Converters in 2021 - Is There Really a Difference 

In my honest and humble opinion, converters (and gear in general) tends to be VERY overrated...lol. Years ago, I was sucked into deep gear whoredom until I realized I was more concerned about gear than making music. I ended up selling my Focusrite Clarett and downgraded to a Motu M2. I also deleted tonnes of plugins on my system. I can confidently say that these changes have left me with no audible difference in the quality of my recordings. I recently had the opportunity to cut a bass track for an engineer in a very prestigious and professional studio. He wrote back asking what preamp and converters I was using. To date, he doesn't believe it was my squier bass running directly into my interface (with no outboard or in the box processing)...lol. It seems we have lied to ourselves that good music only comes from expensive and high-end gear.

I just switched from a year and half year old focusrite 18i8 2nd generation to an Antelope Audio's Zen Tour synergy core interface. I instantly heard more depth and wider mixes. The real proof was when my sister came over and she thought I got new speakers. She is not a musician so no gear means anything to her. The fact that she noticed a difference proved to me that it wasn't just in my head.

Ethan Winer has some great in depth videos talking about audio myths, including better/worse converters. One way he demonstrated you can test your converters is by importing a track into your DAW, and sending that same track out of you interface and right back in at the same sample rate, and doing a null test with the ITB vs OTB versions.

RME have the most solid Drivers I've experienced.....And ive sold and supported them all...... (2 x Apogee ensemble FW here) . Even decade old RME Interfaces have updated drivers... Incredible support.

I really appreciate your channel. It's refreshing to hear someone talking sense. Cutting through all the marketing hype and BS we find everywhere when we try to orient ourselves in the world of audio gear, and focusing on what do you really need, and stating the fact that in most cases good enough for the job is best for the job. A big thumbs up from me.

I am so glad I found your channel. You are helping me on my journey. I recently upgraded to a 4 in 4 out. And it’s made a different for now. As I continue I know I will upgrade again but with this kind of content I can make a more informed decision, not one where I feel I am having something forced on me. Thank you Barry!!

I agree with you about focusrite… I have the clarett pre-x and the Octopre expansion just for drums and am enjoying them. It’s a project studio but we are getting great results. I have a lot to upgrade before those would be my weak link 👍👍👍

What an encouraging and down-to-earth talk, making people understand that they do not have to spend obscene amounts of money to sound good. Spot-on about RME, too.

For the longest time I used a Tascam DA-78HR recorder was the best. It beat the ones in my Yamaha 01V mixer. Now I’m using an Apogee Ensemble and still using a Yamaha 01V96V2 mixer to monitor. Really like your channel with lots of useful information.

Tried different interfaces and so far I stick with the Antelope Orion Studio. Besides the good quality preamps and conversion for me it matters if the interface can be easily connected to analog gear and its routing in the software mixer panel. Antelope in my opinion has the easiest routing. On top of that you get dsp + fpga chips that can run many proprietary plugins without stressing the computer. Here is a matter of taste, for me hardware still has the edge and cannot be replaced. Unfortunately Antelope drivers are not the most stabile as the RME drivers are, but improved a lot compared to 2 years ago.

Hey man I absolutely love your channel. You talk about a lot of subjects I wonder about but not many other RU-vidrs are discussing. Thanks for the content.

Do session drumming on the side and need a lot of I/O ( usually about 13 mic's on my rig when I track). I use an HD native card with two old blue Digi 192 boxes ( Actually bought a third for dedicated routing out/in compressors and EQ's cause it was cheaper than a patch bay LOL! ) and to me the converters are not my weak link. For me the order of importance is as follows. Tuned drums, mic placement, room acoustic treatment, type of mic for the correct use (i.e. over heads vs direct drum mic), pre amps, external hardware ( if I plan on compressing on the way in on certain tracks), then finally the A/D conversion. Like you said now a days the converter ain't giving folks the problem. Usually something way back in the audio chain or it's the pilot in front of the DAW turning the knobs or punching the keys. Great videos Barry I have really enjoyed your perspective !

