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Post by sozocaps on Feb 15, 2017 16:53:15 GMT -6
I started this thread I will end it.. This stuff gets better every day. Cheap interfaces sound GOOD now. The SPECS are better on new chips but converters are where like 2% gain is made up.... so if that is worth is to you or not that's fine but do not deny they are better when they spec better and lots of peoples ears agree with the specs. I mentioned the Clarett because it was so cheap and sounded so good to the people in the boobtoob vid... Would like to hear it is all I was saying in this thread.
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kcatthedog
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 15, 2017 17:02:00 GMT -6
as long as we are happy with the interface we use: what else matters ?
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Post by Guitar on Feb 15, 2017 17:14:08 GMT -6
Love the one you're with, haha.
I have a problem with sleepin' around.
The Clarett plus the Drawmer MC2.1 has something that keeps me coming back, like little else before. It's just satisfying.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 15, 2017 21:39:37 GMT -6
Gonna need oven mits for this hot take.
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Post by ragan on Feb 15, 2017 22:20:31 GMT -6
LOL. Converters. Subjective stuff. That's from 5 years ago, FWIW. Obviously Symphony MKI but what about Avid, would that be their current box?
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 15, 2017 22:32:52 GMT -6
Oh shit. I didn't even notice that.
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 9:58:32 GMT -6
All I can tell you is I am in love with my Clarett, and it's clearly head and shoulders above my mk I silver Apollo. " and * my opinion * is that it's clearly head and shoulders above my mk1 Silver Apollo... Fixed that for you 😀🤓
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Post by Guitar on Feb 16, 2017 11:21:38 GMT -6
All I can tell you is I am in love with my Clarett, and it's clearly head and shoulders above my mk I silver Apollo. " and * my opinion * is that it's clearly head and shoulders above my mk1 Silver Apollo... Fixed that for you 😀🤓 Yes, absolutely. Music is a lifestyle, pro audio gear is a hobby like JohnKenn said in the Helios thread, and for me personally, conversion and monitoring is a hobby-within-a-hobby. I take it a lot more intently than most people probably would, it's mostly just out of an audiophile kind of thinking. I have a fascination with it. The same way I would think about my record player's cartridge and my RIAA phono preamp. Or what transformer is in my VP312 or what discrete op amp. There is an attention to micro-detail that I personally enjoy pursuing. Certainly there are lots of things that work for lots of people. Any undue emphasis on sound quality is something that comes from my perspective. Different strokes fo different fokes also and many happy returns to all.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 16, 2017 11:34:50 GMT -6
Although, the SF Apollo was kind of a mess on the DA side...
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 11:51:21 GMT -6
Although, the SF Apollo was kind of a mess on the DA side... Are you sure it's not your room or monitoring position or maybe even the DA with the monitor combo? I am not disagreeing with you by any means but to me I feel there could be more to it. When you say kind of a mess, are you referring to imaging and detail, clarity, or playback of records and mixes you know to sound different elsewhere? Or are you referring to a mixing perspective of having issues with Apollo DA where now that You have ( fill in blank DA ) you no longer have that issue the Apollo da had in the same room with the same monitors, monitoring position, and acoustic treatment ? Edit*** Been wondering how much improvement a new D/A for playback would be, that is after a monitor upgrade. I'm still chugging along with yammy hs8 😅😂
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 16, 2017 11:53:59 GMT -6
I would say you just need to audition some other DAs with the SF Apollo. That will answer all of your questions.
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 12:03:32 GMT -6
I would say you just need to audition some other DAs with the SF Apollo. That will answer all of your questions. How did you AB diff DA 'a with the Apollo? Via S/PDif mirroring the analog output, then use the S/Pdif out to a new DA converter S/Pdif in... I thought most nicer DA converters had Adat/ Smux/ Optical and no S/P ? I guess I could use the UAD console to route the S/Pdif mirrored output but not sure how that would work maybe via virtual channels then route out the ADAT outs... don't want to add an Apollo ad loop Did records you know or mixes you made sound inmproved when using a different DA or was their more flaws revealed in the recordings, trying to understand, I already feel like I get lost in the details and minutiae sometimes wit's current monitors and DA.
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Post by nick8801 on Feb 16, 2017 12:17:45 GMT -6
I've never compared the line outs of my sf Apollo to the monitor outs, but when switching between the monitor outs of the Apollo, and the spdif outs into my Dangerous Source, the difference was quite dramatic. Like 2d to 3d. Not like I couldn't work with either, but realizing just how anemic it sounded left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth regarding the Apollos in general.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 16, 2017 12:19:52 GMT -6
In my opinion, Chase, going from something like a Behringer ADA8000 or Echo Layla or whatever, up to a silver Apollo, you've already reached the point of trusting your mixes and hearing deep inside of them.
But the Apollo silver DAC in my opinion has some low-end artifacts that I would not trust in comparison to some other high-end options. It's all about tiny details at this point. It's all about the DAC getting all the way out of the way. Yes, indeed, you'd be chasing that last 2% or whatever you want to call it.
There's also this weird little thing about listening comfort. I don't think the Drawmer 2.1 monitor controller is completely transparent, but whatever tiny little thing the line stage is doing to my sound, is something that I like, and something that makes it easier me to sign off on a mix when it's "close enough." I am not fighting the monitors, they just relax that tiny little bit. I had some KRK monitors that I had to sell because the 'fight' was too much for me, I just couldn't bear it.
So for me it gets to be this really odd competition of true clarity, and ease of listening. There is a perfect balance in there somewhere. I think maybe those ideas are abstract anyway.
