Steinberg MR816 vs. others...

[space2012]

Found:
MP3s, Videos & PDFs :: Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH :: www.steinberg.net
MP3s, Videos & PDFs :: Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH :: www.steinberg.net
Interface Comparison:
The goal of this comparison is to allow you to hear the sound quality of the A/D and D/A converters compared to these of other interfaces. Also you can compare the sound of the original audio file with audio files that were recorded with the different interfaces. So you are able to hear how true to original the sound of the recorded files is and if the converters of the interfaces modified the original sound.
The following diagram shows the setup used for these comparison audio files.

A stereo audio file from within Cubase was played and routed to two outputs of the interface. This signal was returned to two inputs on the same interface and this signal was recorded in Cubase again. So in this comparison you´ll hear the A/D and D/A converters together. The input levels of the different interfaces were adjusted to be as similar as possible. While we don´t directly compare our interfaces with named units of manufacturers, the range of the Suggested Retail Prices of the other interfaces here is between 1150.00 € and 1750.00 € (incl.19% German VAT).
Since in this quality level the differences between interfaces are only audible with high quality audio material, we provide the interface comparison as WAV files. Please download the ZIP file and extract it on your computer.


http://www.steinberg.net/fileadmin/r...comparison.zip

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What could be the others ? between 1150.00 € and 1750.00 € (incl.19% German VAT) ?

C preserves the highs much better.
A & D dont have triangle highs. impressive/astonishing.
B also has triangle highs, but sounds like compressed/limited/overloaded/clipped = no dynamic range.

any guess?
i dont thik is apogee adda16x,
but maybe rosetta 800 192k ?
others could be? Prism Orpheus?
similar 8ch units ?
Metric Halo ? FireFace800 ?
more interface names.?

[space2012]

listening a bit more, the D file seems LR swapped
anyway...
here is the Roland MMP-2 + Drawmer M-Clock.mp3 @ 320kbps
the DA-->AD loop of the Original 24-Bits .wav
loop recorded in Sonar 32-Bits with 64-Bit engine active becouse its 100% transparent software ive heard.

for my personal taste, i still think the best converters are:
MANLEY SLAM! Digital - to me its the best sound. warm, transparent, 3D. clean, no transformers or tubes.
Universal Audio UA2192 - verry similar to SLAM! Digital,
Weiss AD2, neutral and transparent
Apogee AD16x, for some odd reason i dont like DA16x, strange
Roland Vs2480 / MMP-2, i think the console sounds a bit better, warmer & bigger, highs more detailed becouse a diferent ADDA chips & op-amps are used.
M-Audio Profire 2626 , very intersting DA highs.
Protools HD 192io , nice relaxed sound, but does not work in stand alone -1point.
Redbox rb-adda , nice transparent but compressed sound.
Mytek , the AD seems a bit compressed
Lucid , nice midrange like Roland
Lynx Aurora , near flawless specs in RMAA
IZ Radar , nice analog sound
tc electronic , havent tested directly vs. Roland, but i think ill buy tc again.
BLA mod 002r xxl ultimate

havent tested/listened in A/B but want to listen:
SEKD ADDA 2496s and the Pro,
RME ADI-8 QS,
TC Studio Konect

all .mp3 files are 48khz 16-Bits @ 320kbps

[BrianHanke]

Wow, the Steinberg comparison is crazy! I can easily tell the difference between the original and all the different interfaces. To be honest I'm somewhat shocked that interfaces ranging between $1500 and $2400 USD color the sound that much. I guess you could argue that one or more of them makes the original sound better, but for that much money I would hope they would present the sound as cleanly as possible and wouldn't add any unwanted color. Too bad there's no way to find out what the other models they used were. In that price range there was probably at least a Metric Halo and a Fireface?

Edited to add: I was a bit hasty. The levels are so different from track to track that it's hard to compare. I'm going to listen again after correcting for the volume differences.

[BrianHanke]

Adjusting the levels to match as close as I could pretty much eliminated the differences between all the samples. Granted there were still some subtle variations, at least to my ears, but nothing that really makes one unit stand out as being considerably better or worse.

[Groberts]

Curious what you guys think about the Steinberg MR816 compared to a product such as Apogee Ensemble or RME Fireface etc? I listened to the Steinberg MR816 clips and it sure sounds clean and nice!

[drumdrum]

If I'm honest, once you level correct the MR sample (which is clearly louder than the rest!) to my ears there is very little difference to the files, if any really. B sounds a bit more "muffly" slightly to me, and C and D are the same.

The MR sample sounds good also. All in all, I reckon that you could make a great recording with any of these devices anyways, because at the end of the day, 80% - 90% of your end listeners will be listening to mp3 versions of your stuff on an ipod with cheap headphones anyways, and I doubt they will be able to hear or be bothered by any interface "colouration"!!

[didier.brest]

Originally Posted by Groberts

Curious what you guys think about the Steinberg MR816 compared to a product such as Apogee Ensemble or RME Fireface etc? I listened to the Steinberg MR816 clips and it sure sounds clean and nice!

Recording test of MR816X and Fireface 400

[venderkatz]

I used a Fireface 400 happily for a couple of years, ( it was a huge step up from a Presonus firebox ), but I acquired an MR816 last summer and felt it was another big step upwards, particularly the pre's, but overall I had no hesitation in selling the fireface.

[Balladman studio]

Which one is the interface C? I think it's the best.