I think my favorite piece of gear is my Prism Sound Titan interface. It just fits my needs so perfectly!

I recently started looking into getting a new interface to consolidate my current 2 box setup (Focusrite Clarett 8PreX + Clarett OctoPre over ADAT) to a single box with 16 in/16 out to mitigate latency when tracking and summing OTB. I've been really happy, and still am, with the Clarett tough! Sounds really good and drivers have been super stable for me on Mac. The Red 16 Line is looking really promising in terms of I/O and connectivity, but it might be cool to check something else out?

Thank you I was stressing about adding a converter but I will be upgrading my interface for more outputs for analog 🔥🔥

Just subscribed I enjoy the videos. I recently got back into recording and had a focusrite 4x4. Great little interface but I needed more I/o to expand to connect my little SSL mixer up to start mixing seriously. I purchased the MOTU 16a for $1500 and it was literally like taking a blanket off my monitors and I could hear more frequencies. There’s no preamps on it but it was the best purchases I’ve ever made because of those converters. Plus it has AVB which is great. Keep up the videos 👍🏻

Mr Johns, Loved your video and valuable talk - thank you. Please keep making them, it is a joy to listen to you, and a buzz that you see fit to spread your immense mind bank ;) I like my PCI RME 2 channel at a fraction of the cost of a PCIe RME9632 2 channel... and will add the daughter boards 4x in and 4x out and eventually the Audient ASP800 or 880 for an extra 8 audio in... but the the biggest point of the PCI or PCIe is the low latency RTL... beats USB, firewire and no interest in my use case for Thunderbolt... ethernet live stage hardware at 32 channels peaks my interest though... As to audio quality mic or line into my old but brilliant Safe Sound Audio P1 - then into audio converter / card ... RME now... bliss... but tried a USB red focusrite box and frankly sounds nearly same to my ears at 48khz, but I want PCI or PCIe low latency. Difference is negligible... but I have the idea the RME daughter boards' improved convertors and the Audient adat expansion with 2x retro channels might add sparkle... but the end user could not care a jot... iphone, droid smart phone, mp3 file, extension box, car hifi... tiny ear buds... I used to love recording and mixing at 24bit 96khz using a terratec DMX6Fire in early 2000s - massive difference using Nuendo at time... (see SOS article 2006 maybe featuring Donald Fagan and his engineer conclusions: Morph the Cat, on Nuendo) but now use Reaper - it is brilliant... (best DAW to me) with LCS Blue theme... on a newly built at Xmas 2020 - - - Intel CPU i7 4790K, I imported, used from China... Asus 97-c mobo for its PCI slots, NOS (new old stock) £110 for unopened 32 gigs DDR3 1600 Ballistix Sport ram, with Corsair silent PSU, a mere 450 watt, and Noctua D15 cooler... GT1030 fanless GPU - I sometimes end up with 140 channels into mixer and use 300 plus VST FX, some pianos etc, without falling over, but its close to the limit at 80% realtime cpu use, even if CPU demand at only 60%-70% ... on an annoying 128 FLS limited Windows 7 x64 bit... I might upgrade to the H2 Win7 release, 4000 FLS limit, this September... but the grief of reinstalling all my VST and VSTi's... I might just let it go and work within the limitations... it forces me to freeze, render, commit to actual FX applied to audio... like in 2004... and move on... rather trying to keep VST FX and VSTi's 'live' - it is simply very, very, very silly trying to keep 'live' all those VSTi's and VST FXs applied to channels... why do we feel the need. Its a fetish? Now the important bit... EARS... to qualify all of that... My ears are actually fed the truth via a pair of Adam a7x monitors and BeyerDynamic DT150 cans... Ultimately ignore all I wrote but RME... and Latency - - - BUT GAS ;) Gimme potential 14 IN and OUT max... it IS enough... It IS, it IS... www.andertons.co.uk/recording/studio-outboard/preamps-channel-strips/audient-asp800-8-channel-mic-pre

Absolutely agree that up to a price point, there isn’t a great deal of difference in conversion quality. What really matters these days is the full feature set of the interface. Does it have a monitor section, how many channels can you ingest at once, can you have individual headphones… all the things we take for granted, but can make things easier. I upgraded to a MTRX Studio as I’ve wanted to have 16 I/O analogue and expandability with Dante. Also with DADMan I have a comprehensive custom monitor configuration!

