Is the m-audio NRV-10 considered pro gear (not high end but "having the specs to qualify it as pro gear)? The reason I ask is that I use it because it has inserts for my compressors and my daw doesn't but my outboard gear is somewhat high end. I'm using the NRV strictly as analog gear not for it's digital stuff. I've been told I should take it out altogether but I'm into second opinions when it comes to this stuff. I often believe your equipment is only as good as your weakest link but I'm not sure in this case if using it this way would compromise the sound of the higher end gear I have. What I thought I might do is either take it out of the chain altogether OR put my good preamp AFTER it. Heres my gear list to give you an idea of what it's working with....
neko 64 daw, avalon 2055, manley SLAM! ( good chance I'll sell it if it has no real place here), Alan smart c2, finalizer 96k, l2 maximizer ( not to be used for their converters. Instead I got a apogee Rosetta 200 which will go into the Tascam DV-RA 1000 hd for cd mastering.
I'd appreciate some input on this.
Thanks
dblock
Is the M-Audio pro semi pro or neither? Should I dump it?
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- KVRAF
- 16866 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
It might quality as semi-pro. A real pro would need more channels and EQ in four bands of which the two mids have sweepable frequency 
As far as the technical merits, it's not mastering quality but good enough for most purposes. S/N ratio of -103dB on the AD converter, I call that average. If you use it all analog it's pretty OK with S/N ratio of -115dB. Freq response looks pretty flat: +/- 0.1dB
If you can't hear a difference with this device in or out of your setup, it surely is good enough!
As far as the technical merits, it's not mastering quality but good enough for most purposes. S/N ratio of -103dB on the AD converter, I call that average. If you use it all analog it's pretty OK with S/N ratio of -115dB. Freq response looks pretty flat: +/- 0.1dB
If you can't hear a difference with this device in or out of your setup, it surely is good enough!
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. 
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRian
- 759 posts since 22 Mar, 2002 from fi
this may sound a bit harsh and sorry for that in advance... it's just my personal opinion on the matter. but why don't you try it out yourself and decide what it is? you apparently have it already so you can do testing yourself and you don't need others to tell you how it sounds and performs.
if you can't hear any difference, obviously either it doesn't do bad things to sound or you don't have ears / monitoring good enough, and in any case i'm pretty sure nobody else can tell you if you like it or not. you could get responses like "yeah i'm using this, it has good S/N, it rocks and is definitely pro" or like "it sounds like typical m-audio china crap that kills your sound, i wouldn't run my sound through anything with 10 cent opamps"... and everybody might be right in his/her own context.
basic specs like S/N and freq response don't always tell that much except when something is really messed up - they can be used as indicators for certain aspects of sound quality of course, but they don't tell you more than your ears do. something with a bit worse S/N ratio might sound awesome in some way even being a bit more noisy, and something with even looking freq response could be utter shite. even if you're after most transparent and clean sound, you still can't get it just by looking if the specs are pro or semi-pro or whatever.
since you seem to have invested quite a lot of money for gear and also seem to be serious about your stuff, it doesn't make much sense not to get to know how all the gear sounds and decide for yourself what stays in the signal path and what's out.
if you can't hear any difference, obviously either it doesn't do bad things to sound or you don't have ears / monitoring good enough, and in any case i'm pretty sure nobody else can tell you if you like it or not. you could get responses like "yeah i'm using this, it has good S/N, it rocks and is definitely pro" or like "it sounds like typical m-audio china crap that kills your sound, i wouldn't run my sound through anything with 10 cent opamps"... and everybody might be right in his/her own context.
basic specs like S/N and freq response don't always tell that much except when something is really messed up - they can be used as indicators for certain aspects of sound quality of course, but they don't tell you more than your ears do. something with a bit worse S/N ratio might sound awesome in some way even being a bit more noisy, and something with even looking freq response could be utter shite. even if you're after most transparent and clean sound, you still can't get it just by looking if the specs are pro or semi-pro or whatever.
since you seem to have invested quite a lot of money for gear and also seem to be serious about your stuff, it doesn't make much sense not to get to know how all the gear sounds and decide for yourself what stays in the signal path and what's out.
never stop loving music.
