Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - D/A and monitors to hear quality mic and pre

flat13 · 12th September 2009

I'm new to recording but want to get quality gear now. I just got a Gefell UM70S mic and API A2D pre-amp (both of which I can return to Mercencary if I'm not happy).

What I didn't realize, being a newbie, is that I'm hearing back via the D/A in my MBox, right? Also, my monitors (Roland DS-90A) aren't high end. So in trying to determine if I like the mic and pre sound, I'm not sure if I'm getting a good representation with the sub-par D/A and monitors. Is my logic correct?

1) If so, should I return the API and get a separate unit for conversion, like the Apogee Rosetta 200, which has both A/D and D/A? Then get a stand alone pre? I don't want to live with the MBox D/A, right?

2) Are my Roland monitors robbing me of hearing the quality of the high end gear or are they ok?

3) How about the audio in my iMac? System Profiler says "Intel High Definition Audio." Not sure if there are further specs. The machine is two years old.

My goal is to get a few great pieces for home recording of acoustic instruments and voice.

Thanks.

12th September 2009	#1
flat13 Gear interested Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14 Thread Starter	D/A and monitors to hear quality mic and pre I'm new to recording but want to get quality gear now. I just got a Gefell UM70S mic and API A2D pre-amp (both of which I can return to Mercencary if I'm not happy). What I didn't realize, being a newbie, is that I'm hearing back via the D/A in my MBox, right? Also, my monitors (Roland DS-90A) aren't high end. So in trying to determine if I like the mic and pre sound, I'm not sure if I'm getting a good representation with the sub-par D/A and monitors. Is my logic correct? 1) If so, should I return the API and get a separate unit for conversion, like the Apogee Rosetta 200, which has both A/D and D/A? Then get a stand alone pre? I don't want to live with the MBox D/A, right? 2) Are my Roland monitors robbing me of hearing the quality of the high end gear or are they ok? 3) How about the audio in my iMac? System Profiler says "Intel High Definition Audio." Not sure if there are further specs. The machine is two years old. My goal is to get a few great pieces for home recording of acoustic instruments and voice. Thanks.