Ive just upgraded from a Steinberg ur242 to a Audient ID14 mkii. Details like reverb tails and top end separations are the major difference between the two.. I get transparent mixes out of Audient. I'm happy with audient. In India Apollo, Apogee, RME are costly so still haven't heard from those convertors.

I went from a MOTU 828mk2 FireWire to a Antelope Orion 32+ 3rd gen, it took me 0.2 seconds to notice the difference in sonic clarity, I've been getting a lot of comments about my mixes and sonic quilty improvements ever since I upgraded to the Orion 32, I'm so happy with the sound and features, I just wish the software and support was a tad bit better.

I bought the Arturia Audiofuse Studio ($900) purely based on feature set. I agree 100%, converter quality is no longer a worthwhile selling point. I absolutely love my interface because it disappears. I never have to think about it. It just works.

Hey Barry, thanks a lot! As far as I know the mid-priced interfaces are all okay concerning AD-conversion. But what is with digital mixers. I think about getting a Presonus studiolive32SX as a comfortable all-in-one-solution, enough ins & outs, DAW-controller for Studio1 etc. If you look at the specs it seems to be not so bad (115 dB dynamic range in and out), but still not as good as a Motu 8-pre-es e.g.. What is your opinion on that, can you record and mix professionally with a digital mixer like that?

I had to move to my backup audio interface, the Gen 1 Focusrite 6i6 from a Presonus FireStudio Project. That was my looong time interface until I rebuilt my Windows recently (Xmas 2020) and the FW card wouldn't fit into the new motherboard, so FSP is now decommissioned. I'll say this, the Focusrite sounds sounds better than my old box. Even my old mixes sounded better and wider though my ages old Behringer Truth monitors. I am looking at upgrading to an RME card, but I need a REAL video card 1st.....the RMEs have been rock solid for ever. Thanks for your videos Barry. Keep going!!!

I went from SSL 2+ to Carbon and it was the best thing I’ve ever done. Better stereo image and overall conversion: exactly what I was in the market for.

Awesome video Barry! Amazing how far it's all come. I'll share a quick story. I never used to care about audio gear or what people used. I figured you just needed to get good with what you got. I still believe this! However, my KRK Rokit 6s died after 10 years and I finally replaced them with Focal Shape Twins. I own an RME babyface pro and at my studio which is shared I was using a Presonus Studio 1824c Interface. After learning about converters, I plugged the speakers into my Babyface and man did I hear a difference! Clarity, top end and bottom. Still though, ain't no converter ever made a hit record!

Very happy with my Audient iD22. Subscribed. Thank you.

Thx Barry for the content .. I could use some advice.. Should I go with a Behringer 1820 interface n run that digitally into a audient Nero or just get the Focusrite 18i20? Help

Great tips and info! I've beed a long time Apollo twin user and I now own the the 6X I'm not happy with the sound of the converters they seem to have a light hard muddy distortion sound when I tried a few different audio interfaces the muddy distortion went away I love the UAD Apollo plug-ins zero latency etc... I'm thinking of getting a Burl Audio B2 Bomber ADC 2-channel AD Converter and bypassing the Apollo 6X converters. This is my home studio I'm only tracking one or two tracks at a time. Cubase pro, Apollo 6X, LA 610 mic pre, MacBook pro I'm also getting a Apple Mac-book Pro M1 Max 16" Space Gray 10/32C 64GB RAM 2TB SSD and a BAE Mic Pre & EQ w/ PS. Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated Thanks. 🙂

I use external preamp and compressor but use the Focusrite 2i2 for converters into and out of computer, would upgrading to the Clarett+ 4Pre improve any quality?

