hiya, bored so time for a little rant about this topic:
first of all, the difference between lt and no-lt is that the 1010lt is way cheaper and has crappier io (all rca jacks). LoL
there ARE mic pres on the 1010lt, but they suck crap (in the s/n crappy kind of way that really matters). just use those xlrs as line ins and all's good (switchable gain level via software).
I use 1010lt boards professionally. I also sometimes get to work in big studios with great converters. flame me if you like, but the differences from the converters with regards to digital conversion quality itself are almost zero, or at least so close to zero that it really doesn't matter enough to trash the 1010. differences do exist of course, there is jitter in the 1010lt that you can see if you analyze it. can you hear it? typically.... no. does jitter make things muddy? not at all, that's not what converter jitter sounds like, at least not to my ears, if anything it's the opposite. converter jitter is a very very subtle thing, you have to listen specifically for it, MOST PEOPLE CAN'T HEAR IT or mistake something else for it (commonly frequency response differences between cards is assumed to be converter quality differences), and it's in the high frequencies exclusively if you ask me. not that you did
if people suffer from audio issues with the delta1010 (LT or not) it is not from the interface imho as much as from the io setup, level setup, the fact that the LT is actually unbalanced (it's rca jacks almost exclusively) that you can run with +4 levels if you like, and so on. So you need to set it up properly, and most people think +4 with the LT's rca = it will work with balanced gear. Nope, set it for -10 and use it with unbalanced ins/outs or you'll get tone issues because it's going to drive only half ot he balanced amplifier's input (or whatever scenario). The Delta boards have quite an elaborate software controlled on board hardware mixer. it's levels need to be setup very carefully for the best sound imho. you can screw it up big time if you're not careful. the LT is harder to setup than the non-Lt for those reasons, but if you're smart and do your research (and understand the circuit you're creating when you connect your gear, balanced and unbalanced), then you can get amazing sound from the 1010lt.
but I honestly think that most of the situation is that people who upgrade from the 1010 often do so while also upgrading other wiring, mixer, outboard, preamps, monitors, daw, what have you. then they blame the 1010.
I believe (from personal experienced LoL) that a good engineer when pushed to work with the most basic hardware (such as a soundblaster @ 16 bit 44.1) can do entirely professional grade recordings/mixes/productions. The differences between converters in sound quality are by far the smallest differences you will ever hear in your recordings over the years, and other than complete crap converters from 20+ years ago you should never really be able to hear issues with your converters in a way that will affect the musicality or final sound of your product. it can be an audible side effect but only in very very tough testing at extremely high levels when you're listening for it specifically and know what to listen for.
there ARE differences in tone between interfaces that are obvious in some ways, but the obvious differences are in the frequency responses, and it has nothing to do with the converters (unless you're talking about ancient converters that don't cover the full audio spectrum where the developers intentionally cut off the HF so you don't hear converstion garbage within the audible range). With all half way decent newer than 15 or 20 years sound cards/recording interfaces it's not how high or low it goes (they can all go as far as we can hear), but the response itself (input and output levels/sensitivities at different frequencies). so yes, you can hear differences between cards, but don't blame the converters (which are actually pretty good on the delta series of cards based on my memory about these conversations in the past).
If one's earlier recordings with the 1010 were muddy compared to newer recordings, then it's very likely that one recorded/mixed it more muddy due to tastes at the time, different listening environment at the time, different recording/mixing gear, and even possibly differences in the eq of the delta card compared with your later card, sure that's possible.
speaking personally I've never found the 1010 to be muddy in the work I do. it's very flat and even compared to the digi hd gear I use often and the various other systems I use where ever I'm hired to work, quite similar overall, to the point of being differences being irrelevant.
anyway, while I'm not expecting to change anyone's minds about their experiences, that's a personal opinion sort of thing
and we all know what we know..., what I'm trying to get across here is that one shouldn't worry too much about the sound of a card like the 1010 (which even if it was consdered sort of crappy would still work perfectly well and allow great recordings if you're a good engineer, but as it happens is a really great card imho). what one should worry about is the connectivity and features of the card so that you can get the most out of your setup.
converters, jitter, eq of the card, even noise factors really are so low in almost all interfaces/sound cards that I've used in the past decade or so that it's pretty much irrelevant imho.
you want an example of audibly crappy converters? use a 12 bit sampler. try early PCM studio recordings. and even then it wasn't the PCM systems really that were the worst problem, it was that the recording habits of engineers that made great recordings on analog tape (pushing levels hard) made the worst recordings on PCM. so many early recordings had those harsh sounds... they still generally turned out fine though in the end (maybe that thanks should go to mastering engineers?).
the 1010lt's converters BLOW THOSE AWAY. they're also far better than the converters in adats imho. and better than the converters in most dat decks. both of which were used extensively (dat almost exclusively) for a while during the 80s and early 90s.
So please focus on features when it comes to cards. features and reliability. save the sound comparisons for what really makes the difference - your skills, your ears, your personal taste, your experience, and your mixdowon desk's sound (including the room and monitors you're using). if those change then so will your mixes, for better or for worse.
cheers
Don
