Upgrading From Audiophile 2496, a question.

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visionary432

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I currently record using an m-audio audiophile 2496 into Cubase. My mics are a Shure SM57 and Audio Technica AT3035. My mic pre is a Focusrite Trakmaster Pro. I've been recording vocals and guitar, and my recordings are nearing the proffessional level... Will an upgrade to a $300-500 card put my recordings over the edge? Will there be a noticeable difference?
 
probably not in that price range, maybe for more inputs at the same time. You need a higher end AD converter like an Apogee or something to really make a discernable difference. + you may want to look at mixing down a different way instead of how you go in. A high end DA coverter to analog is a great upgrade.
 
petermiller said:
probably not in that price range, maybe for more inputs at the same time. You need a higher end AD converter like an Apogee or something to really make a discernable difference. + you may want to look at mixing down a different way instead of how you go in. A high end DA coverter to analog is a great upgrade.
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Could you elaborate a little more? I'm a bit of a newbie regarding DA converters. Thanks
 
the AD converter is the most important process which your signal goes through entering the digital realm. The better the conversion the better the information you have to work with from there on out. A higher end converter will give you a 24bit conversion reguardless of the sample rate you are working with, it will also shorten word length. _ on the output DA conversion has higher quality dithering when going to 16bit for CD The apogee has soft limiting to maximize input level without distortion which is proprietary to there converters. The more information you have to work with the better the end result when dithering down to cd, aliasing and other anomolies are minimized
 
Okay I just checked, and my preamp has a socket in the back to place an analog digital converter. Tell me if my thinking here is correct:

Currently I'm using my soundcard's low-end ADC. However, if I buy an ADC to hook to my preamp it will bypass the ADC in my soundcard since the input signal will already be digital.

Thanks for helping.
 
Yes the trackmaster has a lot for digital output, I can't say if its going to be an improvement over the 2496 in its conversion or not. I would probably say it is a latteral movement. But your thinking is correct that you would have made your conversion already before you entered the soundcard. That is providing that you use a digital input on the 2496. Iwould say that before you invest any money in an upgrade look at what sample rate you are using and if you can make an improvement there your end result will be better.
 
For sample rate, I use my maximum of 96000 when I record into Cubase. Then resample down.
 
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hasnt there been a lot of discussions of sample rate and how high do u need to go to the point where its pointless? -_-. another thread completely.

anyways, i would probably say only upgrade to a better soundcard if u want more i/o's unless u plan on spending at least a grand on ur interface, which in that case just get the interface -_-. but on a serious note, theres probably many other things that would probably make ur recordings sound better than the audio interface u use, from things like ur producing knowledge to mics to other hardware/software effects. just my 7 cents.
 
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