It's a bit of a rabbit hole, certainly, and I think some people are more predisposed to crawling down it than others.
I have mixed on my silver Apollo and have done just fine. Factors such as the room, speaker placement, etc, are much more significant.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 16, 2017 12:47:20 GMT -6
I have a Dangerous D-box. I can run the analog outs of my Apollo (I have the BF now and it's less of a difference) into the D-Box and then I have the SPDIF out connected via a SPDIF to AES cable connected to be able to monitor from the D-box. So I can literally switch back and forth.
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 21:48:59 GMT -6
I have a Dangerous D-box. I can run the analog outs of my Apollo (I have the BF now and it's less of a difference) into the D-Box and then I have the SPDIF out connected via a SPDIF to AES cable connected to be able to monitor from the D-box. So I can literally switch back and forth. I knew I would need some type of monitor controller with digital I/o 😔
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 16, 2017 21:49:41 GMT -6
Ragan has one for sale. It's a fantastic DA
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 22:34:36 GMT -6
Ragan has one for sale. It's a fantastic DA Saving for Barefoots. I feel this will be a better upgrade as well as adding more treatment. Have an acoustician prep placement and refine positioning. After that I will venture down the converter rabbit hole 😀 I have been thinking about used avid hd i/o and going that route and if I do then something like the d box would be perfect to integrate everything.
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Post by ragan on Feb 16, 2017 22:40:45 GMT -6
Ragan has one for sale. It's a fantastic DA Saving for Barefoots. I feel this will be a better upgrade as well as adding more treatment. Have an acoustician prep placement and refine positioning. After that I will venture down the converter rabbit hole 😀 I have been thinking about used avid hd i/o and going that route and if I do then something like the d box would be perfect to integrate everything. The D Box is awesome, but nothing compares to cleaning up your room's issues. I finally hung a cloud the other day over mix position. The room is heavily treated except for that. I was a little shocked at the improvement. And I had the materials sitting around d. Took me less than an hour to throw it together and get it hung. $500 on rockwool, fabric and some boards makes more overall difference than $5k in slutty gear. In my opinion of course.
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Post by ChaseUTB on Feb 16, 2017 23:03:58 GMT -6
Saving for Barefoots. I feel this will be a better upgrade as well as adding more treatment. Have an acoustician prep placement and refine positioning. After that I will venture down the converter rabbit hole 😀 I have been thinking about used avid hd i/o and going that route and if I do then something like the d box would be perfect to integrate everything. The D Box is awesome, but nothing compares to cleaning up your room's issues. I finally hung a cloud the other day over mix position. The room is heavily treated except for that. I was a little shocked at the improvement. And I had the materials sitting around d. Took me less than an hour to throw it together and get it hung. $500 on rockwool, fabric and some boards makes more overall difference than $5k in slutty gear. In my opinion of course. I built all of my treatment as well. Here is a pic... i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/caryavs/Mobile%20Uploads/FB3A5C39-588F-47E8-B778-CBA10B75CF44_zpsfn8z226m.jpgI am adding a cloud over Mix position too and a couple more bass traps 😀🤠I want to build but GIK acoustics is right down the road and it took me awhile to build my gobos and panels. I also agree with you regarding how much of an improvement acoustic treatment makes, now that's is truly night and day between a treated and untreated space. Did you get the Symphony recently or was that Mr Johnkenn? What are you using for DA if you are selling the d box?
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Post by ragan on Feb 17, 2017 1:16:32 GMT -6
The D Box is awesome, but nothing compares to cleaning up your room's issues. I finally hung a cloud the other day over mix position. The room is heavily treated except for that. I was a little shocked at the improvement. And I had the materials sitting around d. Took me less than an hour to throw it together and get it hung. $500 on rockwool, fabric and some boards makes more overall difference than $5k in slutty gear. In my opinion of course. I built all of my treatment as well. Here is a pic... i32.photobucket.com/albums/d13/caryavs/Mobile%20Uploads/FB3A5C39-588F-47E8-B778-CBA10B75CF44_zpsfn8z226m.jpgI am adding a cloud over Mix position too and a couple more bass traps 😀🤠I want to build but GIK acoustics is right down the road and it took me awhile to build my gobos and panels. I also agree with you regarding how much of an improvement acoustic treatment makes, now that's is truly night and day between a treated and untreated space. Did you get the Symphony recently or was that Mr Johnkenn? What are you using for DA if you are selling the d box? I did get a Symphony, I'm gonna be using its DA. I set the Symphony and D Box up just like JohnKenn described so I could flip back and forth with a button. They were so close that at first I thought I had it set up wrong. It took a bit for my ears to acclimate and start to hear the difference. I give a slight edge to the Symphony but it's very close.
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Post by indiehouse on Feb 17, 2017 6:40:46 GMT -6
After doing some comparisons this week, I can confidently say most any commentary is useless if you haven't put the units in question side by side. It's the only way to have a clue what you're talking about, in my opinion. BAM! Nailed it.
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Post by RicFoxx on Feb 17, 2017 7:31:30 GMT -6
That Dbox is one of the best pieces of gear Ive had...sounds solid and built like a tank.
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Post by Johnkenn on Feb 17, 2017 11:02:17 GMT -6
That Dbox is one of the best pieces of gear Ive had...sounds solid and built like a tank. Good to hear from you, RicFoxx!
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Feb 26, 2017 16:23:38 GMT -6
I can make a shitty sounding record with any of them. I don't fret it anymore.
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