If this has been asked before, mods please feel to move around accordingly.
I have an Analog Four mkII thats been in storage for a little under a year which I am about to fetch. I have since purchased a Focusrite Clarett 4Pre USB converter box since Overbridge didn’t seem possible; I am wondering how the AD/DA converters sound. I really like the idea of a minimalist setup and the constant need to buy stuff is annoying so I would like to dump the 4Pre plus a few other items. Hell, I may also sell the A4 to just have my OT mkII and Nord Modular G1… options.
When comparing different AD/DA, one might not be “lesser”, they might just be different. That’s where personal taste comes in I think. If they are close it may even be personal taste that someone perceives one of them as lesser, and maybe someone else thinks it’s better. In any case it seems like good advice for an individual to use they’re own ears and decide what they think sounds better to them.
Sought after lofi and dirty AD/DA sounds fun though…
Has this even mattered in the last 20 years? Would anyone be able to tell the difference between modern AD/DA converters in a blind test? Not trying to stir shit, but I see this come up every now and then; just wondering why it has such importance over just getting on with making music…
I do think it matters since while we have had somewhat modern converters for sometime, its only in recent years companies have been adding built-in conversion into instruments for ‘streaming’ capability, many corners could be cut in this way.
This isn’t a subjective question, but are they decent enough to be passable? Are there dropouts and noise… that sort of thing. I don’t think I need to remind anyone but we are still in beta and lots could go wrong. So my question isn’t about is A better than B, my question was about is A good enough to slim down.
you need to do a levelmatched A/B listening test for yourself to figure that out.
I did OB vs soundcraft 12 MTK A/B at one time with my rytm mk I, and found out there was practically no audible difference between the two conversions. If your AD is not super high end, I’d wager the same would apply here, hmm? But in any case, dont listen to anyone else, A/B yourself to make sure, its an important tool to have in an engineers toolkit.
In terms of AD/DA conversion, the Clarett does a good job but not an amazing job (UAD Apollo, RME, Mytek, Apogee, Prism etc do and it IS easily audible). So your A4 Mk2 should be about on par there, not too much of a difference.
But you don’t get a Clarett for the AD/DA conversion (though it is good no doubt), you get that unit for its preamps!
In other words, if you don’t need/use the preamps or if you don’t need that level of quality from a preamp (eg you only record line in or you use it mainly for live performances), then I’d reckon you could easily sell the Clarett and roll with the A4.
Curious, is UAD apollo conversion all that high end? I have an apollo twin mk II and IMO my SPL Crimson 3 has better conversion, which is still not mytek-tier either…
UAD Apollo conversion is def upper echelon but not super premium, no. The new UAD Apollo X is supposed to have even higher quality converters, but I haven’t heard that device for myself yet. As others have said, what you end up liking is what is best, sound preference is certainly subjective. As long as you get all the details and separation in the sound that you want/need/hear, the flavour is really up to the individual to choose.
I went from a TC Konnekt to an Apollo 8 (blackface) and the difference in detail and clarity was staggering to my ears. That said, an Apogee Ensemble or Symphony sounds different yet again, which one is better? the one I /you/the next wo(man) prefers subjectively
ah, you talking about the rackmount apollos. from what I’ve read they have better conversion than the twins, and the apollo X boards are supposedly up there with the best converters. I have yet to hear those, would love to though!
converters are tricky though. I remember reading that apollo twin mk II was supposed to have better conversion than the mk I, but when I upgraded my apollo twin to the mk II, I don’t think I heard any significant difference?
yes, conversion was improved from silver to black but not by that much. The converters are tiered in the Apollo series, with the Apollo 16 having the best converters.
At that point though, the listening environment is crucial to perceive the differences. Are you using your device in a treated room seated in an appropriate mixing position relative to the room and the speakers? If not, the differences will be hardly perceivable. And even if yes, the differences are still hardly perceivable by some and that’s totally fine - because even the conversion on e.g. a Steinberg UR22 Mk2 or a Focusrite Scarlett is more than good enough and capable to produce good sounding tracks on
