going into A-D, analog or digital?

[burnthair donethat]

hi,

i was wondering what you guys do when there's an option to go digital via ADAT or analog via phono jack, xlr, etc from preamps to ADC.

i've always opted to go digital as a gut reaction whose rational i only recently thought through. i supposed that going digital would add less noise but am no longer sure after hearing a particularly noisy recording lately.

any takers?

BH

[Mixwell]

BH,

It sounds like you are referring to using the AD converters on one product, opposed to another's. Can you elaborate on the specifics there? Equipment, Method, etc...

I'm just having trouble understanding your real question in regards to what you are doing.

It comes down the sound of the AD's and DA's and if they have measurably and audibly better S/N and Dynamic Range performance.

[burnthair donethat]

sorry for being unclear.

i had two onyx 800r's going into a alesis HD24 via optical cable instead of DB25 to trs. i want to know experienced users preferences and why.

i just always used the optical cable because i figured "digital ergo cleaner." the AD happened via the convertes in the mackie unit. not as clean as i wanted it, not enough gain, and a whole lot of other problems(i ended up hating the thing after the concert)

[Tomasz]

i had two onyx 800r's going into a alesis HD24 via optical cable instead of DB25 to trs. i want to know experienced users preferences and why.

so to clarify, it seems as though you are basically asking which converters would be preferable right? the mackies', or the HD24s'? I can understand the reasoning behind using the optical, ie; conversion from the mackie, as cabling is considerably less..
I've never used the mackie, but have used the HD24 plenty.. no real complaints but then I've really only had experience with the crane song HEDD converter, but that does XTRA shit to the sound.. IMO... GOOD shit I might add
I'm interested to see what follows here, myself

[Mixwell]

Well, I would suggest neither of them are "so terribly bad" - that you can't make a great recording with either.

You're simply going to have to try it both ways to determine which is best.

You've peaked my interest about what exactly went "wrong" with the 800R's converters, and if there was possibly something else in the setup that went south on you?

[burnthair donethat]

i'm not so sure what the problem was because they were rentals. the moment the show was done the equipment was gone. what i did notice though was the lack of gain on the pres. my main channels (omnis in AB) were maxed out and still it was lacking.

i tried to convince my supervisors to just let me bring our preamps in the studio (neve 1081R &1073) but she won't budge because she's scared that they might get fucked in transit or something.

because of this recurring situation wherein i'm hating the stuff that we're renting i'm getting a 2882 but i've heard that the gain on that thing is lacking as well. the search must go on.

[Mo Facta]

hi,

i was wondering what you guys do when there's an option to go digital via ADAT or analog via phono jack, xlr, etc from preamps to ADC.


A quick point.

It all depends which ADC you want to employ and that should all depend on which one you think sounds better.

ADAT optical is merely a transfer protocol, akin to others like AES/EBU. Apologies if I'm insulting your intelligence here because you already know this. This means that the ADC actually happens in the 800R unitbthead and is merely transferred into your HD24 via the ADAT protocol. Otherwise, in the case of the analog DB25 TRS outputs, you're employing the HR24 converters.

As was said before, neither of those components are stellar, but there's no reason you'll be limited in getting a great recording out of that setup. It's the decision regarding which converters sound better to you that is the crux of this matter.

Also, noise isn't the issue here. If your gain staging is right the noise from the analog outs vs. the digital outs should be negligible.

BTW, greetings from the Womb, fellas. Nice forum. I'll be on here more often.

Cheers :)

[Mixwell]

Welcome to MTM Mo Facta!!!!

We're glad to have you hanging around these parts.

[Halfway Competent]

i'm not so sure what the problem was because they were rentals. the moment the show was done the equipment was gone. what i did notice though was the lack of gain on the pres. my main channels (omnis in AB) were maxed out and still it was lacking.

i tried to convince my supervisors to just let me bring our preamps in the studio (neve 1081R &1073) but she won't budge because she's scared that they might get fucked in transit or something.

because of this recurring situation wherein i'm hating the stuff that we're renting i'm getting a 2882 but i've heard that the gain on that thing is lacking as well. the search must go on.
Was the signal split? If the splitter is a passive unit with no transformers, you're presenting a low-impedance load to the mics which will make them sound thin. If it has transformers to isolate and keep impedance correct, you're going to end up with a quieter signal. Never used the 800R, but I have a small Onyx board. The pres deliver 60 dB of gain, and the only time I've been wanting for more gain was when I set up an SM-94 pencil to capture audio for an interview for a documentary. (Another time I used my AT4047, which is considerably hotter, and it worked great.)

What kind of omnis were A/B? What kind of music? How loud at the mics?