Almost every manufacturer is working with the same handful of converter chips on the market. The components SURROUNDING your converter is what makes the difference. The first is power supply. It's the most overlooked part. Running a converter from a cheap 5v USB port.... well the results are going to be kind of meh. A dedicated and robust power supply is going to be expensive, but everything connected to it will function that much better.... including the timing crystals (clock) inside. Even the companies that hot-rod mid-tier converters... the first thing they do is replace or overhaul the power supply. Oh... back in the 1990's we'd use an Aardsync more often than a Big Ben. I think the Ben came out pretty late. The Aardsync stabilized the 888 interfaces via word-clock. They were well worth it.

Will there be an audibly noticeable difference upgrading from a $600 MOTU Ultralite MK4 to something in the $1k and above range? I’ve currently got my eyes on Antelope Discreet 8 or Zen Tour, or something in the RME line.

Useful and informative. Thanks! Keep doing what you're doing. Subbed.

Barry, as always, a great video and a stimulating discussion topic. That said, I think it is important to clarify some things here as the topic you highlight is "converters" but then you sort blur the lines beyond "conversion" (A-D and D-A) and discuss interfaces and mic pres. I know today with the enormous selection in gear and the with the combination of lots of capabilities in one box (e.g. the Avid Carbon or the Focusrite Red16Line) it is easy to combine those topics...but they are all pretty significantly different. As folks already point out in the discussion...there are things like latency, and I/O (e.g. mic-level, line-level, Dante, AVD, Thunderbolt) DAW integration etc. that all really are in the interface domain....then there are converters themselves...which to be fair come stand-alone in pricey form like Burl and many others (e.g. Focusrite Rednet 2 or newer Rednet A16R) and convert line level A to D and/or vise versa and can be included in some interfaces (again like the Red8R/Red16R hence the overlap and confusion) And then you have mic-pres...which require their own circuity to boost ultra low mic-level signals to line level and/or convert them to digital...and there are tons of offerings here too like the Audient ASP 880 for example or Focusrite Rednet 4 or newer MP8R...can you tell I am a Focusrite Red user/fan?)...and of course these two are included in interfaces (like the two that come in the Red8L or Red16L or the eight that come in the Red8Pre). Anyway, I guess my point is that interfaces, converters, and pres...while then can and often do come bundled in modern interfaces are all very very different animals. Personally I use a combination of many of these things like a Red8Line as my primary interface with a Rednet2 converter to add 16 more line level ins/outs and a Rednet 4 and an ASP 880 to get 16 more pres (plus a Rednet 3 to get the ADAT IO to Dante for use with the Red system)...Would love to hear your thoughts (maybe future video) on the value of all these things bundled together in one box like the Apogee, Focusrite, Avid and other offerings vs. the piece-by-piece options of choosing them all separately. Again, thanks for all the great content on the channel...and for reading this ultra long post!!

50% performance + instrument 20% room 20% mic placement 5% mic 5% the rest (preamp, adda, cables etc. ) If I remember correctly this is the ratio that determins the sound of your recordings (out of Michael Stavrous book "Mixing with your mind".) Pretty solid as far as my own experience goes.

i bought a burl b2 bomber adc, and also blackface UAD (not the newest x8p models) i sold the burl about 2 months later because I could not tell any difference in blind a/bing them

I use the Focusrite 6i6 1Gen at the moment and would like to upgrade Should I get the Apogee Symphony Desktop OR the Universal Audio Volt 476

thanks for this video? UA apollo mk 2, D to A is what I want to ask about, do you think it is 'pretty good' and your speakers will sound good with them ? how much better is UA apollo latest in terms of D to A? is RME wayy better?

Love your videos. If you have any doubt listen to a UAD 8xp And then an Antelope Pure 2. I can clearly hear the difference. Then listen to a Burl B2 Bomber. Impossible to not hear the difference but they are much better then they used to.

