A/d Converter Question

[dzara 4]

I am new at recording and currently have a focurite ISA 220 channel
strip which I use on my front-end which goes directly into my aw1600 workstation. This is my signal chain currently



MIC ----> Focurite 220-----> AW1600 recorder

I decided to buy a Mac G5 for editing. I can transport vis USB after I record
onto my aw1600.

The question I have is about my A/D converter on my AW1600 being up to par for getting

a "good" signal or better phrased "how much better would my sound be
compared to a more advanced A/D converter. Here are the spec on my aw1600

AD Converter 24 Bit Linear / 64 Times Oversampling
DA Converter 24 Bit Linear / 128 Times Oversampling

Sampling Frequency 44.1kHz (-6% ~ +6%) Internal Clock
44.1kHz (-10% ~ +6%) External Clock


should I spend the money to buy a seperate audio interface and A/D converter once I get my computer. Or does the A/D converter not make that much of a difference, which in that case I would hook up my AW1600
to a computer via USB cord and just transfer the files.

any suggestions would be helpful .

thanks

[travelin travis]

it's all subjective and alot of guys (or gals) will say to get a good d/a converter first. i have a cheapo 1010lt so i can't comment on what good converters sound like. i do think that monitoring should be a top priority and should i decide to upgrade, a good dac will be at the top of my list.

[Robert D]

While I'm not familiar with the sound of the converters in the AW1600, I think a couple of questions are;
Will you want to be doing synchronous playback and editing of individual tracks on the Mac (synced to the AW1600), and is that possible and robust with the USB link?

What does your mic and pre wardrobe look like, and if the above question is satisfied, does it make sense to put upgrade money towards converters right now, or is it needed more elsewhere?

I hope that all made sense.

[Farview]

Unless you have a pretty good monitoring setup in a pretty good room, you won't be able to pick out the difference in converters. The preamps in the workstation are a bigger problem. The only way to bypass the preamps is to go in digitally.

Mics make the biggest difference, preamps make the second biggest, converters are farther down the list.

[travelin travis]

Originally Posted by Farview

Unless you have a pretty good monitoring setup in a pretty good room, you won't be able to pick out the difference in converters. The preamps in the workstation are a bigger problem. The only way to bypass the preamps is to go in digitally.

Mics make the biggest difference, preamps make the second biggest, converters are farther down the list.

i have no experience with different converters but i do agree that mics make a bigger difference than preamps.

[Farview]

Top of the line converters will give you a wider and deeper soundstage. You can hear the difference when they are A/B'ed, but only in a well treated room with better than average monitors. The soundstage is more smeared with cheaper converters.

[dzara 4]

thanks for all the great advice ( hey farview I live in crystal lake which is about 20 minutes away from you)

I actually use my focusrite channel strip ISA 220 as my preamp, compressor, eq, and desser on the front end. I then turn my aw1600 preamps all the way down. Somone commented that I would need to go digital in. How would I do that? Would turning down the pre amps on the aw1600 just muddy up my nice, warm focusrite pre-amp?

For a mike I use a shure ksm 44sl which costs me 800.00 bucks but sounds pretty good.

thanks

[Farview]

Originally Posted by dzara 4

( hey farview I live in crystal lake which is about 20 minutes away from you)

I grew up in Crystal Lake, my Dad still lives there.

[Farview]

Originally Posted by dzara 4

Somone commented that I would need to go digital in. How would I do that? Would turning down the pre amps on the aw1600 just muddy up my nice, warm focusrite pre-amp?

When running a preamp into another preamp, you will end up with the quality of the of the lesser one. You are taking the warm sound of the Focurite and funneling it through the crummy preamp.

In order to go in digitally, you would have to have outboard converters. I think that is an option for your Focusrite. (I could be wrong)

[Big Kenny]

This from the Yamaha site
Direct digital stereo input and output capability is provided via coaxial S/P DIF input and output connectors. Independent monitor and phones output are also provided in addition to the main stereo outs.

Do you have the digi card for your focusrite, if not, that would benefit you a great deal