Lynx Auroa question

[Revelation]

How good would you rate these converters, are they up there with Apogee? I was told they are decent but not as good as Lavry or Mytek. Any reservations?

I am thinking about getting the SPL Mixdream (and Great River EQ) and summing outside the box. I can get 16 channels from Lynx or 8 channels of Mytek for the same price. If I go the Mytek route, I could sum 8 channels at a time, compared to the 16 at a time with Lynx. Hmmm.

[Zwinter]

Originally Posted by Revelation

How good would you rate these converters, are they up there with Apogee? I was told they are decent but not as good as Lavry or Mytek. Any reservations?

The Aurora converters are on par with the Apogee's and Lavry Blue's. Finding the one that works for you is about what features you need and finding the unit that sounds best to you. You should find a dealer who will let you try either two of the three or if you are up for it all three. You can then decide for yourself.

[Revelation]

Thanks Zach,

I actaully heard from other dealers who sell both Lynx and and Mytek that the Mytek's are clearly better. But like you said, it's best to try them out myself and hear which one's do it for me. I will keep Mercenary in mind when I have the funds.

[GYang]

Originally Posted by Revelation

Thanks Zach,

I actaully heard from other dealers who sell both Lynx and and Mytek that the Mytek's are clearly better. But like you said, it's best to try them out myself and hear which one's do it for me. I will keep Mercenary in mind when I have the funds.

I use Apogee for very long time and 16X series is ticket for rock and pop no doubt.
In same time Lynx Aurora for less money offer same high quality level (words like better or worse say nothing).
Apogee has more bells and whistles (working Firewire option in the first line) and I trust it more in terms of reliability.
Lynx sounds truer to some ears, but when I decided to add more channels of neutral transparency conversion within relatively reasonable budget I prefered Lavry Blue over Apogee, Aurora, Benchmark and Mytek.
But I believe that any of mentioned converters already reached very high level of sonics that differences mostly relate to taste, not quality.

[danasti]

Originally Posted by Revelation

How good would you rate these converters, are they up there with Apogee? I was told they are decent but not as good as Lavry or Mytek. Any reservations?

I am thinking about getting the SPL Mixdream (and Great River EQ) and summing outside the box. I can get 16 channels from Lynx or 8 channels of Mytek for the same price. If I go the Mytek route, I could sum 8 channels at a time, compared to the 16 at a time with Lynx. Hmmm.

What console is that you have there? Why not sum with that?

Have you listened to apogee vs. mytek vs. lynx vs. lavry? I suggest having a fresh set of ears and a very nice, FULLY capable and revealing set of monitors. Turn off your cellphone.. etc... I think there is a ton of bad information on converters and what they "sound" like. Even what they actually do, people seem to be confused with. Often "converter talk" gets into all that audiophilic verbage and TBH, I just want to throw up.

A heavy, deep vomit with incredibly focused lows and a soft but warm....

Me like converter make sound number - make number sound

[Revelation]

Originally Posted by danasti

What console is that you have there? Why not sum with that?

Have you listened to apogee vs. mytek vs. lynx vs. lavry? I suggest having a fresh set of ears and a very nice, FULLY capable and revealing set of monitors. Turn off your cellphone.. etc... I think there is a ton of bad information on converters and what they "sound" like. Even what they actually do, people seem to be confused with. Often "converter talk" gets into all that audiophilic verbage and TBH, I just want to throw up.

A heavy, deep vomit with incredibly focused lows and a soft but warm....

Me like converter make sound number - make number sound

Hi there,

I don't have a console, I am just using Cubase right now.

It seems rather odd that Lynx can come out with 16 channels of converters that under cuts everyone and have the same quality. Yeah I know there are some bells that were left out that most don't care about, but ... I wish I could A/B them, but I don't have the funds yet to do anything with my wife being a stay at home mom. So at this point, I am trying to probe out there until I can pull the trigger.

One sales guy who sells both Mytek and Lynx said the Mytek clearly sounds better, while on a former thread another guy who I trust in Nashville said the Lynx sounded just as good?

In regards to Apogee, I do a lot of gospel, jazz and blues in my studio. I prefer a more neutral converter over what Apogee gives you. Again just personal preference. If I got Apgoee, I would only consider their AD 16X which I believe is their best conveters, and interesting enough twice the price of the Auroa.

[danasti]

Originally Posted by Revelation

Hi there,

I don't have a console, I am just using Cubase right now.