Year 2023 here. I have a Studio One/Windows shop, Quantum 2626 and Studiolive 32SX interfaces. I mix almost always "in the box" so the A/D conversion aspect at tracking time is really the most relevant. Both systems are extremely clean and colorless at the inputs, but I tend to use the 32SX for monitoring and the Quantum for the actual tracking. The Quantum has a VERY low latency Thunderbolt connection and 2 ADAT imputs (also spdif) so it becomes the comm/interface hub for just about anything I want to plug into it. Any color I choose is accomplished with mic and preamp choice, as the conversion is absolutely transparent. Later, plugin's finish the job. The only real decision as far as the converter is concerned is the track/project sample rate. I can playback/mix through either interface and both give me an ever so slightly different sound. Quantum being the cleanest/flatest but the 32SX offering a slightly beefier/colored vibe but it is very subtle. For what I do, this setup is perfect and frankly out-weighs my present skill level.

any thoughts on the focusrite clarett series? i'm currently using a steinberg ur22c, which is surprisingly decent, but i finally need more channels, and the clarett 4pre seems like it will give me both the channels (4 pres plus 4 line/inst) and a step up in audio quality. and they're only around $600...

This guy to studio audio equipment reviews is what Ken Rockwell is to camera equipment reviews. I'm subbin'! I'm just now teaching myself how to livestream and VLOG with my new X-S10 and will make this guy one of my GO-TO's.

I’ve owned several audio interfaces throughout the years, my first was a Motu 2408, sounded great but it was connected to my Mac via a pci card and I updated my computer and it didn’t support the same pci card size so I started using FireWire then usb interfaces, Digidesign Mbox, M Audio fast track, Avid fast track duo, Apogee Duet 2, and recently upgraded to the Apogee Symphony Desktop. My Apogee Duet was getting the job done, but the Symphony Desktop has definitely helped improve my mixes in a big way. Of course the preamps are better but I’m getting better mixes from songs I’ve recorded and mixed before on my Duet. Like I’m really hearing the detail and truly whats there, unlike before where I found myself having to go back and make tweaks and adjustments after listening to mixes on other sources than the Duet. Long story short I’m getting much better mixes now.

Would you be able to comment on the difference in conversion between the Apollo mk2 series and the newer but not new anymore x series? I had apogee products before switching to UAD for plugins, and after several years I think the apogees were better clocks and converters. Could go for satellite device and then get any interface that’s not u audio, but I’m considering upgrading from mk2 to X and wondering if it’s going to give me the conversion improvement I’m looking for. Thank you!

Im trying to decide between Focusrite scarlett 18i20 3rd gen and clarett 8pre. Im recording some drum machines and synths to my daw and i am wondering if more expensive clarett will be worth it for my usage.

Had a m audio profire 2626 and an apogee Rosetta really stepped up the sound. Fast forward about 10 years I got a presonus studio 192. Very little difference there, sold off the apogee. Now using the Apollo X8, I’m happy with that.

I love this already. Too many channels talking about studio equipment, yet their videos sound like TRASH. This sounds EXCELLENT.

SUBSCRIBED. love this type of convo...not sponsored content trying to sell a converter. a real discussion on whats available and how much greatness you can achieve these days on a limited budget...respect....I will say i bought the new focal alpha evo 65's...GAME CHANGER. speaker tech / digital amp tech is seeing a big bump in whats possible also...these new monitors are shockingly clean and detailed across the spectrum for the price.

Still using those Motu 828mkIII, interfaces, I revised those 2, because they are worth it. Next interface would love the RME interfaces. Their solid drivers is amazing for Windows systems. But the Motu's will be connected to the RME's via ADAT, and get extra channels in my DAW.

I'm so grateful for your genius. You just made a fan/follower thank you.

