Quality Difference Betwween HD24 and HD24XR?

[Jmbu]

Hi,
I'm looking at the HD24, and wondering if the XR is worth the extra $500 or so, since it doubles the -- what, sample frequency?

Has anyone compared the sound quality between the two models?

Thanks -- I enjoy this board very much!

Jim

[Blue Bear Sound]

The converters on the XR are better than the standard ones... that being said - the standard ones sound very very good anyways!

[Jmbu]

wouldn't that have a major effect on the sound quality?? Or not?

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by Jmbu

wouldn't that have a major effect on the sound quality?? Or not?

Well that's a can of worms.

You'll be limited to 12 tracks at the higher sample rate.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Originally Posted by Jmbu

wouldn't that have a major effect on the sound quality?? Or not?

Theoretically, yes -- in practice though, very debatable. Personally, bit depth is the more significant factor.

[Jmbu]

Thanks for your comments. I agree that going from 24 to 12 channels is a big hit, and my sense is you're saying I probably wouldn't notice the (much) difference anyway. Which is fine -- I'm not a high end studio, and I probably couldn't afford the XR anyway....

[hasbeen]

I suggest springing for the XR. I ended up doing the upgrade. The sound is NOTABLY different.

[wilkee]

Originally Posted by hasbeen

I suggest springing for the XR. I ended up doing the upgrade. The sound is NOTABLY different.

I have yet to find anyone that spends more money and admits to it being a bad decision.
FWIIW I cannot tell the difference.

Tony

[xstatic]

There is a difference. If you buy the standard version, you can also send it in to Jim Williams at audio upgrades and he will do some other mods to your unit and it will cost you about the same as the upgrade. When I talked to Jim though, he did mention that in general you ought to just get the upgrade right away. He says that the alesis upgrade sounds just about the same as when he is done with a standard unit. When you consider that if you buy the XR right away it would actually cost a little less, and you don't have to ship it to Jim and be without for a couple of weeks.

[Nate74]

Another vote for the XR. I've done a few full band tracks on my XR and we've also done some on my guitarists standard version of the HD24. Mixed on the same gear, I think I can hear a difference pretty easily.

I've said it before and will probably say it again, but if you've been able to talk yourself into $1500 for the new backbone of your studio, another $500 seems worth it IMO.

[O.D.R.S.]

I have the HD24XR myself. It does sound amazing. I do notice a difference between the 96k and the 48k. The only drawback is that you can't record 24 tracks of 96k only 12. But other than that I'm glad I spent the extra money for it.

[Jmbu]

Thanks very much for your advice. I plan to record the people and bands I play with -- it's acoustic, Irish traditional music, so I doubt I'd need more than 12 channels. And if I did, then I'd switch down to 48...