Best A/D Converter for $500 or so ?

Chess... Im not looking for a step up from a soundcard, Im looking for a A/D. An A/D that does not need the additional investment in a computer. Thanks.

Actually, I rasied my budget some.... Im leaning towards the Apogee Rosetta 2 ch A/D. €1600...

Are there other in THIS price range to consider ?
 
Stefan Elmblad said:
Im looking for a A/D. An A/D that does not need the additional investment in a computer.
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My apologies.

I'm not sure who carries them, but in the budget range, I would highly consider anything from Mindprint. I know they have a 2-channel 24/96 deal in that general price range . . . and they have the DI port if you don't mind 24/44.1.

There are others in the budget range, most of which will pump out basically the same level of quality as a good sound card.

Generally speaking, the next step up from the budget range would probably be the Lucid A/D 9624. I'm pretty sure those go for a little less than the Rosetta, and it's arguably every bit as good (or at least pretty close), word has it.
 
What is wrong with you guys?
Look into the Lucid AD9624, and since you are looking at spending a little more than that with that not-as-good-as-the-lucid-apogee then get a Lucid clock also, total should hit at about a grand, best thing there is outside of Cranesong or Pacific Microsonics which you will not afford any time soon.
Get the Lucid, dont waste your money otherwise. Really.
 
But the Lucid doesn't fit my need as much as the Apogee Rosetta does. The Lucid has no dithering down to 20 and 16 bits....so I don't know.....
 
Recording Engineer said:
Why would you usually want dither from an A/D?
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If Im going straight to DAT (16bit) through a 24bit converter, I'd need dither. Which would sound better than to use a 16 bit A/D.
 
Stefan Elmblad said:
Which would sound better than to use a 16 bit A/D.
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Not absolutely sure about that one. Are these transfers simply for masters? If so, then yea, the 24-bit with dithering makes sense, and is probably your best option. But if this is for basic tracking, then I'm not sure what real benefit you'd derive over just getting the best possible 16-bit converter. Just a thought.
 
It's for both tracking and mastering.... and like you say Chess, it's when it's time to master the dither would be very nice. And a must, really, if I wanna be able to use a 24bit A/D when going to 16bit DAT.
 
If you're doing a live stereo recording to 16-bit DAT and THAT DAT tape is your master (meaning it's what you use to make any duplicates with, if not from a saftey of the master) or you're NOT going to do ANY digital editing (processing) (ONLY cut/paste is allowed) in order to make a master, then 24-bit dithered to 16-bit at the A/D stage is most likely the way to go.

Even if a live stereo recording with THAT DAT tape not the master or if you'll be doing some digital editing (processing) to make a master, then 24-bit dithered to 16-bit at the A/D stage is most likely the way to go too.

By the way, if you do or will be doing live stereo recordings often enough (enough where dithering to 16-bit at the A/D stage is an important consideration when looking at 24-bit A/D converters), then I recommend purchasing an Alesis Masterlink.

But if you're multitracking into, mixing into, or mastering into an A/D that has 24-bit analog input capabilities and 24-bit digital output capabilities, with a recording device that has 24-bit capabilities on its digital inputs and 24-bit storage medium, and the resulting recording when mixing or mastering is NOT your master or you're NOT going to do ANY digital editing (processing) (ONLY cut/paste is allowed) to make a master, then dithering to 16-bit at the A/D stage would be a mistake.

Oh, and I don't know why you thought the AD 9624 doesn't dither to 16-bit, but it does.
 
Well, I'll use all of the above really.... recording to 24, 20 and 16bit, and analog mixing down to either 24 (for editing) or to 16bit (direct to DAT). It all depends on the situation at hand.

So, to get the most use out of it, I'll need the unit to put out all three different bitrates.

So, the Lucid does 16bit ? I'll check that out.... but I do need the Rosetta's 20bit mode and adat out too.
 
Ok ummmm. First of all I own a an AD9624 and I think it's a nice piece of equipment. Yes it does dither to 16 but I think it is an analog noise shape process so you would not want to use it for multi-tracking as the noise would start to sum up and could be detectable. Really more for an analog master to digital process and I think that has been covered. I am not sure why you are as concerned about dithering 24 to 20 because most experts say that even the best converters are only capable of a true 19-20 bit accuracy. So let the other 4 bits just drop off, problem solved!! My advice is to worry more about your analog end and put your money there because it will make more of a difference.

Just my .02
 
jmproductions said:
Ok ummmm. First of all I own a an AD9624 and I think it's a nice piece of equipment. Yes it does dither to 16 but I think it is an analog noise shape process so you would not want to use it for multi-tracking as the noise would start to sum up and could be detectable. Really more for an analog master to digital process and I think that has been covered. I am not sure why you are as concerned about dithering 24 to 20 because most experts say that even the best converters are only capable of a true 19-20 bit accuracy. So let the other 4 bits just drop off, problem solved!! My advice is to worry more about your analog end and put your money there because it will make more of a difference.

Just my .02
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You're saying I can put a 24bit signal into a digital input that only accepts 20bit ?? That sounds strange to me...

And what do you know about my analog gear ?
 
Stefan Elmblad said:
You're saying I can put a 24bit signal into a digital input that only accepts 20bit??
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Yep. The last 4 bits just get truncated. That's what happens when a digital signal is dithered too, but in that case a little noise is added to alleviate the effects of truncation.
 
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