Quality Loss,of signal when working with hardware fX

[hansgauffin]

Hi, I wonder if I should expect some quality loss when sending a recorded signal out from the soundcard and into an analog equalizer and compressor and back into the computer. The soundcard is working at 16/44.1, is there any tips on how to preserve the quality of the signal as it goes in and out thru the soundcard, should I have the signal as "hot" as possible, or is it better to keep the volume down??

 

[dgatwood]

Hi, I wonder if I should expect some quality loss when sending a recorded signal out from the soundcard and into an analog equalizer and compressor and back into the computer. The soundcard is working at 16/44.1, is there any tips on how to preserve the quality of the signal as it goes in and out thru the soundcard, should I have the signal as "hot" as possible, or is it better to keep the volume down??

The best way to preserve the quality is to stop recording at 16-bit depth and keep the signal through your effects chain as hot as you can without clipping. If your hardware doesn't support 24-bit depth, get better hardware.

 

[Bristol Posse]

The key is to know your gear

What levels are the out board hardware expecting? what do the signal processors do to the sound if driven too hard (coloration)? If it's looking for a line level is it +4 or -10 and what does that equate to on your DAW levels? that kind of thing
getting the gain staging as right as possible should ensure as clean as possible (or as colored as desired) signals through the chain.

The rest will be down to the digital to analog and analog to digital converters that you use to send and receive the signal out from the software. There will be some potential degredation of the signal both out and in at that point but how much and whether you will even be able to notice will depend on what soundcard you use and what you monitor through and how good the listening environment is.

 

[hansgauffin]

20 bit, 18 bit???

Thanks for the answers,, actually I discovered that I´ve been recording in 24 bits, but that the soundcard has 20-bit D/A and 18-bit A/D converters, is it necessary to record in 24 bits? Will there be any benefits eventhough the converters don´t match that bit depth?? As I´m sending the audio in and out from the soundcard i wonder what settings would theoritacally be the best for this task, 16 bit or 24 bit?? My apologies for the terrible writing, I+m kinda tired at the moment ,,,,