AD/DA conversion points - where are they?

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EddieRay

EddieRay

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From tracking, to mixing, to mastering, to happy shiny consumers listening to the final product - where are the points where analog is converted to digital and vice-versa?
 
It depends entirely on the equipment/signal chain involved.......
 
A/D conversion of course takes place in tracking IF you are tracking to digital.

DA and AD conversion take place in mixing IF you are mixing with and outboard mixer

DA and AD conversion occurs in mastering IF the ME has some analog gear to run it thru...

if its all analog the AD conversion takes place with the ME and thats it
 
Teacher said:
A/D conversion of course takes place in tracking IF you are tracking to digital.

DA and AD conversion take place in mixing IF you are mixing with and outboard mixer

DA and AD conversion occurs in mastering IF the ME has some analog gear to run it thru...

if its all analog the AD conversion takes place with the ME and thats it
That - and a hundred variations in between!
 
Teacher said:
A/D conversion of course takes place in tracking IF you are tracking to digital.

DA and AD conversion take place in mixing IF you are mixing with and outboard mixer

DA and AD conversion occurs in mastering IF the ME has some analog gear to run it thru...

if its all analog the AD conversion takes place with the ME and thats it

Thanks for that.

I'm tracking and mixing to computer w/some plugin effects. But I have two soundcards (I use the better one to track) and I was especially curious about exporting to .wav files since I can mix to either soundcard. If there is no conversion during export, what would be the quality issues?
 
If you are talking about an internal mix with software, there is no conversion involved after the initial tracking. Assuming you don't need to use outboard gear during the mix or need to mix down to an external piece of equipment, the only conversion your audio will go through is the initial A/D (and D/A while monitoring of course). The quality of the sound card you are using during mix will only effect the sound of your mix to the extent that you may hear things differently through each set of converters and hence mix differently. The mixing itself is done in software and the sound card won't make a difference.
 
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