Sorry, I was looking at the picture of the console in your avatar. I thought you should consider summing with that before you got a box.

It really depends where you are at with gear. If you are looking for 16 channels fo A/D/A I would make sure that I had at least 16 channels of great line out. If I was to spend $6000 on a AD16/DA16 I'd make sure I needed 16 simultaneous ins and that I could hit those with a solid signal. Possibly a Manley 16 channel, API, Neve, Chandler output. I think at that level you should be hitting the converter with the exact signal you want and not using things like apogee's limiter. Not that it's a bad limiter but it's not the strongest choice when you could give that coverter a great deal more to work with.

Converters will change and devalue themselves more than most of the gear in the chain before it and if I was in your shoes I wouldn't spend mega bucks on anything that's going to lose so much value so quick. I think I've ended up spending about $4500 on my AD8000SE which is now worth $1500. If you look at 16bit converters they are only worth small fractions of their original price. My 2 channels of SSL and most of my other pres, compressors and outboard either stay the same or go up in value. Conversion is a crappy investment and one you can pretty much count on eating. I'm not sure what 5, 6 or 7 year old Mytek stuff goes for, $200 - $500, maybe. I can't see them finding a vintage market but I've been wrong before.

Talk to me in 4 or 5 years about the Mytek and Lynx models you're looking at. Is there a big enough difference in the sound? Can owner of these units tell the difference in a controlled or blind test? Someone always prefers one over the other by a fraction. Liked the bass on this on but the highs a little better on the other. All I want any converter to sound like is the output that I feed it - I don't want it to have it's own sound or it's own "imaging". I just what I feed it what the "imaging" was before it got there. Personally I'd rather have a Gefell - Neve 1081 - LA2 combo going to an older 20bit apogee than a Rode - Mackie - Presonus CL feeding a spankin' new Mytek. There have been thousands of ultra high-quality and generally raved about recordings using "lesser" converters.

I would start with all the great tone gear and then find something to accurately take it from sound to number and back again. With a home studio on a budget and especially with you being the only one working I'd be super careful and buy only gear with a maintainable market value. Maybe look on the used market and don't get to caught up on the nuances with the "sound" of a converter.

[Revelation]

I hear your wisdom Danasti.. I actually decided to get the Lynx Aurora 16 with a Big Ben clock. It seems it helps the sound to some degree. Then the AMS Neve summing box, which my friend Hugh Robjohns just praised in Sound on Sound. Can't wait, all I need now is money.

[True North]

Originally Posted by Revelation

I hear your wisdom Danasti.. I actually decided to get the Lynx Aurora 16 with a Big Ben clock. It seems it helps the sound to some degree. Then the AMS Neve summing box, which my friend Hugh Robjohns just praised in Sound on Sound. Can't wait, all I need now is money.

That is wise move with the exception of the Big Ben. One of the added bonuses about the Aurora stuff that no one really discusses is that it comes with Synchrolock which is their word clock. I have never compared it to a big Ben head on but it has a better Jitter rating than Big Ben.

As for the pimp who told you that the Mytek sounds 'way better' than the Lynx I would be very wary about those kind of claims. When it comes to decent high end convertors you are talking about some very minute almost indiscernable differences. I have never A/B'd Mytek with the Aurora's but if I did, I would not expect to hear anything remarkably different, int erms of clearly discernable sound.

I used to own a Rosetta 800 and have listened to them side by side with the my Aurora's - I think I heard some differences but boy was I straining to hear them. In the end I felt good enough about the Aurora's to keep them.

[crypticglobe]

I tried just about everything out there and I bought the Lynx. I really like them a lot! I have 32 channels worth. I use them with RME AES-32's and a UA 2192 is my master clock. In double blind a/b's with Apogee AD and DA 16x's, the Lynx wins out about 70% of the time. Incredible value for the money. I say big...

jmtc...

[joshelevator]

where is the lynx firewire?

[Jazz Thieves]

I bought the Lynx convertors and I am very very very happy.

Just do it. They are superb.

[broken head]

Originally Posted by joshelevator

where is the lynx firewire?

The LT-FW (Firewire card for the Aurora) should be shipping by the end of this year.

Regards,

[joshelevator]

Originally Posted by broken head

The LT-FW (Firewire card for the Aurora) should be shipping by the end of this year.

Regards,

hi paul. thanks for that info. ive been waiting and im sure many others have too.