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- KVRAF
- 16866 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
What I suggest is the following.
1. Download RightMark's Audio Analyser: http://audio.rightmark.org/manifest.shtml
2. Perform a basic loopback test using your best AD/DA converter (the Apogee Rosetta 200?) with the outputs directly connected to it's inputs. This will be your reference to compare with. Use your standard sampling rate and bit depth for that (24 or 32bits / 48kHz)
3. Add the device you want to test to the chain, either a mixer channel or whatever. Run the loopback test again.
4. Compare results in RMAA with your reference.
This way you will get some objective measurements about the quality of the signal path. You can do that with the different devices that have AD/DA converters like your workstation (perform loopback test on those solely, without the Apogee) or any of your analog devices (the mixer, the compressor at bypass, etc etc)
You will get an insight this way of what each device does to the sound in terms of background noise, frequency response, harmonic distortion, etc.
1. Download RightMark's Audio Analyser: http://audio.rightmark.org/manifest.shtml
2. Perform a basic loopback test using your best AD/DA converter (the Apogee Rosetta 200?) with the outputs directly connected to it's inputs. This will be your reference to compare with. Use your standard sampling rate and bit depth for that (24 or 32bits / 48kHz)
3. Add the device you want to test to the chain, either a mixer channel or whatever. Run the loopback test again.
4. Compare results in RMAA with your reference.
This way you will get some objective measurements about the quality of the signal path. You can do that with the different devices that have AD/DA converters like your workstation (perform loopback test on those solely, without the Apogee) or any of your analog devices (the mixer, the compressor at bypass, etc etc)
You will get an insight this way of what each device does to the sound in terms of background noise, frequency response, harmonic distortion, etc.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3024 posts since 25 Feb, 2005
Thanks BertKoor.Good point. Thanks for breaking it down for me. Maybe it's psychological that looking at this thing makes me question what I'm hearing add to that not being much up on spec figures maybe that gives me reason to question my ears.I haven't actually heard a difference.
BertKoor wrote:
If you can't hear a difference with this device in or out of your setup, it surely is good enough!
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3024 posts since 25 Feb, 2005
Good points all the way around. No, I don't think it sounds harsh at all. Just helps to get completely un sugar coated opinion.Sometimes I forget that on the one hand there are some obvious "don'ts" when it comes to music, there are still plenty of freedom to do whatever.
Thanks alot.
Thanks alot.
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- KVRAF
- 16866 posts since 8 Mar, 2005 from Utrecht, Holland
Ehm... if the sole purpose of the mixer is to insert a compressor, you could skip it all together. Source -> compressor input -> compressor output -> targetdblock wrote:Is the m-audio NRV-10 considered pro gear (not high end but "having the specs to qualify it as pro gear)? The reason I ask is that I use it because it has inserts for my compressors and my daw doesn't but my outboard gear is somewhat high end.
We are the KVR collective. Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated.
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
My MusicCalc is served over https!!
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- Banned
- 78 posts since 29 Jun, 2007
Midline pro, akin with Mackie and Presonus. You won't find it in high end studios, but it is decent gear.
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 3024 posts since 25 Feb, 2005
I'm seriously considering bypassing the mixer but the mixer has an additional benefit which is to carry a couple of separate outputs like kick, snare and bass which I can insert effect seperately but what you're saying is a good idea to consider.
BertKoor wrote:Ehm... if the sole purpose of the mixer is to insert a compressor, you could skip it all together. Source -> compressor input -> compressor output -> targetdblock wrote:Is the m-audio NRV-10 considered pro gear (not high end but "having the specs to qualify it as pro gear)? The reason I ask is that I use it because it has inserts for my compressors and my daw doesn't but my outboard gear is somewhat high end.