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  #1  
Old 11-22-2004, 11:12 AM
nicksense nicksense is offline
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Default Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

I really want to get a better sound from my 888/24. The options I know of include getting a big ben sync clock from Apogee (Anyone know any other good syncs?) or getting a Apogee Rosetta and using that, I rarley need more than 2 tracks at a time. I am thinking getting a better clock may be the best idea because then all 8 ins and outs should be a little better?

Anyone else have an opinion?

Nick
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  #2  
Old 11-22-2004, 11:20 AM
jeremyroberts jeremyroberts is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

Aardsync II will make your 888/24 sound better.
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  #3  
Old 11-22-2004, 01:13 PM
WorkingEngineer WorkingEngineer is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

A better clock WILL make everything sound MUCH better, but the 888 is not the best sounding box in the first place so I would recomend bypassing at whenever possible. The 8 chan rosetta is a good choice, but so is the Apogee PSX 100SE. Its a really good investment, you get 2 Tracks In as well as Out AND great clocking. I havent used the rosettas yet so I cant comment on that one, but if it is at all like the AD8000 it kicks ass fo sho.

Matt
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  #4  
Old 11-22-2004, 01:29 PM
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minister minister is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

lucid, high definition sync generator. ssg192
lucid audio ssg192
improved things imenslely for me. also, there is some contention about this, but external analog bussing can improve the sound as well. the 192, to me, sounds better than my 888, but my 888 with an externally bussed mix sounded even better.

also, can you improve what goes IN? better mic's? better mic pre's?
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  #5  
Old 11-22-2004, 01:36 PM
Nika Nika is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

There were a few problems with the 888, but the most significant one was that of the clocking. The 888 has no interior PLL, so any jitter coming in manifests itself as jitter on all of the A/D and D/A converters within it. Further, the internal clock was nothing special. These can all be improved with a better quality clock. The two highest respected clocks on the market are easily the Aardsync II and the Big Ben from Apogee, each of which feature NCOs and can spit out very low jitter Superclock. The problem with the Aardsync is the current status of the company - the website has shut down, the office doors are closed, the lights are off, and rumor has it that they are at the very least temporarily out of business. This may translate into a good deal on an Aardsync II, and I wouldn't be concerned about that because the service record on them was phenomenal - it's basically a black box with a single chip in that only does one thing. Excepting that, I'd take the Big Ben.

More likely to improve the sound, however, is just an external converter. Try getting an 8 channel converter and feeding it into your 888 via AES. This way you get the improved clock as well as better analog sections, filters, and converter chips. This would undoubtedly increase your sound quality.

I hope this helps.
Nika
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  #6  
Old 11-22-2004, 07:50 PM
fifty8th1 fifty8th1 is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

Had the same problem..but fixed it with Apogee's Big Ben and a Apogee Trak2.

The Trak2 Y's into your 888 giving you 10 channels in and out Total. Right from Protools you will see all channels.

The Big Ben will clock both the Trak2 and the 888-24. The Trak2 has the same Apogee great converters.

One more thing Apogee says the Trak2 is almost as good as the Big Ben... You could clock everything from the Trak2
and skip buying that.

We do all our low track recording through the Trak2... and all of the flying in and flying out to other hard wired audio devices.

The Trak2 is our front end to the entire ProTools system.

By doing all of this we finally got the sound we had 30 years ago in analog.......
..well almost anyway......

Jon
58th Street Studio
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  #7  
Old 11-25-2004, 02:02 PM
thothprod thothprod is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

Nicksense...
IMHO I think you answered your own question....Rosetta 800 or 200...with the X card option...somebody mentioned the PSX 100...excellent choice..except Don't think Apogee is making it any more...
Think that's what The Roseeta 200 is replacing......

ThothProd
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  #8  
Old 11-25-2004, 04:10 PM
frenchman frenchman is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

How is your 888 calibrated ?

Many people (me included a few years ago) don't know that recording at almost full scale (common practice in music production) with a 888 with factory settings means feeding its inputs with an outrageously loud signal (around +22 dbu!!!)
VERY FEW preamps or console "line out' circuitry can deliver such red hot signals without distorting, apart from ultra-pro stuff like Neve/Amek and the like.

This also means that if you are monitoring a mix taylored for CD production (normalized to 0.1db with plugins like L1/L2/L3, Maxim, etc. ), you are actually driving whatever monitoring system you are using with, again, a red hot signal around +22 dbu !

Are you sure the line input on your monitoring system can take such loud levels ?


Best thing is to change input sensitivity and output level(internally, its a drag, you have to open your 888, but well worth it) from +4 to -10 db.

Unless of course you are in the film business and think that 18 db headroom is a must...
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  #9  
Old 11-26-2004, 07:45 AM
sukks2bu sukks2bu is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

Quote:



Best thing is to change input sensitivity and output level(internally, its a drag, you have to open your 888, but well worth it) from +4 to -10 db.


I wouldnt recomend this at all. If your studio is all wired for +4,(pro audio), leave the 888 alone. If you are using semi-pro equipment, you might want to consider fliping the 888 to -10. The 888 is just not a good sounding converter. Aarvark will help, but apogee is the way to go.
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  #10  
Old 11-28-2004, 06:34 AM
frenchman frenchman is offline
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Default Re: Please help me make my 888/24 sound better.

Quote:
I wouldnt recomend this at all. If your studio is all wired for +4,(pro audio), leave the 888 alone. If you are using semi-pro equipment, you might want to consider fliping the 888 to -10. The 888 is just not a good sounding converter. Aarvark will help, but apogee is the way to go.
Altghough I respect and understand this point of view, I still believe this statement only holds when you work within digidesign "sound for picture orientated" guidelines.

People who use Pro Tools as a intregrated music production system do not work that way. A fact, not an opinion.

Think that when mixing inside pro tools for CD production your 888/24 has an output level 18 db higher that what you get on a SSL or NEVE desk when in the final stages of a mix.

Unless you know someone that masters his cds at -18 db...

You are actually driving the 888 electronics at the very limit of its analog circuitry performance curve, and making life difficult for whatever monitoring system receives such a signal and this includes Pro Control!!!
By setting I/O to -10db, then Odb digital full scale becomes equivalent to + 8 db, still perfectly compatible with pro installations. All you are doing is displacing your "0 db" point by 14 db.

This said it is true that 888/24 has not got the best converters around, but wasting more than 14 db in unused dynamic range does not make things better either...

just an opinion of course
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