best interface for mastering from tape to laptop

Tim95

New member
Hi everyone,
Hopefully this is posted in the right section, wasn't sure of the best place to post it as is a hybrid question between analogue and digital.
I record on a fostex B16 reel to reel, connected to a soundcraft ghost mixer. I like to do all my mixing outside the relm of computers, but I want to record my finished mixes into my laptop, so I can post them online, or burn them to cd etc. What usb interface would be the best for this? I want something with good analogue to digital converters, and presumably it needs left and right trs line in sockets, so that I can connect it to the 2track outs on the soundcraft.
Any advice would be very much apreciated!
 
On a budget I'd check out the Zoom U-44. Its convertors sound reasonably good and it has S/PDIF in and out so that you can add better convertors at a later date. I use mine on its own when I'm on the go and with a Sonifex convertor when I'm in the studio. If the Zoom isn't good enough then I'd look at the RME range.
 
Thanks very much for that info, I just looked the zoom u-44 up, and it's definitely in my price range, I could afford to spend a little more, if this would improve the sound quality of the analogue to digital convertion. Or would you say that the zoom is fine?
I notice it has 4 ins and for out which is fine, but I guess all I really need is stereo line inputs to plug my mixer in to. My focus is getting an analogue to digital convertion that is as close to the origional as possible. I won't really be using the mic preamps etc that this zoom also has.
Is there any options out there that are litterally just an analogue to digital converter, with line level stereo inputs, and a usb out?
 
Thanks very much for that info, I just looked the zoom u-44 up, and it's definitely in my price range, I could afford to spend a little more, if this would improve the sound quality of the analogue to digital convertion. Or would you say that the zoom is fine?
I notice it has 4 ins and for out which is fine, but I guess all I really need is stereo line inputs to plug my mixer in to. My focus is getting an analogue to digital convertion that is as close to the origional as possible. I won't really be using the mic preamps etc that this zoom also has.
Is there any options out there that are litterally just an analogue to digital converter, with line level stereo inputs, and a usb out?

You would think so would you not? But in fact there seem to be two camps of interfaces at extreme price range. You have the really cheap line input devices such as the Behringer UCA202* and then the high end stuff like Benchmark and Prism. I don't know of a good $150-$200 line in, two channel interface.
The Zoom "U" series have a very good rep for converter quality but, as you say, you are paying for mic pres you don't need.

*Now I KNOW I am going to get flack for this but. Try one! The noise and distortion levels on tape are so much higher than even a cheap 16 bit interface that I would be surprised the difference could be detected?

Dave.
 
Thanks dave, that's really interesting!

Well the only thing I currently have is a behringer Ufo202, which I have used in the past to connect a cassette deck to, for converting cassettes for other people. Would the zoom be a significant step up from the behringer?
 
Thanks dave, that's really interesting!

Well the only thing I currently have is a behringer Ufo202, which I have used in the past to connect a cassette deck to, for converting cassettes for other people. Would the zoom be a significant step up from the behringer?

Yes, the Zoom is 24 bit and probably has a noise floor better than -100dBFS. The best the 202 can manage is around -85dBFS but both figures are way better than Dolby A tape and the THD of tape is not likely less than 1% at Dolby level and a good deal more if you go over that.

If you do try the 202, be aware that it is a -10dB device. IIRC 0dBFS comes in at about 1V so for "pro" levels you will need an attenuator (or a pot in a tin) afront it.

I will admit, toungue is bit in cheek about sich cheap interface but if you are burning to CD, 16 bits and if posting online MP3?

Dave.
 
Thanks dave, well if you reccon the zoom would be a good choice, I will try it. I didn't think that the 202 would be very good, that's why I posted asking about something better on here. :) There seams to be very little info on line about using an interface for this spacific purpose.
 
Thanks dave, well if you reccon the zoom would be a good choice, I will try it. I didn't think that the 202 would be very good, that's why I posted asking about something better on here. :) There seams to be very little info on line about using an interface for this spacific purpose.

Super! Go with the Zoom. Now, I would be VERY intersted in a comparison between the Zoom and the Behringer? A short piece copied to the same dBfs level and converted to 320k mp3 and posted here for us to harken unto.

Mark them "A" and "B" and then let us see if we can tell the diff!

Dave.
 
My Zoom replaced a cheap Behringer UCA222 - the Behringer was too sensitive and commercially bought attenuators would cost more than the whole interface (though I soldered my own attenuator cable). The Behringer also suffered from idle tones around 1kHz which, while often inaudible with most material, were very noticeable if you turned up the volume.

The Zoom doesn't suffer from these problems and is much more versatile but I've not tried a comparison with my more expensive convertors. While some may feel that you are paying for unwanted features, there isn't really anything else reputable at that price point with S/PDIF in and out (which was a big selling point for me).
 
My Zoom replaced a cheap Behringer UCA222 - the Behringer was too sensitive and commercially bought attenuators would cost more than the whole interface (though I soldered my own attenuator cable). The Behringer also suffered from idle tones around 1kHz which, while often inaudible with most material, were very noticeable if you turned up the volume.

The Zoom doesn't suffer from these problems and is much more versatile but I've not tried a comparison with my more expensive convertors. While some may feel that you are paying for unwanted features, there isn't really anything else reputable at that price point with S/PDIF in and out (which was a big selling point for me).

Fair enough. I have found that whilst many of the cheap 16 bit USB mixers suffered the "USB whine" none of my 202s seem to. In any case the problem can be pretty well eliminated by setting the gain in Windows audio from the default 100% to 5% or even less. The simple answer to the input level problem is a 10k stereo log pot in a tin.

Dave.
 
Dave, yes that would definitely be an interesting comparison to try, hopefully I will get round to posting the clips on here in the next few weeks.
Thanks both James and Dave for the info.
I hope I'm going about this in the right way, I much prefer recording analogue, so want to use the computer as little as possible in the process. But obviously want my recordings to be heard by others, hense wanting to digitise.

As I am totally blind, I am unable to see the sockets on the zoom when it arives. Does it have stereo left and right inputs, or does it have a single trs jack? My mixer has 2, so if the zoom only has 1 I will have to buy the appropriate cable.
 
As I am totally blind, I am unable to see the sockets on the zoom when it arives. Does it have stereo left and right inputs, or does it have a single trs jack? My mixer has 2, so if the zoom only has 1 I will have to buy the appropriate cable.

The good thing about the Zoom is that just about everything is physical - the software control panel is limited to choosing the sample rate and buffer size. All the controls that you'll use regularly are on the top panel. The inputs are easy to find by feel as they're XLR/TRS combi sockets which are larger than all the other sockets. The input level controls are next to the respective socket. The speaker output and headphone outputs are on jacks and have their own volume controls. There are also phono outputs for those who use it for DJ'ing with an external mixer.

One issue that you may find with the controls is that they don't have any indents so you'll probably need to stick a bit of tape on them if you want to be able to feel where they are. The mute buttons also don't give any tactile feedback (they light up red when muted) but I've not had any problems with them accidentally muting.

If you are always planning on using it with a computer you may want to tape up the power switch to make sure that it never gets switched over to the Off or battery position - I've accidentally moved this switch without realising it a couple of times but my interface is always being stuffed into a laptop bag so it isn't always treated carefully.

Hope that helps...
 
Thanks very much for all that info, that was really helpful! I have tried plugging it into my laptop today, but for some reason, I get a message saying that the drivers weren't instaled successfully.
 
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