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usernamebob
New member
in terms of pure sound quality, what cards do the 1010lt's most closely compare to?.. and how much different is the straight 1010?...
Thanks
Thanks
TamaSabian
Peruvian skin beater
I know that converters are the same in both 1010 models. The LT doesn´t come with breakout box and all the ins are RCA type (unbalanced). All those things apart you can´t tell the difference sound wise.
I haven´t had the chance to compare it with other brands at the same level, just with my old SBLive
and the Delta is many miles away.
TS
I haven´t had the chance to compare it with other brands at the same level, just with my old SBLive
and the Delta is many miles away. TS
Tifstorey
Guinea Pig
The converters in the 1010 are a lot better than the 1010LT, couldnt really give you a piece of hardware that compares with it, but im just adding my little fact
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usernamebob
New member
okay one of you said the converters and the same... one said they're alot different... any other opinions?
Kevin Deschwazi
Well-known member
Well I've used both and the quality difference was negligible. Any difference there was I would put down to the the balanced ins on the 1010 rather than vastly superior conversion. If the converters are different then I don't think they're that much better in the 1010. We are talking about entry level gear here, there's just isn't going to be a noticeable leap in quality for the money difference.
As far as I'm concerned you are paying extra for the box and the balanced ins/outs.
Or maybe my ears just aren't there yet?
As far as I'm concerned you are paying extra for the box and the balanced ins/outs.
Or maybe my ears just aren't there yet?
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Sklathill
Soundcard Junkie
DEFINITELY different. The 1010 has much higher-end converters than any of the other PCI cards available. That's a fact.
The 1010 uses the AK5383 on the AD side of things and the AK4393 on the DA. The 1010LT uses the AK4524VF that handles both, and isn't as good at either as its older siblings.
The fact that the 1010LT is unbalanced RCA cable breaking straight out of the card compared to the 1010's rack of balanced io just expands the gap in quality.
The 1010 uses the AK5383 on the AD side of things and the AK4393 on the DA. The 1010LT uses the AK4524VF that handles both, and isn't as good at either as its older siblings.
The fact that the 1010LT is unbalanced RCA cable breaking straight out of the card compared to the 1010's rack of balanced io just expands the gap in quality.
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Jim Y
New member
That's what annoys me about the new ESi Juli@ and Audiophile192 - their output DACS aren't that good, but they have very good ADC, so you can record in a quality you cannot monitor - huh! Yet I see rave reviews on how good they sound - probably down to improved analog performance and balanced i/o rather than the converters. The clocking is still done with a basic crystal on the controller chip, so that isn't improved either. Still, any improvement is welcome and these things are ridiculously cheap compared to RME or Lynx.
regebro
Insane Genious!
When it comes to 1010 vs 1010lt, the 1010 is supposed to have all the conversion in the breakout box, while the LT has everything in the PCI card. This means that the analog circuitry might be cheaper on the LT, which could explain the differences in signal to noise ratio. Also, the conversion in the LT is closer to the rest of the computer, which also expains some of the noise. Other than that, they are supposed to be identical, and the 1010LT sounds just fine to my ears, and the noise level is way lower than for example, my 8-track tape (just so you don't think the extra decibels of noise actually make any practical difference). I agree with Kevin: If you go for the 1010 do it for the breakout box.
There is a reason M-audio has a near monopoly in the lower-end market: great value for money.
There is a reason M-audio has a near monopoly in the lower-end market: great value for money.
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Bulls Hit
Well-known member
The 1010 has a published dynamic range advantage of around 13 db over the LT.
Of course whether or not you believe the specs is another story
Of course whether or not you believe the specs is another story
regebro
Insane Genious!
Well, they have stuffed all the analog electronics onto a small card inside the PC, instead of in the breakout-box, so it makes sense.Bulls Hit said:
But even the 1010LT has a published dynamic range of nearly 100db, and no matter if that's true or not, my 1010LT can for all practical purposes be regarded as completely silent. If you record things with HUGE differences in dynamic range, and you want to compress digitally, well, yeah, then those 13dbs extra could be useful.
I just remembered what my biggest annoyance was with the 1010LT: It has two (selectable) mic preamps on channel 1 & 2, so these channels use XLRs. Of course, I didn't have any cables that fit, since I only have XLR out to 1/4" (which I use from my Mic preamps) not 1/4" to XLR in. So I had to go and buy two of them which I didn't have time to do for two weeks.