how important are A/D/A converters?

[jv21]

mga ma'am/mga sir.

newbie here. 

tanong ko lang if gaano kaimportante ang mga A/D/A converters?

uhmm, ano po mas kelangan i-prioritize? ADA converter or audio interface with good sampling rates? (im more into mixing. we record our music sa studio tas inuuwi na lang po namin ung files para sa haws na lang mix para makatipid.  ) or ADA converters are just the same with Audio interface? 

thanks. 

[abyssinianson]

A/D converters are very important..think of them as a very important gateway into your computer which can mean the difference between a crappy or accurate  representation of your recorded sound. a good set of converters will stay true to your recording so, in essence, if you have the best amp, mic and guitars fronting a performance all of those won't matter if your converters are not good. now, prioritizing converters depend on your purpose for making music. mixing, recording and whatever else you plan to do really doesn't matter because, in the end, they all do the same thing..they convert signals from analog to digital (and vice versa) depending on what you are doing for a given production task.

good interfaces usually have good converters and all companies have their own champions and critics. listen around and do your research to find out which fits your budget. for more serious production places, a standalone converter is usually employed to take advantage of a company's specialization in making master clocks and converter machinery. Lucid, Mytek, Apogee, Lynx and a few other companies specialize in making converters and a lot of companies use their products. if you use a dedicated suite like ProTools HD, you may not need to use  a standalone converter because their stuff is pretty good but some people I know still pipe to an Apogee even though they use a full-on HD system. different strokes for different folks, is what I say.

if you are a newbie, try looking into a nice interface first. it doesn't make sense having converters if you don't even know what they are because that is an investment that will require other expensive purchases such as a master clock, for one thing.

in my studio, i use both standalone (Apogee/ Mytek/ Aardvark OCX) and in-system converters (PTHD) so i can help you where I can. other experienced folks on here have a wealth of info and I'd pick their brains about their rich experience as well.

oh yeah...AD converters are not the same as an audio interface. an audio interface HAS AD converters in it but both are distinct from each other.

[jv21]

thanks maam aby.   

now for recording and mixing, i've been eyeing on an M-audio 2496 audio interface to start with..

Now for post production, do you know of a cheap A/D/A converter in the local market? how about the Behringer SRC2496 ULTRAMATCH PRO Converter?


hmmm.. and back to the topic, tama ba sabihin na iba ung tunog na napapakinggan mo when you are mixing compared sa na-burn na na audio sa cd? and with good converters, maiiwasan ito right?

salamat.

[abyssinianson]

thanks maam aby.   

now for recording and mixing, i've been eyeing on an M-audio 2496 audio interface to start with..

Now for post production, do you know of a cheap A/D/A converter in the local market? how about the Behringer SRC2496 ULTRAMATCH PRO Converter?


hmmm.. and back to the topic, tama ba sabihin na iba ung tunog na napapakinggan mo when you are mixing compared sa na-burn na na audio sa cd? and with good converters, maiiwasan ito right?

salamat.

the 2496 is pretty good and i would stick with that instead of investing in the Behringer. i don't have anything against behringer units but i would put most of my money in getting a good interface, preamp and/ or mic instead. thing is, you can rely on the converters on the m-audio for a long while and they will work pretty well for most recording purposes.

converters CAN help you hear the difference between what you have in your computer and what will eventually get mixed down into a file but the concept of focusing everything right down to your converters is tricky because a LOT of factors affect the way your session mix can change in sound when it gets bounced down to the final stereo mix for CD printing. your studio monitors, your preamps, your mics, your soundcard, your editing on the sequencer and dithering can all change how your song sounds.

what exactly do you have in your studio? dedicated converters will be useless if you don't have ample sound treatment, good monitors and a good soundcard in a system. investing in converters without paying attention to these other things may result in a bad allocation of money when you can't even properly hear what it does.

[KitC]

thanks maam aby.   

OT: hehe... abyss' a SIR. 

[jv21]

OT: hehe... abyss' a SIR. 

  haha.. sorry sir.

thanks for the info sir Kitc. hehehe

[xjepoyx]

and its Mikey! hehehe

[jv21]

and its Mikey! hehehe

hala. sorry sir mikey. heheh

tnx for the info sir jepoy. 

[abyssinianson]

OT: hehe... abyss' a SIR. 

haha..salamat sa assist, Jeps, Kit..lol...it is funny how I often get confused for the gf on the avatar. one dude actually sent me a PM asking if it were me kase ganda daw ng mata...i had to tell the poor guy that I wasn't, however, my gf did appreciate the complement when I told her!

[rakrakan]

mga ma'am/mga sir.

newbie here. 

tanong ko lang if gaano kaimportante ang mga A/D/A converters?

uhmm, ano po mas kelangan i-prioritize? ADA converter or audio interface with good sampling rates? (im more into mixing. we record our music sa studio tas inuuwi na lang po namin ung files para sa haws na lang mix para makatipid.  ) or ADA converters are just the same with Audio interface? 

thanks. 

abyss has covered your ? pretty well... here's my quick reply before I start the work week...

for mixing (ITB I suppose) invest in a very good DA (digital to analog converters) and a pair of decent monitor speakers so you can make those sonic judgments and adjustments with a certain degree of confidence that what your hearing is what the recorded/processed sound truly is. (don't forget to implement basic acoustic treatment of your room, too)

standalone AD/DA converters are different from audio interfaces, no preamps or signal processing - just conversion and clocking. audio interfaces tend to be all in one boxes - preamps with converters and some with tactile controls too.

for mixing, take a look at Benchmark DA or grab a pair of Apogee Mini DAC.

btw smart strategy there recording at studios and mixing at home. Indeed, the mix can consume a lot of time especially if you want that commercial release sound. good luck with it.

[jv21]

haha..salamat sa assist, Jeps, Kit..lol

hahaha  again, my apologies sir. hehe

abyss has covered your ? pretty well... here's my quick reply before I start the work week...

for mixing (ITB I suppose) invest in a very good DA (digital to analog converters) and a pair of decent monitor speakers so you can make those sonic judgments and adjustments with a certain degree of confidence that what your

for mixing, take a look at Benchmark DA or grab a pair of Apogee Mini DAC.

tnx sir. umm,is there an option/alternative for those expensive monitors or A/D/A converters? like listening to a good local/foreign mix/song and using it as a basis for mixing?

[bloodshedd]

umm,is there an option/alternative for those expensive monitors or A/D/A converters? like listening to a good local/foreign mix/song and using it as a basis for mixing?

You can monitor your recordings through other stuff like pc speakers and powered speakers but they can only take you far enough...  Reference monitors offer extended frequency range to allow you to hear nuances that might not be heard through ordinary speakers.

[KitC]

Here's something interesting... Behringer SRC2496 mod (a la Black Lion):

http://www.audiosmile.co.uk/src2496.htm

[lexbilis]

tnx sir. umm,is there an option/alternative for those expensive monitors or A/D/A converters? like listening to a good local/foreign mix/song and using it as a basis for mixing?

well, you could always start with a good pair of headphones. with that, you don't have to worry about room treatment. advice din to sakin ng isang forumite dito. IMO its a smart move, especially if you don't have much budget. sa ngayon, headphones gamit ko for mixing our recordings, especially in monitoring EQ. medyo mas stressful lang sa tenga. tiyaga lang sa umpisa. local audio stores have some good headphones.