Quote:
Originally Posted by microwave  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 |
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlienHealth Hi Stuart,
The channel ADCs are Cirrus Logic CS5368, 114dB dynamic range, 24bit and we run them up to 96kHz sample rate. The DACs are Burr Brown PCM4104, 118dB D/R again 24 bit and up to 96kHz.
The digital conversion performance is closely matched to the analogue circuit performance so as not to degrade either the dynamic range or linearity.
Regarding the pre-amp question, I would try the on-board pre-amps first before making additional purchases - the circuit is super-linear, having active feedback on both phases, has an EIN figure of -128.5dBu (minimal self noise), and maintains excellent performance across its wide gain range. The pre-amps and EQ are the main features on which the rest of the mixer is based! Not wanting to do anyone else's pre-amps down at all, but try ours first before shelling out more dosh!
I hope that helps,
Kind Regards,
Mike. |
Thanks for those posts guys, I'm now fairly confident with the preamp and AD conversion on this desk. It's something I want to do alot of research into as there aren't any demos available where I'm from (Brisbane, Australia)... So I'll be buying based on internet research alone. Maybe I should ring the Australian distributors (TAG, I think they are, have dealt with them before with my old production company)?
The main reason I wanted an additional preamp was for colour, so you're right, wait until I have the desk...
One more question for Mike - I'm considering waiting for the possible R24 if it will have things like Direct Outs, a Solo button (curious as to how that'd integrate with the DAW mixer - maybe thats why it was left out?) and an option for motorised faders... Sorry to ask a possibly tough/silly question, but do you think the R24 will be out within the next 12 months? If so I'll wait and see what it's like. I'm hoping for this mixer to see me as far into the future as possible, so I'm choosing carefully.
Thanks again for your help microwave and Mike!