the arrangement that works, but recording at 44 or 48 khz with the same conversion/clocking quality would be nice, especially for recording interviews and stuff.
Last night, I opened the box, and stared into the abyss (with the help of some lights in the room), and further research here yielded this:
Mine is newer than that. I do have the OPA2134 opamps (and still more research has convinced me to leave them be), but I don't see anything on what's obviously the converter board to make me think it has the AKM converter chip. That is, I don't see a chip with "AKM" on it (I do see one with TI -- don't have the numbers with me right now). If I'm right, is this possibly the source of my struggles, and would it be something that's upgradeable for a DIYer?Mine has OPA2134 *but* a disclaimer, I have the DMPA, and an early model, it also has a top range AKM converter chip, but later versions use a cheaper chip. So I won't swear that the opamp didn't change, although OPA2134 is a lot cheaper than the AKM chip (which was $20), so the cost savings wouldn't be as great. The opamps are socketed too.