firebox converters vs. ART DIO converters

diogo

diogo

New member
hello everyone,

im thinking of a firebox, and have heard many good things about the little art dio..i was wondering if this will be night and day going into the firebox's line ins with a preamp and somehow help things sound good, or..err..not. i know many VS users have benefited a lot from the DIO going digi in, and one would think that these little firewire boxes don't have better conversion than VS siabs, right? then again, maybe they do..i really dunno.

if the DIO aint worth it in light of the conversion ill find on the firewire box, ill just keep the 100 bucks...if not, ill get it, cause this setup will have to be around for a while, so might as well have it sound good...plus many ppl say it's something cool to have around, and it'll probably be worth some cash in a few years as it's discontinued now and all...anyway, but if its totally not worth it, i can use the 100 bucks.

any views on this?

thanks in advance.

ps. if, by any chance, any of you have tried both Presonus and Edirol stuff, idd be very interested in some comparisons as well...strictly converter wise, all the pres will be outboard (dmp3 and electro harmonix pre). price wise it's almost the same, but nothing beats hands on experience with the products (wich i dont have ;) ).
 
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Willis,

thanks for the reply. My logic is kind of going for what the DIO is supposed to be..kind of a sleeper/useful converter - at least that's the general opinion...

i think you're right of course - one should always purchase considering future options...logically, i guess the converters on these boxes won't be night and day compared to the DIO..maybe close...that was what i was hoping for at least...but i really dunno, especially after seeing ppl say that going digi in with a DIO into a VS or even into an akai DPS24 is night and day (with the VS) or still noticable (with the akai! wich is supposed to be the best siab in the world), i can't help but wonder what idd be missing without this box..
 
I have the dio, along with 2 other converters (fostex vf16, and LynxOne).
The Dio is definetly a useful box. When compared to the fostex, I can readily perceive an improvement in sound. When compared to the LynxOne, it gets harder to tell the difference, until tracks begin to pile up (the Lynx sounds better). I would never describe the differences between these converters as "night and day" (for me, "night and day" differences come from the instruments, mics, and tracking decisions). The tube feature is occasionally cool to dial in.

hope that helps....
 
teainthesahara said:
I would never describe the differences between these converters as "night and day" (for me, "night and day" differences come from the instruments, mics, and tracking decisions).
Click to expand...

I agree. You will probably get more mileage by bypassing the SIAB preamps with a nice external mic preramp or mic. And there's a lot to be said for simple things like changing your strings or mic positions. Unless you jump to the next level of converter (Lucid, Mytek, Apogee MiniMe, etc.) the differences are not likely to jump out at you. This is particularly true if you change AD converters without improving DA conversion. You might be shocked if you heard the difference between a good DA converter and some of the stock converters in the average interface or SIAB. It's almost like getting a new set of monitors or listening in a properly treated room. I recently added a Lucid 9624 DA converter to bypass the DA section of an old MOTU 828 and the differences are night and day. You can actually hear small EQ variations and other fine adjustments to effects like reverb.
 
Sorry I can't make comparisons, I can only vouch for the Firebox. For me, it's an excellent unit. I use a CADm177 mic with it . Sound seems to be very clear and unaffected to me. I should say though, that it's only the second sound device I've ever had...my first was an SBLive!
 
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