KVR Audio

brainstorming · Post by **brainstorming** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:41 am

im looking for the best convertor AD-DA dual mono input-output in this world !!

some people advised me Rosetta 200 or some mytek product, however I can't make up my mind..

some help ?

thanx guys

DuX · Post by **DuX** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:52 am

They adviced very well

. However, I'd like to add Benchmark DAC-1 and ADC-1 to the table - excellent bang for buck, and Lavry Engineering LavryBlue and all their converters which are well known in the mastering world. Also a very well known one is Crane Song Avocet, but it's far more than just a converter. Just google this stuff...

I'd rate them like this:

1) LavryBlue

2) Avocet

3) Mytek
4) Benchmark

5) Rosetta 200, RME AD-1, LucidAudio 9624

Notice the space between them

.

Cheers!

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 9:57 am

Lavry Gold
Mytek
Weiss
Prism Audio
are the heavy weight contenders. Beware that you will pay very much for very little improvement over a medium range ADA converter though. Is the rest of your chain up to it ?

The Chase · Post by **The Chase** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:06 am

in this world? How much are you willing to spend?

DuX · Post by **DuX** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:20 am

Oh yes Lavry Gold and Weiss...

. Those are really expensive and excellent, or maybe brilliant is the proper word?

Excellent points jupiter8. Personally, I'm thinking of Mytek or Benchmark, best bang for buck ratio.

BertKoor · Post by **BertKoor** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:28 am

jupiter8 wrote:Beware that you will pay very much for very little improvement over a medium range ADA converter though. Is the rest of your chain up to it ?

+1. The little extra quality doesn't justify the huge difference in price to me.

With converters like these you can't blame them for your shitty productions anymore. But with any RME (or M-Audio for that matter) you wouldn't have that excuse either imho

Kingston · Post by **Kingston** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:32 am

DuX wrote:I'm thinking of Mytek or Benchmark, best bang for buck ratio.

honestly, any RME has more bang for the buck in the mid-to-high-end sector.

Mytek and Benchmark are both already in the top echelon, along with their prices.

DuX · Post by **DuX** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:39 am

You gave me something to contemplate Kingston

. RME is a bit cheaper in Europe and definitely easier to find.

olepro · Post by **olepro** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:44 am

http://www.uaudio.com/products/digital/2192/index.html
http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/rosetta200.php

jupiter8 · Post by **jupiter8** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:51 am

Buying an ADA converter has to be the least rewarding thing around.You'd be hard pressed to find something that gives you less improvement for more money than that. Just about anything else will give more improvement. New speakers,room treatment,new mic,new compressor and so on. Not that there's anything wrong with a nice ADA setup,i'm just saying.

nuffink · Post by **nuffink** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 10:58 am

The Ti1794a D/A chip boasts a s/n ratio of 132db. It has a THD+N figure of 0.0004% It requires a bare minimum of support components making it almost impossible to implement badly. It's almost certainly superior to the D/A converters in the boutique stuff mentioned so far (except for those which use it). Not that this matters, nobody can reliably tell the difference between decent D/A converters and its difficult to buy any that aren't decent.

It costs $9.95

Try not to remember that when you're paying for your lavry, weiss etc.

DuX · Post by **DuX** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:23 am

nuffink

Even more stuff to contemplate. I am a DIY guy, so I'm gonna investigate that. Is there a nice Ti A/D, too?

living sounds · Post by **living sounds** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:28 am

There's a lot more than the chip to a great converter. Apart from a lot of R&D (know how and circuit design is the key) those things are expansive because of the cost involved in building them in high-price countries and small quantities, the quality control, the time involved for sourcing and selecting components (for a great exact DAC resistor values are crucial, for instance) etc.

BTW, I think that there is a very audible difference between high end converters and say an RME Fireface. The question is, of course, if the rest of the equipment is up to it - and if the end user will bother.

living sounds · Post by **living sounds** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:29 am

Dux, check out evaluation boards. You change a few parts on it for better ones - there ya go.

nuffink · Post by **nuffink** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:33 am

DuX wrote:nuffink Even more stuff to contemplate. I am a DIY guy, so I'm gonna investigate that. Is there a nice Ti A/D, too?

Yep. There are. But I think you're missing the point.

the best AD-DA stereo converter