Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuart Wild  This desk looks so very well balanced for a small-mid studio! I'm seriously considering getting one within the next 6 months.
I've got a couple of questions, sorry if I sound fairly newb here, but I'm very used to being all inside the computer, I'm now dragging myself out into analogue world after discovering a friend's Moog Voyager and especially his Sherman filterbank. One of the main reasons I'm going with this desk is it's true analogue signal path, but I have to wonder about the AD conversion...
I'm sure it's been mentioned (and if so, please feel free to point me to the page number - such a large thread!), but how does the AD conversion rate with this desk?
For my project studio this desk is perfect. I'm really thinking I should also be looking at an outboard mic preamp for vocals/guitar.
If I were to run an outboard mic preamp like an Avalon VT-737SP or a Universal Audio 6176, what would be the most appropriate way into the desk? Via AD/DA converter (e.g. crane song) into the ZedR16's ADAT, or maybe just straight into a channel?
Sorry if this post was a little off topic, but these are the things I'm considering in direct conjunction with this mixer.
Thanks! |
Hi Stuart,
I have compared the AD/DA of the R-16 against my RME FF800 and adi 8 DS when I bought the mixer and found it to be just as good. In real world terms this means that the converters will pretty much handle anything you can throw at them, so unless what you do and your target audience demand a totally "audiophile" signal path (you mention Crane Song AD, we are talking five grand or more for a set of converters!!!) they shouldn't disappoint you.
The preamps are really very good, much better that I expected I have to say, and I find myself using them more and more. They are clean, detailed and transparent yet have a lot of "weight". Again, they hold their own against respected mid price gear like spl or the dav bg-1, and to get sixteen of them thrown in is quite something.
As to how to interface external preamps: I too have some outboard pres I use when I want a dirtier or more colored sound at the source. I use the insert ins via a patch bay, which is the cleanest way in (unbalanced, but I never had a problem). The line input shares the path with the mic preamp so using the inserts is definitely neater. Also there is no provision for switching between mic and line - if you have a lot of microphones plugged in you have to keep repatching. Alternatively, I plug them into the RME adi 8 ds i have connected on the adat i/o.
Hope this helps
MW