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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 18, 2015 9:21:26 GMT -6
yes, it is strange. Like a chest congestion in the middle, pushing forward, leaving the rest a little vague. I've been trying in vain to mix that out for a year, all the while thinking it's my mic and preamp, aaarrrggghhh..
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Post by Johnkenn on Jun 18, 2015 9:21:55 GMT -6
I don't know how some people poo poo the converter thing. It makes a huge difference. It's the blocks you build the rest of the house on.
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Post by svart on Jun 18, 2015 9:37:06 GMT -6
I don't know how some people poo poo the converter thing. It makes a huge difference. It's the blocks you build the rest of the house on. It's because it's the least-understood portion of the system for most people. When it comes time for most people to change/upgrade their setups they generally stick to the parts of the system they understand most and then are the easiest to change. Mics, cables, preamps, etc. Those are all things that people can understand and change easily. When it comes to the conversion, it's expensive black-magic to most folks and they simply shy away and change more things about other aspects of the system that are cheaper and easier. Take that "sparrow" ADC from BLA.. I looked at the pics, read their description. That's about 100-200$ worth of parts in that box at most looking at the picture of the innards. "wide Q third harmonic crystal" is essentially a standard 3rd overtone crystal (they use two of them), nothing fancy there at all... For 2000$.. To me, that's outrageous for what you're getting, yet someone will buy it because it won an award and gets decent reviews, all while that same person mods their mics again because it isn't "just right" yet.. It boggles the mind... I guess it's like cars.. Most folks will change the wheels/tires, add some bolt-on accessories in the name of performance, but the engine stays the same.. |
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Post by kcatthedog on Jun 18, 2015 10:14:54 GMT -6
I believe that UA designed the stock apollo to have a sort of analog characteristic, reminiscent of the 2192 but without that converter's resolution and presence.
I have fought the stock apollo mid range blush for a while. In the process, I bought and sold: a new dbox, a new bla micro clock mkii, the bla mod, a used 2192 and a used burl b2.
If you have a stock apollo, the SB adds 2 hi end AD and DA converters and argeuably improved clock for tracking, mastering and monitoring for $800.
Used 2192 and b2's are $1500, a new sparrow $1300, a new black face apollo $2300.
To me, the SB repreents excellent sonics and value.
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Post by tonycamphd on Jun 18, 2015 10:16:21 GMT -6
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Post by dandeurloo on Jun 18, 2015 10:50:33 GMT -6
yes, it is strange. Like a chest congestion in the middle, pushing forward, leaving the rest a little vague. I've been trying in vain to mix that out for a year, all the while thinking it's my mic and preamp, aaarrrggghhh.. "Congestion" is a word I use a lot to describe converters that are lacking compared to a better more open sounding converter. You will also start to hear more space around each instrument/sound. Reverb and delay tails become more clear and smooth. You can hear the air moving around instruments. Instruments have punch, depth and clarity all at once. Pretty sweet! |
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Post by mokobigbro on Jun 18, 2015 11:05:28 GMT -6
svartI might have missed the story behind your ad/da, but would it be for sale? I am looking for an ad/da. cheers.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Jun 18, 2015 11:25:32 GMT -6
welcome mokobigbro! Svart can better answer that question, but he will have models ready for sale soon. There have been many pre-orders, so I can't say much regarding the time frame. I'd jump on it if you can, converters seem to be difficult to get right, and Svart's box, is doing as much or more right as the more expensive pieces I've heard.
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Post by LesC on Jun 18, 2015 13:10:18 GMT -6
Well I meant *I* need to start saving up for the 8 channel version - this result is pretty exciting. Apollo seems like a totally usable interface which also serves as the UAD dongle. I can dig that. But at this point, I think it's too late for me to buy in to the ecosystem - I'll just go for a svart box, adat or AES card/interface, and native plugs. Svart - you KNOW you want to make an 8 channel box with ADAT or AES  AES is only 2 channels.. So 8 channels of AES would be like having 4 of my stereo boxes! What I need to do is go big and do a 56/64 channel MADI converter! MADI is the 56/64 channel version of AES/SPDIF. What I would love to see is a high-quality 8 channel convertor with word clock in-and-out and USB connectivity. This would be like my UFX but with better convertors and without the frills, such as the preamps, the DI's, and the TotalMixFX. I think RM is developing something like this, but I would like to see it within a decade or two. There are already boxes like this, of course, including the Apogee Symphony, the Mytek 8x192, the Prism Titan, Metric Halo LIO-8, Merging HAPI, Burl MS, etc. but all of these boxes in their 8x8 configurations are several times the price that RM is hoping to achieve. |
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Post by NoFilterChuck on Jun 18, 2015 13:27:09 GMT -6
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Post by Guitar on Jun 18, 2015 14:44:20 GMT -6
A used Symphony does look like a pretty good value.
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Post by kcatthedog on Jun 18, 2015 15:17:49 GMT -6
its all relative that is still 2 grand us plus taxes and shipping.
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Post by formatcyes on Jun 18, 2015 15:59:28 GMT -6
Listening to Wiz's tracks I think the new Motu's are just as good and cheaper.. Just saying.
(compared to the Symphony)
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Post by sopwith on Jun 18, 2015 19:11:05 GMT -6
I'm happy to leave driver development to established companies who know it best and just get a standalone converter. Can't imagine trying to get software support from RM. Even for Svart - who has shown himself to be on top of his game in pretty much all aspects of development - software dev and support may not be the best use of time.
Officially started putting money away for an AD/DA combo Svartbox today.
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Post by deehope on Jun 18, 2015 19:20:56 GMT -6
Listening to Wiz's tracks I think the new Motu's are just as good and cheaper.. Just saying. (compared to the Symphony) I'll say it again. I'd be shocked if they didn't look under the hood of the symphony while developing the motu. A lot of the same parts and they test similar and almost freaking null. |
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