Mid-level AD/DA

**sharp11** · 02-03-2012, 04:20 PM

Apogee 800 colors the sound? What? I don't even know what that means ....

**Rowan** · 02-03-2012, 04:35 PM

Apogee 800 colors the sound? What? I don't even know what that means ....

Some gear is transparent, i.e. it is designed not to impart any intrinsic sonic character to what it processes -- think Forsell. Some gear is colored, i.e. it is designed to add a specific sonic character to whatever it processes -- think Neve. The Apogee Rosetta 800 is definitely not completely transparent. Hope that helped.

**Scott Fraser** · 02-03-2012, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by Rowan

Some gear is transparent, i.e. it is designed not to impart any intrinsic sonic character to what it processes -- think Forsell. Some gear is colored, i.e. it is designed to add a specific sonic character to whatever it processes -- think Neve.

Rupert Neve has stated that it was never his intent to design color into his circuits. He was aiming to make them as transparent as possible, given the BBC demands for RF immunity & the transformers that this required. So Neves certainly have color, but not because that was the design intent.

**Rowan** · 02-03-2012, 05:43 PM

Rupert Neve has stated that it was never his intent to design color into his circuits. He was aiming to make them as transparent as possible, given the BBC demands for RF immunity & the transformers that this required. So Neves certainly have color, but not because that was the design intent.

My bad, thanks for the education Scott. I worded that very poorly and indeed put forth an incorrect assumption. What I should have said was:

Some gear is transparent, i.e. does not impart an intrinsic sonic character to what it processes --some gear is colored, i.e. adds a specific sonic character to whatever it processes. The Apogee Rosetta 800 is definitely not completely transparent. Hope that helped.

**Scott Fraser** · 02-03-2012, 06:05 PM

Originally Posted by Rowan

My bad, thanks for the education Scott. I worded that very poorly and indeed put forth an incorrect assumption. What I should have said was:
Some gear is transparent, i.e. does not impart an intrinsic sonic character to what it processes --some gear is colored, i.e. adds a specific sonic character to whatever it processes. The Apogee Rosetta 800 is definitely not completely transparent. Hope that helped.

And with the addendum that a lot of gear currently is designed with the specific intent to be as colored as Neves inadvertently were. A lot of people are trying really hard to come up with something that Rupert was trying, with the tools available at the time, to avoid. I think there's an element of unintentional genius in this, just as with Leo Fender's creation of what is arguably the most perfect electric guitar ever, & James Marshall's creation of the perfect guitar speaker cabinet, based solely on the smallest possible volume that could accommodate four 12" speakers.

**QNote** · 02-03-2012, 06:24 PM

Great thread! I certainly like the UAD Apollo, but it's probably more than what I need (I already have a Duo card). Besides, I'd rather have all the "money" in the converters.

The Lynx Aurora with the FW card looks like the best "fit". The Metric Halo LIO and ULN units are probably out of my budget, sadly. I still want some cash for a nice 500 series setup!

**Rowan** · 02-03-2012, 06:35 PM

I think there's an element of unintentional genius in this, just as with Leo Fender's creation of what is arguably the most perfect electric guitar ever, & James Marshall's creation of the perfect guitar speaker cabinet

Amen.

Definitely you will not have a problem with Lynx Aurora Qnote. Very good converters and a good unit to work with. Also the Lynx breakout cables seem to be very good and about half the price of Apogee cables.

**Irwin Shur** · 02-03-2012, 06:37 PM

DISCLAIMER--non-professional opinion coming...

Like Bill, I've had a Mytek 8x96 for many years, and have been very happy with it. I also have used an Aurora (for inserts) and have been pleased with it, too. To my ears it's a touch less open at the top end than the Mytek, but I'm probably splitting hairs...have never felt the need to replace either of them.

**PookyNR** · 02-03-2012, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by Rowan

Just bought an Orpheus, love the converters but the pres are poor so I Googled and it turns out Prism uses the exact same PGA2500 chip on the Orpheus pres that you will find inside much cheaper products like Maudio stuff, Apogee Duet, etc. Good chance the new Profire may share parts with more expensive gear.

As I've been told often by many designers, using the same chip means little in terms of audio performance. Its the implementation of the whole circuit where a lot of the audible / measurable differences appear.