OK, tell me about A/D converters..

[Hi_Flyer]

I'm using a pair of Delta 44 PCI cards... I'm assuming my soundcard is my A/D converter? Do the Delta 44 converters suck? If so, why? What makes a converter good or bad? I record at 24-bit/44.1KHz (the Delta can go up to a 96KHz sample rate, but I don't want to open the "sample rate can-o-worms" ) but it seems that when I see talk of quality "converters" its about more than bit-depth and sample rates. So what gives?

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

The converters in your Delta card are pretty decent and certainly a significant step up from those found in stock soundcards and cards made for gaming and things like that (soundblaster etc.).

There's apparently (I wouldn't know because I can't afford it) much better conversion available but it's one area where if you're going to upgrade you need to be willing to spend lots of money. A couple of channels of digital conversion from a company like Apogee will cost you around US$1500. The Lavry blue (2 channels) costs $2500.

imho opinion 24bit/44.1khz is just fine regardless of the quality of your converters (or at least I hope it is 'cos those are the numbers I record at ).

 

[Farview]

Your Delta convertors are fine, not super-world class-nifty, but fine. Great convertors will sound warmer, more open, more real. But they cost a lot of money. If you want the best be prepared to spend $2000 for a pair of a/d and another $2000 for a pair of d/a. It does make a big difference assuming the rest of your signal chain is up to the same standard.

 

[Massive Master]

imho opinion 24bit/44.1khz is just fine regardless of the quality of your converters (or at least I hope it is 'cos those are the numbers I record at ).

I do indeed concur wholeheartedly. There's nothign wrong with tracking at 44.1kHz - especially if the target medium is CD.