Happy camper with my apogee ensemble thunderbolt... plugins while tracking are just icing on the cake. went from a presonus firestudio 2626 to the apogee and it was night and day

Still rockin an old Apogee Duet Firewire on Monterey. That interface just won't quit.

Barry I was just listening to your review of ua,s volt interfaces you mentioned pre sonus was not very good but you say you’d now dump your new carbon for a focusright? I have a focusright scarlet 18i2 I hate and want to sell and go to 4 or 8 pre interface under $1000, suggestions? I run windows 10 udb C and 3 very fast i9 core 32gigs ram and lots of fast storage. Are you locked I into UA,s plug-ins with the volt?

Whats the best I/O interface, with no preamps and convertors so you can spend all your converter and pre amp money on dedicated units?

I have a Focus rite pro 40 Fire wire love it really 8 to 10 years now rock sold. Yes I have the TI FW card maybe why. I was looking at the Presonus Quantum 2626 as an add on to get better latency. I have tried USB is just not ready for prime time. Latency is not bad now with 128 or 256 buffer I get like 4 to 6 MS RTL, Fire Wire. Do you think the sound will be better on the Presonus Quantum 2626?

I use an Roland Octa Capture for many years and decided it was time for an upgrade, came across Antelope and decided to give them a try and by surprise it was day and night. The same vocals I recorded through the Roland Octa Capture by it self I did with the Antelope Discrete 8 and there was a big difference I was shock 😲 didn't though it would be such a big difference, it was bigger and wider, I'm very happy I did the upgrade.

Bought an RME UFX+ years ago, never looked back. Solid support, clocking, firmware, controls, ADDA, etc. hope it lasts another ten years at least.

thank you so much, the video I've waited for so long. clear and to the point.

Learning is part of the journey. Thank you.

Hey Barry! Question - How do I know what makes an interface have better or worse converters? Is there any sort of defined consumer end specs? How do I compare converters rather than just being swayed by words like 'better' conversion, 'elite' conversion, etc.?

I agree with everything he said. The only add would be to consider used gear. Doing so will save hundreds of dollars while stepping into better quality gear.

Thanks Barry, Very helpful. It’s nice to know that the Focusrite Red 8’s I’m using are in the upper class of A/D, D/A’s. Respectfully, Hooch

What specs should I look for when comparing interface ADC audio quality ?

What are you thoughts? I have a Clarrett and thinking of upgrading to a Rosetta800 for the conversation it's alot older would it be a upgrade ?

2 years ago When I went from a focusrite Scarlett to my apollo X system.... there went the blanket! Just playback on Apple Music through my apollo sounded incredible compared to the focusrite playback. Even my clients noticed it. It was a “lightbulb 💡 holy crap I finally understand” moment. Never going back.

I’m on Apogee Quartet, looking to expand with 8 channel AD Adat converter. Budget around $1000 Any suggestions?

I upgraded to the claret 8pre from a scarlet. It was a huge difference and major improvement. My 8pre has been rock solid and very reliable the last 3 years its still running good. But I want to upgrade. Reason being the noise of the preamps is horrible so i cant run external hardware because the round trip conversion is trash. Ive been considering the claret + it serms promising they older lynx aurora and the antelope discrete 8

I went from a focusrite Scarlett to the apogee element and it the quality was just beyond what I expected. The Element has the same conversions as the ensemble for a much lower price. Too bad they discontinued it smh

What about 24bit or 32bit? I use RME Audio Fireface UC, Babyface Pro, Apogee Duo and have an eye on the Steinberg AXR4U if 32bit is worth it.

hey if anyone could help with this and give their suggestion on what I should go with I currently just opened a home studio in my basement and run sessions mostly recording rap music and I am on a one channel m audio air interface and looking for my next interface with multiple ins and outs because soon I am going to integrate some outboard gear into my in the box work flow but I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on an interface yet I was gonna go with a focusrite Scarlett 18i20 as a starting point please let me know your opinion thank you

BIG shift for my studio was adding Apogee Rosetta 800. Stunning improved results. Really bummed that it's now obsolete :( Hate to be dropping my 003 control surface as well... And, just made the shift to Apollo x8 and Twin Duo. Can't really do any A B comparisons - too bad. Ideas for continuing to use Rosetta appreciated! Also have 4 channel SSL mic pre strip, and 8 channel Focusrite multi effects strip (not so great), and a pair of Voice Master Pros - would be nice to have them upgraded somehow! Thanks for the video! Nice presence and a topic of interest! Best...

