stock post: upgrading converters - help

permanent hearing damage · Post by **permanent hearing damage** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:45 pm

i have a pc based system. usually i dump from 24 track 2" into cubase for overdubs and to mix. i also have reaper and sometimes use nuendo. i am not married to any of these programs, but they are what i currently have access to and am familiar with.

i have been using a motu 24io. i feel like it's getting by alright, but i recently had something transferred from tape with nicer converters and it sounded a world different to me. i really liked it. so i'd like to step it up. i have looked into the black lion mods, but the 24io is not mine, so i would have to buy one first (and it seems finding a used one with a pci(e) card can be difficult). i like having 18-22 inputs when i dump from tape as i do need that many on occasion. i would like more than a stereo out for some things as well. i'm looking at getting a motu 24io and having bla mod it or an ssl alpha link.

apogee should be out cuz i'm on pc, right? and the lynx stuff looks a bit too pricey for me- especially because i'd have to get two of them, no?

i'm just wondering if people have thoughts on the two. i have friends who say the bla motu stuff is awesome but i wonder if it would be more awesome than that ssl. or is there something else i'm overlooking? are there some old winners out that might even be a little cheaper?

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 3:55 pm

the lynx auroras are absolutely awesome. they have amazing depth and imaging, and, imo, are worth every single penny. you could get one aurora16 and one aurora8... not cheap, but awesome.

plus, if you ever decide to go to PTHD, you got converters that are ready to have the LTHD card put in them... then you are good to go.

john

LazarusLong · Post by **LazarusLong** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:59 pm

toaster3000 wrote:the lynx auroras are absolutely awesome. they have amazing depth and imaging, and, imo, are worth every single penny. you could get one aurora16 and one aurora8... not cheap, but awesome.

plus, if you ever decide to go to PTHD, you got converters that are ready to have the LTHD card put in them... then you are good to go.

john

+1. Lynx is one of the best bang-for-the-buck converters out there. And no, the apogee I/Os (save their Firewire interfaces) are OS Neutral.

Personally, I like the SSL Alpha link stuff, though it can sound a little midrange-y and forward (which is simply shocking, considering it comes from SSL!

). All depends on what you like!

Speaking of which, what converters were used on the transfer you thought sounded extra-tasty-good?

mwerden · Post by **mwerden** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:59 pm

A big +1 on the Lynx. I haven't heard anything comparable for the money and they can pretty much work with any configuration you end up with. They do get mighty hot though.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:14 pm

okay, am I high or don't the Lynx aurora 16's actually do 32 tracks at once. EG 16 analog and 16 additional digital?
IIRC I think I read a post about that on here once. These are certainly in my long term plan for upgrading past my BLA modded 828MKII.
On the BLA mod. Post mod I realized that the stock MOTU converters are fairly midrangey. After the mod it seemed like there was an octave on both ends that wasnt there before. On the negative side the BLA mod takes up 3 week to a month. My particular unit ended up with an intermittent noise on mic in #1 that I returned to get fixed by them. It came back fine, but then the noise comes back every now and then. Not a total deal breaker as the Motu pres were pretty lame before, post mod I have at least one pre thats usable now!

permanent hearing damage · Post by **permanent hearing damage** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 1:51 pm

[quote="LazarusLong]Speaking of which, what converters were used on the transfer you thought sounded extra-tasty-good?[/quote]

they were mytek converters. those are definitely out of my price range, sadly

permanent hearing damage · Post by **permanent hearing damage** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 2:26 pm

damn. looking around, it seems like the lynx stuff would run me about $5k for 24 channels in/out, no? that might be a bit high for my budget these days.

LazarusLong · Post by **LazarusLong** » Thu Dec 17, 2009 4:55 pm

yeah, that is an unfortunate truth. Lynx is about $5k for 24 channels. What if you went with one of the MOTU 192 systems and got it modded? They're pretty nice unto themselves, and a mod to put in some more select components could serve it nicely.

riantide · Post by **riantide** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:12 pm

You might want to check out Lucid stuff, they make 2 and 8 channel AD/DA converters that are very wallet-friendly, especially used. I have never used one personally, but an engineer I know who consistently does amazing work used one for years and speaks very highly of it.

calaverasgrandes · Post by **calaverasgrandes** » Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:19 pm

Isnt Lucid a division of symetrix? Some company with X in the name.
The older models that only go up to 96k are going cheap on ebay these days.

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