Transfering analog mixes to digital - converter options

[mikoo69]

I was going to purchase a BLA Sparrow to transfer 1/4" analog mixes to digital. However, a friend has a Digi 192 ProTools HD rig that he will let me use. Is there any point to getting the BLA or another high quality 2 channel A/D, or will the Digi 192 do the trick? Would there be a benefit to the Sparrow or another high quality 2 channel converter?

In general, when looking at converters, are 2 channel converters in the $1000-$2000 range vastly superior to 8 or 16 channel converters in the same price range? I ask because I definitely need 2 channels of conversion for the project I am working on currently, though there are instances in the future where I could see myself wanting 8 or even 16 channels of A/D D/A so I'd like to know more about this before I buy anything.

[Nick Sevilla]

Hi,

I have the Digi 192 HD and it does a great job converting.

I'm sure there will be others that will exclaim their converters also work well.

If you can, do,your converting with your friend, and afterwards think a lot about what converter you will need int the long run.

Cheers

[kittonian]

The Digi 192 i/o is a fine converter and many great records were made with it. That being said it's a very old design and conversion has come a long way since the 192's inception.

If you are going to be purchasing your own converter anyway, the Lynx Aurora 16 is far and away one of the best options on the market today. Amazing conversion and clocking with tons of i/o in a single 1U rack space.

To directly answer your question regarding the quality differences between two channel and 8/16 channel converters, only two channel converters that are ridiculously priced such as the Lavry Gold, Weiss, or Prism boxes, are worth it for historical archiving and very high end mastering purposes. The lower priced ($1k or below) aren't very good boxes for the most part.

[kslight]

A budget friendly option for good conversion is the Alesis HD24XR (not the non-XR version). 24 channels of simultaneous A/D (at 44.1 or 48kHz, cut in half at 88.2 or 96kHz)...also has a built in hard disk recorder (or maybe its the other way around...). Still called the "poor man's Radar" and can be upgraded by Jim Williams if you feel inclined. I've had good luck with mine, got it for about $600 and have used it for several conversion projects as well as use it in conjunction with my interface to record directly through ADAT. Should be able to find one under $1000.