One unit you may have missed was the legendary Terratec EWS 88MT. 8 channels of I/O, 24/96 resolution, pci interconnect, ultra-low latency, excellent drivers. I used 3 of these for 24 channels of clean tracking in my PC for 15 years, live recording concerts, including chamber orchestras. This was back in the days when the only alternatives were the cumbersome ADAT, the far more expensive MOTU, and the exponentially more expensive ProTools rig. Had the PCI cards not died, and PCI slots not discontinued on PC mainboards, I'd still be using them! I also owned the old Digidesign Session 8 unit, but it was stolen while on a location assignment abroad. Now, because I rarely record higher than 48K, I use the QSC Touchmix 30 Pro for 32 channels of good IO and decent standard DSP all in one desk.

The have the apogee symphony and it’s super awesome!

Hi, Barry! I'm using a $250 Motu M4, but ebay is selling a rossetta 200 192k from 2006 for $400 dollars. I was wondering, would that 16 year old rossetta still give me better quality than my 2021 motu m4 audio interface? Any advice would be very appreciated, thanx!

My main audio interface is the Presonus Quantum 2626 SPDIF out to a SMSL M200 DAC. What are your thoughts on the ADC?

Hi new subscriber! Just changing up my very old apogee psx 100se's and was looking for (non pre's) conversion as I love my pre collection. I got a ssl2+ for 1/20th the original psx price. Haven't used much yet (but I miss my psx's as I'm laptop now and no more lynx soundcard. tried Dante (audinate) to aes to Dante but could figure it out (think I need a Dante enabled hardware device built in as the Audinate virtual soundcard interface is as sexy as windows 3.1) But strictly speaking converters (not pres) can the $300 ssl2 get the same 2 chan. A to d quality as the high end $3 to 4$k stuff? Because I got the pres already!

I like the content on your channel, i subscribed. I must say that I am very happy still with the Focusrite 18i20 1st gen. I've had it for years now and i don't think it sounds bad in any way...

Thanks for your lucid point of view as always , congrats .

I've been using an RME UCX and Fireface 800 as ADAT since 2015 and never had an issue. I upgraded my monitors from ADAM AX7 to Neumann KH310 and it's made such a massive difference. I agree that the money should go into changes like this and acoustic treatment rather than the latest shiny new toy.

I just recently upgraded from a Lynx Aurora to the RME ADI-2 Pro to manage a RND MBC & BURL Bomber (multiple flavors) for my final mixes. The outboard analog gear is managed by a Lynx Hilo, monitoring is managed by a Grace Design M905 via AES from the RME. The RME ADI-2 Pro is an amazing AD/DA converter.

i got a prism sound and i fill good with it and i still use a apogee rosetta 200....never felt need to change nothing

Thanks as always for the content!

After monitors, the very first piece of gear i've purchased 13 years ago now is a second-hand Aurora 8 from Lynx Studio, and i think it's been the cleverest decision i made i my entire home-studio building strategy. As a mater of fact i keep using it nowadays...

The new Apollo X6 (or X whatever) converters on paper are noticeably better than the RME UCX II. Do you think they really sound better? I need to replace My Apollo Twin MKII (got destroyed). I use 2 Chandler Germanium rack mount pres 70-80% of the time so I like that the RME UCX II has true line level. Otherwise I would get an Apollo x4 (no true dedicated line level). I loved my Apollo but I want true line level.

I’m wondering if I upgrade from my RME fireface 800 to a more recent RME product would I notice a difference in audio quality with regards to AD DA conversion?

