Digital Questions

[smellyfuzz]

I'm a little fascinated with this whole A/D-D/A converter thing.
I've heard of them before, years ago, when CD players started having
separate transports & converters.

I have some questions on the subject & digital in relation to recording;


1) I have an Audiophile 24/96, will even the cheapest D/A converters be
an improvement of sound ?

2) Can one use multi-track programs when using a D/A converter ?

3) How does a D/A converter & CPU setup compare to other digital recorders ?
Radar, Roland HD, Adat, ECT...

4) How does a wordclock come into play ?

5) What other components can one but for this type "DAW" of system ?
What do they do ?

6) Can one use CPU programs (Cool Edit pro) to edit recorded music on a synced ADAT ?

7) Would I be better off just buying an ADAT, syncing it with my sound card
& using my Audiophile for midi ?

ALL COMMENTS WELCOME !

Thanks,

Sean

 

[jake-owa]

1) I have an Audiophile 24/96, will even the cheapest D/A converters be
an improvement of sound ?

a. No, the cheapest converters are probably very similar to the ones in your soundcard. Don't take small steps when upgrading the converters in your setup, wait until it's really an issue.

2) Can one use multi-track programs when using a D/A converter ?

b. Yes, in fact using a DAW type multi-track requires an A/D to record then DA to play through speakers.

3) How does a D/A converter & CPU setup compare to other digital recorders ?
Radar, Roland HD, Adat, ECT...

c. All digital recorders use A/D and D/A converters so I'm not sure what you mean. Sonicly there are many differences but on the low end (sub $2000 cards and recorders) many are very similar in quality level. CPU speed is important but with modern computers the issue is really a minor one. The soundcard is really a bigger limiting factor and also don't forget the harddisk. The all in one recorders from Roland are matched to the other components so are rarely much an issue..the crappy digital EQ and compressors however..

4) How does a wordclock come into play ?

d. Wordclock (like in your card) is just an absolute time to sync digital words to. A low jitter clock becomes very important when doing digital transfers. SPDIF digital carries a word clock with the 16 or 24 bit "words" flying at 44 or 96 thousand a second (44.1 or 96 khz). When you plug a digital signal into another device usually you'll need to chose a clock master so as not to confuse the absolute timing. Word clock for a pro system is carried seperatly on a BNC connector or XLR plug. The master is chosen and all the digital devices are slaved to its clock to keep everyone on the same step. This is far from foolproof though, when too many things are chained or cables get too long problems can arise. It's usually best to go as simple as possible where clocking is concerned.

5) What other components can one but for this type "DAW" of system ?
What do they do ?

e. I'm not sure I can understand this question. The components are collectively called the signal chain and include (most simple) mic (most important), preamp (second in importance), analog to digital converters (soundcard A/D), DAW program (Vegas rocks). Then Playback is DAW to D/A converters to amp to monitors (also very important). It should be fairly obvious what these components do.

6) Can one use CPU programs (Cool Edit pro) to edit recorded music on a synced ADAT ?

f. There is a card/software combo made by Alesis called ADAT edit that will make this type of editing a breeze.

7) Would I be better off just buying an ADAT, syncing it with my sound card
& using my Audiophile for midi ?

g. No, the whole reason I answered this post is to tell you to stay the hell away from ADATS. They are the new digital dinosaurs. Talk about bad converters! The new ADAT's are just ok but they are riddled with long term problems. Plus adding an ADAT is going to unnessicarily complicate thingsin the studio. Go for an M-audio 1010 or Aardvark Q10 stick to the computer recording.

Just my advice.

Good luck!!

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

g. No, the whole reason I answered this post is to tell you to stay the hell away from ADATS. They are the new digital dinosaurs. Talk about bad converters! The new ADAT's are just ok but they are riddled with long term problems. Plus adding an ADAT is going to unnessicarily complicate thingsin the studio.

You were doing smashingly well until this part.... you're WAY off here..........................!

 

[jake-owa]

You were doing smashingly well until this part.... you're WAY off here..........................!

I'll admit, this part is mostly opinion, but the ADATs are really problematic (in my experience) and it would be a whole lot more wiring and would require a mixer to operate. That's a bit of extra complication for something that's redundant and not any better in sound quality.

 

[smellyfuzz]

Jake,

Thanks for all your input. A lesson for sure .

BRUCE,

Since you chimed in...

I was scanning your GREAT WEB-SITE, for the hundredth time,

1) Have you compared the sound of your old Adats to your Audiophile ?

2) Have you ever synced your Adats to the sound card ?

3) Do you use editing software for your Adats ?

4) In your opinion, I'm finding good success with my analogue/digital hybrid,
Do you think I should add an Adat to the chain or stick with the sound card &
perhaps add a D/A converter later on ?

Thanks you both for your input,

Sean

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

I use the Audiophile for monitoring only.... I find the analog I/O too noisy to be useful for recording... (the analog I/O is where the the A/D and D/A converters come in...)

The way I get audio to/from the computer is via the RME Hammerfall card -- all digital I/O plus ADAT sync which allows sample-accurate sync'ing between my HD24/XT20s and the comp.

I pretty much use the computer as a digital editor using Cubase SX - flying tracks to/from the HD24 as needed.

The whole thing is clocked with a Lucid GENx6 word clock unit.

It sounds bloody excellent!