digital rec advice anyone?

[StevenLindsey]

Yeah, I'm looking at the Akai 24 track too. I'm looking for the one that is the absolute quietest..... is that a word? I want a "silent" recorder....I'm in one room and can't have much noise. I keep thinking I'm going to have to go with a computer and stick it in my closet.

mofacs: The D8 isn't very computer friendly. The only way to get separate tracks from the D8 into the computer is to backup with the optical output. My understanding is that the D8 will back up 8 tracks in pairs. You then have to line up the tracks somehow once you get em into your program, with a spike at the beginning of the song (?). Don't ask me how to do this...I do no recording/music on computer. But..I think it's more trouble than it's worth. If you're just doing it for storage, your best bet is to get a tower and get several SCSI 4 gig drives and link them. It'll take up to 7 I think. I juse an external SCSI with mine and it works OK but I don't record with it....noisy fan. If you're wanting to manipulate tracks after you get them on your computer....well, bummer. You can send a digital stereo signal through s/pdif to your comp for some final mastering I guess if you have better compressers, reverbs, etc on your computer.

 

[Escalator?]

questions :
: what is S/PDIF?
: A/D converters have been mentioned repeatedly ... they are internal on any digital recorder, right? Do any mixers convert analog to digi before they output? You wouldn't need an external converter? And what's the scale of bit-rate like (someone referred to this) for converters?
: what are balanced outputs, on a mixer?

just need to clear up some things... some of the terminology is swamping me.
thanks

 

[StevenLindsey]

questions :
: what is S/PDIF?
: A/D converters have been mentioned repeatedly ... they are internal on any digital recorder, right? Do any mixers convert analog to digi before they output? You wouldn't need an external converter? And what's the scale of bit-rate like (someone referred to this) for converters?
: what are balanced outputs, on a mixer?

just need to clear up some things... some of the terminology is swamping me.
thanks

s/pdif is just a digital format for transferring digital data. Stands for Sony/Phillips Digital InterFace....I think. s/pdif can use optical inputs/outputs/cables ( like on the D8/D16 ) or coaxial (RCA ) inputs/outputs/cables.

Yes digital recorders have analog to digital converters after the preamp to, of course, turn the signal into something the computer can understand. The D8/D16.... are really just small specialized computers. And then to output the sound, the recorder has to covert the digital information to analog information so the speaker can interpret it. The D16 is 16 bit/ 41khz I think, like the D8. Some can do 24 bit. Some do 48/88.2/96khz sampling rates. The M-series Soundcraft mixers have an s/pdif output....probably coaxial....not sure of the bit rate/sample rate. I've heard the AD isn't all that good.

A balance output has 2 connection lines for the signal and a ground ...unbalance has a a ground and one line for the signal. The balanced setup cancels noise to a large extent and carries a slighter greater ouput. Balanced 1/4" cables have TRS (tip/ring/sleeve) ends (stereo jacks) -- unbalanced 1/4" cables have TS ends ( tip/sleeve ). Some balanced outputs/inputs/cables use XLR ( the three pronged connections that are used on most microphones. ) Balanced signal paths generally carry a quieter and slightly hotter signal.....it really does make a difference for the D8/D16 for your background noise in your recordings.

I hope I said all this right. I'm not all that tech savvy. If you need more technical information on some of this, use the search button. All this has been discussed a lot here. And many of these guys know much much more than I. Good luck!