Hello friends, thanks for checking out my first post here! I'm currently in the market for upgrading my audio interface from a MOTU 828mk3 to either an Antelope Zodiac+ or a Prism Sound Lyra 1. I produce electronic dance music in Ableton Live on Windows. My main monitors are a pair of Dynaudio BM12a with a Klipsch 12" subwoofer. I don't much care for inputs, I do have an AT4040 microphone which I barely use now anyways. Most of my work involves mixing and mastering.
Both these interfaces only have 1 set of balanced main outs, so my sub would be left out, however I plan on investing in a PreSonus Central Station which will allow me to add additional outputs with no compromise in sound quality because of the passive circuitry.
The downside to the Lyra 1 seems to be that it only supports 24/96khz as opposed to 24/192khz on the Zodiac+. Until now I've only been using 24/88.2 with the MOTU but that might change in the future.
I chose the 2 because they are within my budget which is around $2,000. I'm curious if you have any experience with the Zodiac+ and Prism Sound Orpheus (whose converters the Lyra shares apparently). I've read that the Orpheus (and I'm assuming the Lyra) have great mic preamps and decent AD converters, so that would definitely be a bonus for whenever I decide to actually use the AT4040... but my #1 goal is to have the best quality DA conversion.
I also like the Zodiac+ for its independent headphone amplifier which people praise as well. Antelope is also known for its clocking - though Prism Sound is arguably more widely used in the industry. I've only read praise about the Orpheus and it's been out for a while. The Zodiac+ has been out for a while as well but it's nowhere close to being as widely used as the Orpheus.
Another general question would be - what should I expect in terms of change in sound going from the MOTU to either interface? I don't have any experience with highquality interfaces and unfortunately I have nowhere to test them let alone blindtest anything of the sort.
Thank you very much for your help
John Caza
Both these interfaces only have 1 set of balanced main outs, so my sub would be left out, however I plan on investing in a PreSonus Central Station which will allow me to add additional outputs with no compromise in sound quality because of the passive circuitry.
The downside to the Lyra 1 seems to be that it only supports 24/96khz as opposed to 24/192khz on the Zodiac+. Until now I've only been using 24/88.2 with the MOTU but that might change in the future.
I chose the 2 because they are within my budget which is around $2,000. I'm curious if you have any experience with the Zodiac+ and Prism Sound Orpheus (whose converters the Lyra shares apparently). I've read that the Orpheus (and I'm assuming the Lyra) have great mic preamps and decent AD converters, so that would definitely be a bonus for whenever I decide to actually use the AT4040... but my #1 goal is to have the best quality DA conversion.
I also like the Zodiac+ for its independent headphone amplifier which people praise as well. Antelope is also known for its clocking - though Prism Sound is arguably more widely used in the industry. I've only read praise about the Orpheus and it's been out for a while. The Zodiac+ has been out for a while as well but it's nowhere close to being as widely used as the Orpheus.
Another general question would be - what should I expect in terms of change in sound going from the MOTU to either interface? I don't have any experience with highquality interfaces and unfortunately I have nowhere to test them let alone blindtest anything of the sort.
Thank you very much for your help
John Caza