AD/DA converter

[flail]

I got a RNP preamp and by passed the MBOX?s pres, .so far so good. Now I need to work on bypassing the MBOX?s converters. I tried an Apogee Mini Me and decided the Latency was too much for me to deal with, and I really don?t need another pre ( I found the pre amp in the mini me overloaded the mbox, and no pad on the mini me). I did notice a slight but noticeable difference in the sound quality?but not $895 worth. I only need 2 channels since I am recording acoustic guitar and vocals only. What about the RME ADI2 24? I heard it was pretty good and it is also a D/C converter. Any thoughts on the RME stuff? Will I always have the latency issue no matter which converter I get? Does the D/A conversion help with the latency? I know this is pretty open ended and I am asking a lot of questions. Thanks for any help or advice.

[A-Barr]

Not sure about that particular RME product, but I have the Multiface and it has latency-free monitoring. I think that's kind of their thing at RME. You COULD get a distribution amp, and "distribute" or "mult" the signal out of the RNP. This basically means instead of 1 line out, you now have 2. You can run one into your A/D and the other into your board or whatever for monitoring. If you already have a mixing board, you can probably just use that as a distributer. If you want to get a really nice no-frills A/D, the Apogee Rosetta is supposed to be awesome. It's only 2 channels, doesn't have a D/A, and costs close to $1000, maybe less on ebay these days, especially if you pick up a 48K (not 96K) model. It's expensive, but all of that money goes into the converters. It also has one of the best dithering thingys around, supposedly it makes the 16-bit files sound almost identical to the 24-bit originals, this probably contributes to a better sound a lot more than a higher sample rate would, IMO.

[flail]

If you want to get a really nice no-frills A/D, the Apogee Rosetta is supposed to be awesome. It's only 2 channels, doesn't have a D/A, and costs close to $1000, maybe less on ebay these days, especially if you pick up a 48K (not 96K) model. It's expensive, but all of that money goes into the converters. It also has one of the best dithering thingys around, supposedly it makes the 16-bit files sound almost identical to the 24-bit originals, this probably contributes to a better sound a lot more than a higher sample rate would, IMO.

Thanks. Yeah, I like the Apogee stuff. When I invest in a better room, better equipment will follow. Right now I am just doing demo recordings of my songs and going into a studio for final. I just thought that with minimal investment ($500-$700) I could track at home, get decent sounds and mix and master at the studio. Thanks for the advice A-Barr. Anyone else on the RME?