New Aphex 141/142 A/D & D/A converters

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PublicMelody
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New Aphex 141/142 A/D & D/A converters

Post by PublicMelody » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:05 pm

http://www.aphex.com/142.htm
&
http://www.aphex.com/141.htm

I'm not looking for conversion now, but I recently saw this and thought I'd throw this into the fray. The 142 is selling for $400 at one online store.

I wonder how they spec, and how they sound?

Lee Knight
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Post by Lee Knight » Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:26 am

I just bought the 142, 8 channel ADAT A/D. I track drums in a week and a half or so. I'll report back with my impressions.

Warren at Front End Audio helped me out nicely.

PublicMelody
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Post by PublicMelody » Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:20 pm

I saw your post over on GS.

Please, do let us know how it goes.

Decent conversion shouldn't be expensive, and these Aphex units certainly aren't (expensive).

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calaverasgrandes
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Post by calaverasgrandes » Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:47 am

What indicates that these units might be any good. The Aphex site was significantly bereft of info on them. And I have had just as many underwhelming experiences with Aphex as I have had good ones. The obviously make good stuff, but they also have some mediocre units in their geneology.
??????? wrote: "everything sounds best right before it blows up."

Lee Knight
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Post by Lee Knight » Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:05 pm

calaverasgrandes wrote:What indicates that these units might be any good. The Aphex site was significantly bereft of info on them. And I have had just as many underwhelming experiences with Aphex as I have had good ones. The obviously make good stuff, but they also have some mediocre units in their geneology.
All great questions. Info is scarce. They're designed for their Anaconda Digital Snake System and not specicfically for what I plan to use it for, hence the lack of info. They use the 8 channel Cirrus Logic chip that is well respected in audiophile circles (it took me some searching to find this info but apparently it's used in audiophile surround systems). Aphex makes a very good analog stage when they keep it simple. This unit is very simple. The rep at NAMM told me it was MILES above the Octopre/Digmax/ADA8000 level. And... it's got no pres which is good news to me.

It's worth a shot, so I bought. As soon as I get the dsub situation squared away I will test and report back. I'll report further after drum tracking in a couple of weeks.

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calaverasgrandes
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Post by calaverasgrandes » Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:15 pm

Dsub situation? Is it not tascam spec? Please dont tell me we are about to get a third dsub pinout.
??????? wrote: "everything sounds best right before it blows up."

Lee Knight
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Post by Lee Knight » Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:18 pm

It probably is Tascam and I have one being shipped. If I find it's not I will be soldering. Front End Audio in 90% sure it is Tascam. It's 25 pin so I'm pretty certain as well. We'll see...

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Post by xSALx » Wed Feb 13, 2008 5:55 pm

I can't tell. But I love how painfully simple this thing is. The big qualm that I have with the ADA8000 is the preamps....this could be a nice alternative.
"I'd rather her sound artificial [auto tune] than sound completely drunk." As said by the producer during a long pitch shifting session.

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calaverasgrandes
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Post by calaverasgrandes » Wed Feb 13, 2008 6:03 pm

if ya dont mind me asking how much do these go fer?
??????? wrote: "everything sounds best right before it blows up."

Lee Knight
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Post by Lee Knight » Thu Feb 14, 2008 5:58 am

$399. Front End Audio.

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Post by snatchman » Thu Feb 14, 2008 11:48 am

SOT...I wonder how these would compare to Jim William's mod on the HD24-XR..? ( or to the stock XR for that matters.. :) ..)..I think Jim's mod is around $900.00 ish for AD/DA.. If I were to get 3 DA's ( 24 tracks out of the XR.) and 1 AD, ( for inputs and use the internal matrix in the XR for the other 16), would these out weight the cost differences soundwise? Hummm.... only time will tell I guess... :? ... Unless...someone has a modded XR to compare these to.... :wink:

PublicMelody
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Post by PublicMelody » Sun Feb 24, 2008 8:25 am

OK, Lee Knight.

So, what do you think of the conversion?

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Post by Lee Knight » Mon Feb 25, 2008 5:58 am

PublicMelody wrote:OK, Lee Knight.

So, what do you think of the conversion?
It sounds great. Very much like what it is in my API A2D. But... there are no external controls for switching between 44.1 and 48. It has word clock In and will follow a master between the 2. On a Digi 002 however, you're stuck at 48 (no clock out). Which is fine, just be aware.

For 003 and others, just use the work clock and it will follow. The sound is absolutlety fine. Bettter than the Octopre, Digimax, and the ADA8000. No pres to get stuck with or have to pass thru at "line level". The Alesis is probably good too but I heard negatives about its analog components.

If you want words like "tranparent with a hint of wispy air" look elsewhere. It sounds fine. No negative artifacts, unlike the others listed above due to no pres and a clean path.

PublicMelody
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Post by PublicMelody » Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:19 am

That's great news for folks looking for good value conversion.

8 channels of solid A/D for $400 is like a limp dick....


....hard to beat!

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Post by snatchman » Mon Feb 25, 2008 11:01 am

Lee Knight wrote:
PublicMelody wrote:OK, Lee Knight.

So, what do you think of the conversion?
It sounds great. Very much like what it is in my API A2D. But... there are no external controls for switching between 44.1 and 48. It has word clock In and will follow a master between the 2. On a Digi 002 however, you're stuck at 48 (no clock out). Which is fine, just be aware.

For 003 and others, just use the work clock and it will follow. The sound is absolutlety fine. Bettter than the Octopre, Digimax, and the ADA8000. No pres to get stuck with or have to pass thru at "line level". The Alesis is probably good too but I heard negatives about its analog components.

If you want words like "tranparent with a hint of wispy air" look elsewhere. It sounds fine. No negative artifacts, unlike the others listed above due to no pres and a clean path.
Hey Lee..So, check out my post a couple back. How does these converters compare to stock XR converters if you have heard the XRs? Thanks..

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