External AD/DA - wich soundcard?

[Zeppel]

Hi, i'm currently in the process of getting some material to record my first abum (finally) and i've been looking for a AD converter.. my main objective is to keep the ADC's outside the computer, i'll record the guitar parts home to save money and since this will be a professional grade album, with drums recorded on an actual studio with protools(i'm paying for the whole thing myself), the works, i need a VERY good front end.

Right, after some research i've decided i'm going to get a dedicated external AD/DA, possibly an RME or Apogee one. So i will be needing a soundcard to work with the output of the AD converter... i've been looking at manuals web etc and it seems to me that after a signal is converted as long it stays digital no arm will come to it, so is it possible to couple a high-end ad/da converter to a "consumer" card without losing quality as long as a digital signal path is mainteined?
Specifically, can i buy an Audiophile 2496, use the Spdif in/out at 24bit 96khz (2 channels are enough) and use Cubase without compromising the quality level of the ad/da?
Since the Spdif takes the converters clock into the audiophile, wich is much better than the card's clock, and all jitter problems will be taken care off at the conversion stage, i will not loose quality anywhere right? not on the card, not on cubase, right? As long as i mute all other paths on the Audiophile i'll have an untouched digital sign from start to end, save for cubases eq's or plugins, either recording or during playback? I'll then use the mixdown wave files on the studio or vice-versa depending on where the mix will be completed..

Am i right, or am i missing something in this picture?

[Artist]

If you are looking at Apogee stuff why bother with a sound card at all? The Mini Me (2 channel A/D converter, mic pre and compressor, seems to fit your needs) has optional USB, while the AD-16X and Rosettas have optional Firewire.

The Minime also has a headphone output with a balance control between the mix from cubase and your input.

Just been reading about that thing, and damn it's great....

[Zeppel]

Originally Posted by Artist

If you are looking at Apogee stuff why bother with a sound card at all? The Mini Me (2 channel A/D converter, mic pre and compressor, seems to fit your needs) has optional USB, while the AD-16X and Rosettas have optional Firewire.

The Minime also has a headphone output with a balance control between the mix from cubase and your input.

Just been reading about that thing, and damn it's great....

Well, that's a good point.. my motherboard has no firewire but it wouldn't be so hard to get a fw card and the x-firewire on a rosetta... though it's much more expensive than a simple spdif in/out soundcard... anyway was my thinking right? do i loose quality anywhere on the previous scheme or not?

[rty13ibz98]

newer AD/DAs are becoming usb, too. look into that. budget is always a concern, but i like some of the m-audio stuff, and the behringer bca-2000 i pretty cheap, but if you just want guitar, hell, the guitar port will do that.

rich

[JESTER700]

To answer the question, no, you'll lose no quality on the SPDIF transfer.

But I'd double check to make sure you're using your funds most efficiently. Modern 24/96 cards like the Audiophile and Echo MIA can give professional results. Have you spec'd the stuff out to make sure you're going to get a difference in sound to go with the difference in money? What mic/pre chain other than the D/A are you using? You mention it may not mix at the studio. If part of that will be done at your house, what kind of monitoring & acoustic treatment do you have?

[Zeppel]

Originally Posted by JESTER700

To answer the question, no, you'll lose no quality on the SPDIF transfer.

But I'd double check to make sure you're using your funds most efficiently. Modern 24/96 cards like the Audiophile and Echo MIA can give professional results. Have you spec'd the stuff out to make sure you're going to get a difference in sound to go with the difference in money? What mic/pre chain other than the D/A are you using? You mention it may not mix at the studio. If part of that will be done at your house, what kind of monitoring & acoustic treatment do you have?

Well, i'm setting up a small isolated amp recording booth with the help of a friend audio engineer, i'll monitor trough begringer truths at home.

As for the audiophile, i've read extensive reviews and the word is that they can't hold against more expensive ADC, loosing clarity, highs, and generally suffering from worse analogue pathway between the jacks and the converters.. i'll loose some of the frequencies one gains by adding valves to a setup.. so ,m-audio is out of the picture.. i'm currently leaning towards Lynx Two or L22..

Thanks for the replies!

[JESTER700]

Well, I'll probably get flamed for this, but here goes...

I don't buy a lot of reviews. Very few of what I've read are anything like scientific, and there's often an undercurrent of "if YOU can't hear the difference, you must be deaf". The reality is, when good scientific ABX blind tests are done, differences often vanish. The Audiophile is a decent piece of gear, and gives you 24/96 recording within a tenth of a dB from 20-20k. You aren't losing any "highs" or "clarity".

Now, there are some very subtle things in which better convertors may show a difference, but electric guitar is one of the lowest fidelity instruments around. What kind of high frequencies do you think you'll get with a tube amp and a 12" speaker? Do you think that an Audiophile at 24/96 is going to add any significant noise to one of the noisiest signal chains going?

I don't mean to sound harsh, and this is only my opinion. But modern A/D has gotten damn good at this level, and I'd bet you could do better putting the money you'd spend on better convertors somewhere else - a better mic, more studio time for mixing, mastering, etc. I'd bet a that the truths wouldn't even resolve the difference between the Audiophile and the Lynx.

Having spouted all that, something like the Lynx IS only a few hundred bucks extra, so if that makes you feel more confident about your rig, go for it. It'll certainly serve you well for future recordings.

[rty13ibz98]

honestly jester, to me, its not really as big of a deal in sonic quality as most guys make it out to be. i remeber my old days with a tascam 414. any PC recording sounds better than the tape degradation of old. i went from that to a yamaha MD4, then MD8. both at the time were cutting edge. now my m-audio delta 1010lt is light years better than that. i may be mistaken, but i do believe that it is 24/96, too. keep this in mind for all you audiophiles...
the audio card you may be looking at for the budget may not be as good as the next one, but sure beats the crap out of what we used to record with. bar none.


rich