If you had $5k to spend on a mastering chain...

I have an Apollo x8p. Love the quality I get with it. 

What about the RND unit?

Not slagging apollo, but you should consider a mastering converter: dangerous, lynx, there are lots of choices.

If you hear a more linear converter, then you will better know the “Apollo” sound.

That's a good take, but I feel like my priority for the budget might be something different. I think maybe it's because I'm more after character and color than better conversion. As of now, my masters sound great when using the apollo, but someday I'll definitely make that upgrade, when I think it's worth it. 

Respectfully, being able to hear into your mix more, with more detail, accuracy and bigger deeper soundstage , benefit mastering.

Your call to set your priorities, of course, if you get a chance to demo some higher end converters, could still be revealing or it would just confirm, the extra cost isn’t value added for you.

Do you have a patchbay or experience with trying to use ob with Apollo ? Are you recording in Luna as it has no inserts but there are work arounds.

I have a deep appreciation and love for patchbays! Yes, I use OTB stuff all the time with my apollo, but mostly tape machines, delays, distortion, guitar pedals, production oriented stuff, some ART tube compressors. I've used Luna before, yeah. Luna has inserts though, I'm not sure what you mean?

Yeah I think the generally held view among AE’s is there is an expectation that the ME’s monitoring path is going to be more revealing than that of the average ME. The theory being mastering is the last QC so they need to hear what I can’t. Now some would argue My Mytek, BEL 2002 Quested H208 ( someone is trying to sell a pair of the mastering version for $12k same drivers just pretty cabinets), but personally I expect Duntech, B&W 800 series, Big ATC’s or similar and a converter of at least equal to the Brooklyn+.

While every decent ME I know has some character pieces the most used pieces are the Uhber transparent. The Mastering process is not about color or character that’s a mixing decision, Mastering in the modern digital era is about fixing problems. IF I as a mixer and the band have made aesthetic decisions and the mastering engineer has made different aesthetic choices I am going elsewhere!

Keep your money or improve your monitoring.

You cannot buy a switched EQ with a lot of frequency points for that amount and analog mastering compressors mostly do not really exist anymore outside of the switched tube compressors, mostly primitive boxes compared to modern compressors, and some switched diode bridge compressors are still made if you want to master with some dirt because the 33609 used switches. There's a new run of Maselec MLA-2 being made but you and I cannot afford that. I don't know what is up with Crane Song after Dave Hill died but you could afford a used STC-8M for that price. You could use the Dangerous Compressor with everything on auto to not have to match attack and release, which are pots or have it modified. There's other compressors unintended for mastering you could use out of the box or have modded for cleaner tone like that but you're matching the mono pots manually and would have to use auto settings for attack and release.

The RND stuff mostly uses indented pots and not switches. Indented pots you can never perfectly match. Stereo pots will not perfectly match. Mono pots you can get really close with meters. Switches use resistors that are matched. Stereo digital things are always matched. Modern digital eqs are great and the best ones, not necessarily the most hyped, newest, or prettiest, run as virtual circuit models of analog filters or their mathematical equivalents. Digital mastering compressors you can buy from 10 to 400 dollars will easily outperform most of what is still being manufactured at dynamic control.

Hey now people use POS complex crossover, dogturd amp digital speakers and claim they are flatter despite no headroom and increased distortion. Yeah no.

Used Quested H208 and Duntech/Dunlavy are some of the cheapest good ones unless you can stumble onto a pair of Tannoy 10" drivers for the Manley / Mastering lab version or the pre Behringer Tannoys from the 90s and early 2000s with the super tweeters. ATC 50, PSI / Studer 25 are more money. Sealed monkey coffins need sealed subs too so do those Radian/Bag End speakers. Sometimes you can find the 3 way passive KRKs for cheap pickup only but the Focal kevlar tweeters are almost always shot and 200-300 a pop to replace with NOS.

Honestly I think it's not possible to put together a whole analog mastering chain for $5k.  But that doesn't mean you shouldn't add some analog gear to your digital chain. 


Think about why you want to go OTB.  You said for character and color.  I agree that's the reason to go OTB. 


I think the best bang for buck in that department is the Hendyamps Michelangelo.  That one box can make the trip through DA/AD worth it. 


Then spend the left over $2k on a subwoofer, room treatment, Dirac Live or whatever will improve your monitoring environment.  I'm making the assumption, because your handle is noob, that you probably don't have flat full range monitoring in a fine tuned room.  Every mastering engineer will encourage you to tackle that.