Lynx or RME for recording classical instruments

[Uno]

After two years of working with so called prosumer audio cards I decided to invest hard earned cash in high end pro sound card.
I'm not quite familiar with these expensive gadgets but I do need highest possible A/D conversion quality for bucks because I 'm going to record classical instruments and Gregorian choir.
I read many positive reviews of RME and Lynx cards but RME system. (ADI-96 Pro + Hammerfall HDSP 9652) is priced over 2000$ while Lynx Two PCI card is "only" 1000$.
Now, in country where I work not many people even heard about Lynx Two and RME card are unbelievably pricey and out of range of most project studios so I depend on recording forums and people who had some experience with above mentioned converters.
Which one would be better for my particular field of work. I am willing to spend 2000$ on RME combo if converters are accurate, transparent and equal to Lynx beacuse I would like to have standalone unit but not if Lynx Two's are audibly better .
Is there any difference between Adi 8 Pro DS and Adi-96 pro converters except for number of channels?
Any other suggestion in this price range, 1000-2000$?
What about ESI Wami Rack 192x.? Specs are similar to Lynx Two and some say that they both use same converters and circuitry but how can it be when Wami is much cheaper and it comes with rack unit and decent mic preamps?

[ChristopherDawn]

The 8billion dollar question is: How many channels of conversion do you need?

[Uno]

I am willing to sacrifice number of channels for better quality of converters.
I can live with only two but for 2000$ I want them to be really outstanding.

[ChristopherDawn]

Look up Lavry and Mytek converters.

[ampguy]

1820m, uses same AKM converters as pro tools 192 HD.

Make sure to get the "M" version.

1212m is same converters, fewer channels.

[Uno]

It's first time I hear about Lavry and Mytek.
I read that Eddie Kramer have some really nice words for 8 ch Mytek ADC and praises it's accuracy and transparency (2500$) and it's little 2ch brother Stereo 96DAC with same specs can be found for 995$
It looks like a good deal.
E-MU 1820m is also an interesting device for only 500$.
Specs are great and it almost sounds too good to be true, I see that some users even compare it with Lynx Two and RME.
This is where my confusion grows because specwise this 500$ thingies appear even better than their elite competition.
I mean, if I purchase 1500$ 2 channel RME/Mytek converter and 500$ E-MU I want to be able hear the difference.
I've heard it when switching from SB Live to Terratec, from 100$ to 300$ category. It was clearly audible from the first recording and even listening to a CD.
Now, closer to the pro waters people often speak in some abstract terms, there is this guy who even claims that all you need is SB live and all this pro stuff is just an ego trip etc.
Is there a same world of difference between 500$ and 1500 or 2000$ converters as it is between some hissy onboard chip and 300$ M-Audio or Terratec card?
If there is I would gladly spend this money.
I am not in a position to put these gadgets to test and compare them side by side or visit some high end studio (most people here consider Behringer Eurorack and Audiophile to be dream come true for a project studio )and it's not an easy task to find much info on devices mentioned above.
So far Mytek stereo 96 DAC seems to be the way to go but this thing really looks like something I could pull out of my uncle's old truck

[ampguy]

from terratec @ 24/48 to the 1820m at 24/48, didn't expect to hear much difference, but he did!!

http://63.151.115.106/board/showthre...5&pagenumber=4

[ChristopherDawn]

I've heard heavy heavy praise of the Myteks. I'd imagine you can hear the difference between that and the 'middle ground' converters like the Delta series and the RME (multiface) stuff.

I don't really know, though, because I don't use them. Do a search on mytek.

And look here: www.gearslutz.com

[Massive Master]

Apogee Mini-Me...

All the I-can't-believe-it's-not-live sound of Apogee conversion with two mic pre's thrown in PLUS SoftLimit - Around $1200 USD on the street (slightly more at Mercenary).

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com

[ampguy]

the apogee mini me will only do 24/48 over the usb bus. It won't do 96khz over usb.

[Uno]

It's too bad it can't go above 48khz.
I was looking into some mobile solution in a near future for field work. (assembling sample bank of some classical intrumentalists in local concert hall). I believe that Apogee 48k is better than ESI 192k but still...
Preamp and Comp/Limit would come in handy, truly amazing little thing.
I hope that Apogee will include higher sample rates in future models of this great unit, then it would definitely become my first choice for mobile recording.

Thanks for info on all these great units.
I think I'll check out some Mytek stuff.
Really like what I read about their products so far though I've never been great Aerosmith fan but allways find their production values to be top notch.

I was actually thinking on RME standalone A/D units not Multiface which has same converters as Audiophile. I was looking into Nuendo System One on Bayview which comes with, Nuendo 2.0., Surround bundle, RME HDSP 9652 and ADI-pro 8 channel converter and all that for 3999$ in other words for the price of one Lavry Blue 8 ch. A/D.(4300$) which I cannot afford.

That's why I'm interested in opinions on RME standalone converters but I see now that Mytek is selling RME HDSP 9652 /Mytek A/D bundles so I believe that there will be no compatibility issues.
However I would still like to hear where do ADI-96 pro or Adi-8 pro DS stand in comparison to Mytek, Lynx or Apogee.

[Massive Master]

Originally posted by ampguy
the apogee mini me will only do 24/48 over the usb bus. It won't do 96khz over usb.

Good point, sir. I keep forgetting that (I use the S/PDIF for it).

JS