Apogee DA-16

[mikegamble2]

The old purple DA-16s are still alive and kicking on Ebay. I have a Big Ben clocking a couple high end 2 channel DACs and an RME RayDat. I'm considering an old DA-16 for cheap summing out of the box. Is it reasonable to expect good results with superior clocking or will it just end up being glorified turd polishing with respect to DA conversion.

[SoZo]

Its Apogee not yorkville conversion, it will rock...

[oudplayer]

Originally Posted by mikegamble2

The old purple DA-16s are still alive and kicking on Ebay. I have a Big Ben clocking a couple high end 2 channel DACs and an RME RayDat. I'm considering an old DA-16 for cheap summing out of the box. Is it reasonable to expect good results with superior clocking or will it just end up being glorified turd polishing with respect to DA conversion.

I think the reality is somewhat in-between - it's a decent converter, but in my experience Lynx, RME, Mytek and the newer Apogee X-series are better. In particular, I found the high end to be a bit harsh, which was a problem for acoustic (classical/jazz/folk) mixes but depending on genre might actually be an asset for some styles of rock/pop. Whether that difference will be significant enough for you to justify the price difference is another question...

[mikegamble2]

Alright, I'll go for the AD-16X which is about half the $$$ of the Symphony. Thanks for the feedback.