I usually don't listen to anybody's opinion on audio because it's usually a dumb influencer with a biased opinion. But you sir; i can tell you've done your research. Thank you. Really. Subscribed.

Man I remember when I switched my old M-audio interface with the new Motu... just like you said, like I pulled a blanket from my monitors. But that M-audio interface... as far as I see, the first drivers are from 2006.

New subscriber here, Barry. Thanks for sharing your information. I do mostly voiceover work and occasional band mix. I've been using MOTU 828 FireWire 1st gen, then focusrite forte then UA Apollo. I just inherited an older 2014 Lynx Two B card. Are the converters on this better than what I have now? Where is the Lynx 2B in terms of pro or semi pro? Thank you 🤓

What do you think about presonus quantum line?

My own experiences with converters (and recording gear) started in the 2000's as a broke student...and having tried some of Behringer's dodgiest creations, I can say this....what actually matters is getting to the threshold where that piece of gear stops being a showstopper bottleneck. The threshold is basically the difference between the most bargain-basement offerings and the popular low-midrange one. The quality bar has stepped up over time, which definitely helps. I would estimate that a $500 investment distributed across the whole signal path(so, a podcasting mic, monitors, headphones, a basic DAC, cabling/stands) and then using the bundled software with all of that stuff is just about enough to turn a laptop into an entry-level production kit. Once you're at that threshold, the ergonomics of the gear and how it fits into the workflow start mattering much, much more than the spec. Going very high end usually means getting devices and software that have every possible configuration option, which also means more that can go wrong. "Professional" or "military-grade" often indicates that it's going to be your job to maintain the gear, which can be the wrong thing for a creative purpose that needs "disposable" or "lightweight".

I love my Persons Quantum interface. It's been nothing short of amazing for my needs. The latency is so ridiculously low I tracked vocals forgetting I had my plugin chain enabled and at a 64 buffer in Pro Tools. The integration with Studio One is the best, but I had issues last winter and found S1 not my cup of tea right now. Software aside, I've run a few outboard things and it was as smooth as running a plugin. I'm sure the sound quality isn't as good as other stuff, but it's certainly a step up for me. I'm perfectly happy sticking with it. Someday I'll have a Carbon, but that's w whole other topic.

Anyone using the Focusrite saffire pro40 still? I love the functionality of mine so much with the double headphones on the front etc... but I always wonder if I switched to RME it would be a noticeable difference. Can you link them together?

Converters have came a very long ways away since the 90s and early 2000s to the point the difference is very miniscule as the gap closes esp between midrange and high end interfaces. I have some pretty extensive use of several Interfaces across several brands as a Record Producer from working in a commercial studio down to my own private production studio. I have used everything even the top top stuff like Lynx Aurora 16, and Apogee. I have Ab my most recent interface the MOTU 828ES AVB interface against an Apogee interface and the difference wasn't night and day. They were very sonically close to the point the price difference didn't really justified the extra cost.

Still you will notice difference in sound when you change the clock. I did some tests with different world clocks and you can hear it. It will make in general sound any digital device different (not alway better).

i have a apollo x4 any advice on a GOOD adat 8 Ch Pre ?

What is your opinion on the Cranborn Audio 500R8 and its converters?

I've heard so many good things about the Apogee AD8000, and am close to buying. Everyone seems to say the output is so musical and the most analog sounding. Any reason for me not to pick one up?

Question: If you have 16 high-end analog rack mounted Neve Mic Pre-Amps for drums, what is the best AD converter to place all those raw and pristine clear individual tracks into Logic X - using either thunderbolt or USB (thunderbolt preferred) - without losing the amazing Neve mic-preamp sound character?

The Focusrite RED 16Line is fantastic, I have for some months now on a Windows 10 PC and the performance is awesome.

Great video and great professional presentation. You’ve thoroughly explained this mystery my friend.

I love my Black Lion Revolution 2x2 for mixing and mastering 399.00 it's a Beast!