
Giganova
gimmi your mic!
RME 9363 + Allen & Heath 16:2DX + Alesis AI3 ($1,800)
vs Roland VM3100 ($300)
Allen & Heath + RME + Converters
VM3100 digital mixer
Over the past few years I've used a Roland VM3100Pro 8-ch digital mixer with an RPC-1 sound card. The sound is actually pretty good, but I always felt that the signal could be clearer and crispier. What also let me look into new gear is the fact that the pres and EQ on the VM3100 are essentially useless (very noisy).
So I ended up buying an RME 9363 Lightpipe card, an Allen & Heath 16:2 Mixwizard and Alesis AI3 converters.
Next I did a comparison by recording the same demo song off one of my sythesizers, once with the Roland VM3100 and once with the new Allen & Heath + RME + converter chain. Settings are identical with same levels, all done at 24/44.1, downdithered to 16/44.1 in Logic. No EQ/PRE on the mixer, just the direct outs.
The bottom line: I can hardly hear any difference at all! Can you? The only difference I notice is that the lower frequencies sound slightly better with the new setup. With the old VM3100Pro the basses sound kinda boomy & boxy; with the new setup the basses are clearer & crispier. Apart from that I can hardly hear any difference at all, which surprises me. Am I deaf?
The story would be different if i had recorded many channels at once, I guess (so effects and noise can add up, plus different summing circuitry, etc), and if I had used EQ or on-board pres, coz that's where the Allen & Heath really shines: one of the cleanest pres and finest sounding EQ I've ever heard (which I didn't use during the test). Don't get me started talking about the Roland VM3100 pres: noisy & dirty, virtually useless.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed because overall the new setup sounds just FANTASTIC. But I would have expected to hear a more noticable difference. In the future I will be hard pressed to believe ANY of the "high-end" hype here and on other boards (except for mics and pres).
Differences in mixer/sound cards seem to be very subtle, and a major investment has to be carefully judged if it really improves the sound enough to justify that investment.
So, was it worth investing $1,800 in a new setup? Hell yeah, even though nobody will ever hear it, at least I can say that I have highend gear (oh boy).
On a more serious note: I think the new gear gave me a lot of peace of mind since I know I did everything I could with my limited budget and there's no need to "upgrade" for the next few years (decades, human life spans). And I have more channels and nice sounding onboard pres and EQs.
Anyway, give it a shot, listen to the two tracks (16/44.1 WAV files) and let me know what you think, ok?
Cheers,
Gig
vs Roland VM3100 ($300)
Allen & Heath + RME + Converters
VM3100 digital mixer
Over the past few years I've used a Roland VM3100Pro 8-ch digital mixer with an RPC-1 sound card. The sound is actually pretty good, but I always felt that the signal could be clearer and crispier. What also let me look into new gear is the fact that the pres and EQ on the VM3100 are essentially useless (very noisy).
So I ended up buying an RME 9363 Lightpipe card, an Allen & Heath 16:2 Mixwizard and Alesis AI3 converters.
Next I did a comparison by recording the same demo song off one of my sythesizers, once with the Roland VM3100 and once with the new Allen & Heath + RME + converter chain. Settings are identical with same levels, all done at 24/44.1, downdithered to 16/44.1 in Logic. No EQ/PRE on the mixer, just the direct outs.
The bottom line: I can hardly hear any difference at all! Can you? The only difference I notice is that the lower frequencies sound slightly better with the new setup. With the old VM3100Pro the basses sound kinda boomy & boxy; with the new setup the basses are clearer & crispier. Apart from that I can hardly hear any difference at all, which surprises me. Am I deaf?
The story would be different if i had recorded many channels at once, I guess (so effects and noise can add up, plus different summing circuitry, etc), and if I had used EQ or on-board pres, coz that's where the Allen & Heath really shines: one of the cleanest pres and finest sounding EQ I've ever heard (which I didn't use during the test). Don't get me started talking about the Roland VM3100 pres: noisy & dirty, virtually useless.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed because overall the new setup sounds just FANTASTIC. But I would have expected to hear a more noticable difference. In the future I will be hard pressed to believe ANY of the "high-end" hype here and on other boards (except for mics and pres).

So, was it worth investing $1,800 in a new setup? Hell yeah, even though nobody will ever hear it, at least I can say that I have highend gear (oh boy).

Anyway, give it a shot, listen to the two tracks (16/44.1 WAV files) and let me know what you think, ok?
Cheers,
Gig