DR-680: digital-in vs. analog-in sound comparison

[Brackish]

Just ran across this comparison of using the new USB Pre 2
as the front end to the DR-680:

Download USBPre2_mixed.wav from Sendspace.com - send big files the easy way

A comparison of going S/PDIF in vs. XLR in simultaneously. (At the above link,
select the box "REGULAR DOWNLOAD".)

Download the WAV file. First 10 seconds of the recording
is either digital or analog and the second 10 seconds is the
opposite input of the first 10 seconds. I'm linking you directly
to the download rather than sending the link to the original
discussion so that you can run the test blind and not be
influenced by knowing ahead of time which input is which.

Just want to add that the above comparison is not my work. I found
it originally posted by a regular at the Tapers Section forum and
it is his work that you would be listening to.

Can you hear a difference?

[jnorman]

brack - my security software went crazy on this. can you just post some regular mp3's so they will play with the forum player?

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by jnorman

my security software went crazy on this. can you just post some regular mp3's so they will play with the forum player?

Surprised to hear about the security thing. I've got plenty of security
software and there were no problems for me whatsoever.

At any rate, about posting the mp3's, like I said above, the recordings
were made by a regular over at that other forum. Seeing as it's not my
material, I wouldn't feel right uploading it here. If it was my own
recording, I would be glad to do it for you.

By the way, that link I gave above, that was set up by the person who
made the recording and I'm just passing the link along.

[jnorman]

sorry, i missed the remark about taperssection - i will contact the TS member directly. TS is my second favorite forum...

btw, i assume you have already listened to the tracks. what did you hear?

i had a tascam dr-100 for a short while, and while it was v. cool and handy, i did not feel like the internal preamps were quite up to what i might have wanted. do you happen to know if the preamps in the dr-680 are the same as in the dr-100?

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by jnorman

i missed the remark about taperssection - i will contact the TS member directly.

Here's the post right here:

Sound Devices USBPre 2

It's toward the bottom of the page, by "kirkd".


I see someone there did a similar test, putting the Edirol R44
up against the USB Pre2, comparing analog to digital converters.
He said that the Pre2 showed "a definite improvement over the R44"!

So, as best I can figure out, the R44 test was the same type
of test as what was done with the DR-680.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by jnorman

i had a tascam dr-100 for a short while, and while it was v. cool and handy, i did not feel like the internal preamps were quite up to what i might have wanted. do you happen to know if the preamps in the dr-680 are the same as in the dr-100?

No, they're NOT the same preamps. The DR-100 pres are listed
as an A-weighted EIN of -113 vs. the DR-680 at -127! The Sound
Devices 722 is -130.

[jnorman]

thanks brack - i listened to the comparison tracks last night. the SD pres had a nice presence to them, but the tascam pres were cleaner and clearer to my ears. sort of a hard choice between the two, but i was impressed by how nice the DR-680 preamps sounded.

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by jnorman

i listened to the comparison tracks last night. the SD pres had a nice presence to them, but the tascam pres were cleaner and clearer to my ears. sort of a hard choice between the two, but i was impressed by how nice the DR-680 preamps sounded.

I couldn't tell for sure whether there even was a difference.
The SD pre seemed a little more present when I listened
but it was hard to be certain as the music being played
also changed at the point in the test where the two
pres were joined (at the 10 second mark).

It would have made it easier to compare if identical sections
of the song could have been downloadable so as to control
as many variables as possible. One other thing I noticed
is that the SD section seemed to have a bit more low-end
energy being picked up because the bass seemed louder.
OR was the bassist actually playing louder? I don't know.

But, at any rate, I must say it's impressive how close
they are.

Would like to hear more opinions of the test from some
other slutz here.

[ysmgj]

i listened before this thread was started so i havent said anything yet.

i noticed a difference at 14secs, more bass, and what i could call nicer bass,.... says the bass head.

but other than that i couldnt tell much difference, cos apparently there was what 4 different configurations in that file?

i'm liking how the usbpre pre's sound so i'm happy

[Brackish]

Originally Posted by ysmgj

i noticed a difference at 14secs, more bass, and what i could call nicer bass


i'm liking how the usbpre pre's sound so i'm happy

Not sure I'm following you here. At 14 seconds in, that would be
the DR-680 pre and ADC that you were listening to. Everything in
the 10 to 20 second range is supposed to be the DR-680.
At 0 seconds to 10 seconds is the SD Pre2. And at 20 seconds
till the end is the SD Pre2.

[ysmgj]

oh ok,.. i had things mixed up then,... just went back and reread kirkd's post.

it was only at 14secs that i thought "hmmm somethings different".

from then on i really couldnt tell.

[JEGG]

The differences were small. I thought the 680 sounded just a little etched, the SD was smoother.

If these were recorded simultaneously, the 680 would be clocking from the SD. It would be interesting to hear the same thing with the 680 running from its own clock. That might mean a separate performance, though.

Apologies if I've got this matter confused.