"Cheap" A/D conversion

[qbert1]

Just wanted to get some opinions.

I've been using a HHB 830 CD Burner as a A/D converter for use w/ my AMIII (Mic to Mixer to "Analog In" on Burner and out to AMIII via SPDIF. Theoretically 24 bit.

Are there any other "cheap" or unconventional forms of A/D conversion that I should know about?

[Mark Staples]

Digi 001 is as cheap as you can get and it comes with lots of extras. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[Duardo]

Actually, if you just want two channels, you can do a lot better than the 001 in terms of quality for the same price...the Lucid A/D converters are a little less and you'll probably notice a significant improvement over your CD recorder.

Having said that, are you hearing a difference between the card and the recorder's converters?

-Duardo

[Bastiaan]

The mindprint DI-port looks like an ideal companion for the AMIII.

www.mindprint.com

[qbert1]

...are you hearing a difference between the card and the recorder's converters?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Now that you mention it, I guess I'm not. But I have some pretty low level studio gear. I'm hoping the improved sound quality is in there somewhere. Thanks for the Lucid and Mindprint tip.

Does anyone know where one could get the PCI Card and break out box for the digi 001? It would be nice to just buy the hardware since my software is already up an running as well as can be.

[Duardo]

It's only sold as a package with the software. Compared to somethign like the MOTU 2408, it's less money and includes the software to boot. No reason to complain there...

-Duardo

[qbert1]

My complaint is that I bought the toolbox for some simple recording and have since gotten hooked on PT. I guess a little forsight would have been a good thing a year ago.

[atticus7]

You can always DIY. All of the chip manufacturers have cheap to build schematics available. They're not the most esoteric converters available but they're not bad at all.

[qbert1]

Any tips on where to start? I really like the idea of a DIY project.

[atticus7]

Originally posted by qbert1:
Any tips on where to start? I really like the idea of a DIY project.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Sure, just look up Crystal Semiconductor, AKM, Cirrus Logic, or Texas Instruments on the internet and you can download spec sheets, test schematics, the whole nine yards. Have fun!