AES/EBU Jitter and DAW's

[flexoffset]

I tried to find this information by searching first and couldn't.
So......

I am in the market for a new PCI card to interface the outside world with Logic Platinum on a Mac in OS X.

My probable signal chain in the next few months will be this...

1. Benchmark ADC-1 digital AES output to a
2. --- ??? PCI card --- AES input then to
3. Logic DAW directed back out through a
4. --- ??? PCI card --- AES output on to my
5. Benchmark DAC-1 analog output to
6. Monitors / Headphones

Assuming the ADC-1 will give me a jitter-free digital signal into the PCI card, does that mean the PCI audio card will simply carry a jitter-free signal into Logic?

As long as the digital signal is jitter-free coming out of the ADC-1, does that mean ANY PCI audio card would be capable of handling the digital signal without introducing their own noise and jitter or is the brand of card extremely important?

Or will the PCI card introduce jitter, basically rendering the clean signal of the ADC1 useless? I just want the best card that will keep my signal as clean as possible.

Sorry for the long-winded question.

[fifthcircle]

I'd give Lynx a go... Their OS X drivers are still in beta, but their cards are second to none.

If your card is designed correctly, you shouldn't have to worry about jitter. The harmful effects of jitter will be found in the conversion- both analog to digital and digital to analog. If you are using jitter immune converters, you should be set.

That being said, there is a lot of gear out there that isn't designed particularly well.

--Ben

[flexoffset]

Thanks for the information

Do Lynx cards and Logic get along nicely?

Let's see if I understand you correctly:

A good PCI digital audio card (if no A/D or D/A or D/D conversions are being done with it) is essentially a transparent interface between the external A/D converter and the DAW and the external D/A converter, and is therefore not given an opportunity to introduce noise or jitter into a clean digital signal due to the nature of the signal it is being fed.

[fifthcircle]

Originally posted by flexoffset
Thanks for the information

Do Lynx cards and Logic get along nicely?

Let's see if I understand you correctly:

A good PCI digital audio card (if no A/D or D/A or D/D conversions are being done with it) is essentially a transparent interface between the external A/D converter and the DAW and the external D/A converter, and is therefore not given an opportunity to introduce noise or jitter into a clean digital signal due to the nature of the signal it is being fed.

Don't know about Lynx and Logic as I use Sequoia on a PC.... As I said, the OS X drivers are beta right now, but knowing them and the quality of their product, they are still probably pretty good.

And yes, a good digital sound card should be transparent. That said, "Good" is the operative work. Many sound cards out there aren't particularly good quality.

BTW, RME is supposed to be releasing OS X betas for their cards (which are also pretty good quality) in the next day or so.

--Ben