what will an A/D interface do to a nice pre-amp?

[hadji murad]

I would like to do some nice solo/small group recording at my home.

I'd like to use a mic pre like UASolo610 or equivalent. http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Solo610/

Obviously, I also need an interface for DAW. (Let me make this clear: this is all in theory. i have none of these items)

Here's the question...

What's the point of having that nice pre, if my (cheaper) interface also has pres and colors the sound? Or does it?

This has been boggling my mind, and I would be glad to hear anyone give me advice. Thanks!

 

[suprstar]

If your outboard mic pre has better pre's than the interface, then you can run the outboard pre's line-outs to the line-ins on your interface, and have better sound. The interface's line-ins will not color the sound like its pres would, your tracks would be a lot cleaner. You'd also be able to choose between the outboard pres or the interface pres, if you prefer one over the other for specific applications.

 

[hadji murad]

thanks suprstar. that makes sense. so, line-ins generally/always bipass built in pres, or is this something i need to specifically look for in a product?

most product info listed on musiciansfriend or sweetwater, etc. don't address this...(probably because it's obvious! but, i don't know)

 

[suprstar]

so, line-ins generally/always bipass built in pres, or is this something i need to specifically look for in a product?

Yes, that's implied. The mixer assumes any signal coming in on the line-in is much stronger than the mic pre. You can still apply some gain to the line-in signal, but not nearly as much.

 

[mattr]

It can vary...

On most of the cheaper interfaces (where its not expected you will be buying boutique outboard preamps!) the line-ins often go through the preamps.

The more expensive interfaces/converters often don't have preamps because they expect you to be using outboard pre's, and so this problem is addressed

Then you get the inbetween products, which can't make their mind up!

Yes, that's implied. The mixer assumes any signal coming in on the line-in is much stronger than the mic pre. You can still apply some gain to the line-in signal, but not nearly as much.

I may be talking garbage here, but as far as I understand (with cheaper gear) the line inputs often still feed through the preamps, hence the combined gain pot for mic and line-inputs you so often see where you are just expected to set the gain lower (i.e. at 0 or lower) for a line-level signal. You may not be applying any gain with the preamp, but the signal is still traveling through it. The higher end AD converters (Apogee, Lynx, etc) tend to have no trim/gain on any of the inputs... the line-inputs are fed through a very minimal or non-existent analog front-end and straight to the converters. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

But to put things into context here, we're talking differences that may not be noticeable (apart from maybe if you were trying to push the signal through a Behringer mixer into your onboard soundcard )! There are likely to be other limiting factors in your recording setup that affect the sound in other ways. Have you taken room acoustics into consideration?

If your budget can accommodate it, something like an RME Fireface 400 would probably fit your needs perfectly...
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Fireface400

And the preamps are clean, so you could confidently run your UA pre into it anyway - someone on Gearslutz once said:

The FF400 pres will have no color or warmth. They are wires with gain.

 

[hadji murad]

thanks for the input guys.

i guess my theory was to buy a low end interface and a high end mic pre, getting only the high end pre's sound onto my DAW.

the FF400 seems to have too many features/too high of a price to fit this theory.

i was thinking more along the lines of

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ProFire610/

or

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/FireBox/

 

[mattr]

In reality, those two interfaces would probably be fine.
Just always keep in mind that your chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Of course it does make a difference, but I question those who feel they're recordings sound awful unless they use AD conversion costing £5000 per channel! Like most things, once you get past a certain point you end up paying a huge amount for very small returns - I'd confidently say I could tell the difference between a £100 interface and an £800 interface, but I can't say I'd hear a night-and-day difference between an £800 interface and a £5000 interface.

My interface (a Motu) isn't exactly top-notch, but there are currently far greater limitations in my recording setup that mean an upgrade would currently be fairly pointless.

 

[mixsit]

thanks for the input guys.

i guess my theory was to buy a low end interface and a high end mic pre, getting only the high end pre's sound onto my DAW.

Specifically then you'd be looking for the best line level converter package. Although I'm not sure how much really not having the cost a few 'pre amps in the deal might detract from the overall quality in that end of the available options out there.

 

[hadji murad]

so would guys just advise to put all budget into the interface and forget a standalone mic pre for now?

thanks, this thread has clarified a lot of things i've been wondering about.

 

[suprstar]

I may be talking garbage here, but as far as I understand (with cheaper gear) the line inputs often still feed through the preamps, hence the combined gain pot for mic and line-inputs you so often see where you are just expected to set the gain lower (i.e. at 0 or lower) for a line-level signal. You may not be applying any gain with the preamp, but the signal is still traveling through it. The higher end AD converters (Apogee, Lynx, etc) tend to have no trim/gain on any of the inputs... the line-inputs are fed through a very minimal or non-existent analog front-end and straight to the converters. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

I googled around a little, and found that to be true, I'm quite surprised! Line-ins often do NOT bypass the board pre. I guess the question then becomes - If the pre doesn't add any gain, will it alter the signal at all? If not, the maybe you're not technically bypassing the pre, but effectively you are.

So does that mean ANY mixer channel where the gain affects the line-in signal going thru the mic pre? Some mixers, including mine, have line-in channels with no mic pre and no gain control. If you really wanna bypass the pres I guess you have to use those.