if the interface has decent DA then you don't need another DA.blizt wrote:Ok i understand that the DA is in the interface. But there are also standlone DA converters no? So to get the best sound possible i need a good soundcard + a quality DA converter. Is that right?
And I said the converter needs to be between the soundcard and the speakers because the sound travels let's say: laptop > soundcard > DA converter > monitors > air > my ears
Feel free to correct me because this subject is confusing me and i want to learn and do things right to get the best sound i can.
P.S: I found this very intersting article about converters: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan09/a ... erters.htm
Which soundcard to get ?
Just got my apogee duet today and it sounds amazing. Upgraded from an m audio fast track pro so there is an obvious sound difference imo. I was going to go with the konnect 6 from tc electronics, but i was told i wouldn't notice a huge difference from my fast track pro.The apogee is worth saving up for.
yeah im saving up for the duetRaddler wrote:Just got my apogee duet today and it sounds amazing. Upgraded from an m audio fast track pro so there is an obvious sound difference imo. I was going to go with the konnect 6 from tc electronics, but i was told i wouldn't notice a huge difference from my fast track pro.The apogee is worth saving up for.
Traktor Scratch Pro audio 8 is fine for me... Its good for production, if you dont use analog gear, and its great for digital dj-ing
http://www.myspace.com/jovankoo Listen to it my music is RAW-er than yor Pron
that's a very valid point right there.jobbanaught wrote:Get a quality firwire or usb audio interface, it has all you need. If you dont have top quality listening environment (monitors and room treatment), you dont need a top quality interface (> 600 Eur for 8 Stereo I/O).
no point in getting a crappy soundcard, that's true,
but there's also not much point in getting an expensive one if the rest of your rig is only average quality or if your room is not treated.
I've started with average gear and I've done years with an echo audiofire8 and an audiofire2 for on the road.
First used on PC dekstops and laptops, later on macbook pro's.
I finally upgraded last month to an Apogee Ensemble for in the studio and a Duet for on the road.
I have to say, I was very suspicious to Apogee at first.
Their interfaces looked way too expensive for what they were supposed to do.
But all my prejudices were wrong, to say the least.
They are extremely easy to set up and to use.
The sound quality is VERY good : very clean and bright, with lots of detail.
And there's 2 things I gotta mention that I was very happy with :
1. There's almost no latency with Apogee stuff !
I got mine down to 0.10 seconds, and I could still lower cause I can still lower my buffer size.
I'm originally a piano player, so I play in tons of stuff, and the latency with softsynths + recording hardware synths bugged me like hell.
Now I can use one of the piano presets in Kontakt and play a Chopin Nocturne and I won't notice the extremely small latency there is left.
I was very happy with that.
2. Their "low latency mixer" !
I don't know if there are other soundcards that have this function, but with Maestro (the software application mixer that comes with all Apogee gear), you can listen to what you record with almost no latency at all.
How ? They split the signal when it enters your Apogee, the first half just goes to your sequencer for recording, the other part gets routed back directly to your output, together with the playback from your sequencer.
This means you only get the latency of the signal when it enters the soundcard and when it leaves the soundcard, but not the latency when it enters your sequencer and has to leave it again for monitoring.
Basically, all you gotta do is switch off your monitoring in your sequencer, and you'll hear whatever you record back to your monitors or headphones with almost no latency whatsoever while you're still recording.
No latency is never possible, but this is such an effective and simple way to record your hardware without having the fucking latency bugging you out.
Like I said, I come from a classic piano background, so I'm technically skilled enough to play stuff a bit later or sooner if necessary, but it was still very annoying, so I'm glad that's solved now.
Have a look here if I sound too complicated :
http://support.apogeedigital.com/index. ... Itemid=238
And with getting the ensemble it got even sweeter :
I can use it even if my laptop is turned of, it just switches to its last settings when it doesn't detect your computer after a few seconds. That way you can still use it as a mixer.
If you got a Mac, you can't really go wrong with Apogee stuff, in my opinion.
Plus their support is fast and friendly.
I've dealt with many different supports in the past,
and theirs is definitely one of the better ones I've seen.
The Echo Audio support for instance was just bad as hell.
and for the record :
the Echo Audio cards served me just fine, and I think in their price range they're hard to beat.
I was just ready for an upgrade.
(both are for sale btw, and in perfect condition)
I was thinking about getting an RME,
since I was very impressed with them whenever I heard them,
but I'm glad now I got the Apogee's.
Apogee is made only for Mac, and I still believe that's a better thing than cards that are made for both platforms.
Focusing on one platform should be able to give more effeciency in the end I think.
If you only do one thing, it's a lot better at getting it right than if you do two things, right ?
Maybe I'm over-simplifying stuff, but I still think that's true.
And if I see how fast their AD/DA convertors are, then I do think that's gotta be true a bit.
I'd stay away from the M audio stuff.
I don't know their newer gear, but I'd never get a soundcard from M audio, never heard a good one from them in the past, and even if they made a giant "leap forward" as someone mentioned above, then it would still place them somehwere in the middle, not really anywhere upfront.
anyways, just my 2 cts.
the Echo Audio cards served me just fine, and I think in their price range they're hard to beat.
I was just ready for an upgrade.
(both are for sale btw, and in perfect condition)
I was thinking about getting an RME,
since I was very impressed with them whenever I heard them,
but I'm glad now I got the Apogee's.
Apogee is made only for Mac, and I still believe that's a better thing than cards that are made for both platforms.
Focusing on one platform should be able to give more effeciency in the end I think.
If you only do one thing, it's a lot better at getting it right than if you do two things, right ?
Maybe I'm over-simplifying stuff, but I still think that's true.
And if I see how fast their AD/DA convertors are, then I do think that's gotta be true a bit.
I'd stay away from the M audio stuff.
I don't know their newer gear, but I'd never get a soundcard from M audio, never heard a good one from them in the past, and even if they made a giant "leap forward" as someone mentioned above, then it would still place them somehwere in the middle, not really anywhere upfront.
anyways, just my 2 cts.
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I now need a new soundcard. I was going to a get a mixer with soundcard, but now I don't have the room for it as I over estimated how big my room was and its now packed as i just bought a big synth.
Need 8ins/8outs and wanna spend about 500 quid. Whats good? I'm using an old m-audio delta which I hate as wont change sample rate and its locked into 22.
Anyone got one of these: http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/ ... rid--69750
Need 8ins/8outs and wanna spend about 500 quid. Whats good? I'm using an old m-audio delta which I hate as wont change sample rate and its locked into 22.
Anyone got one of these: http://www.dv247.com/computer-hardware/ ... rid--69750