Eleven Rack AD/DA

[gclef101]

I am looking to replace my 003 factory with the Eleven Rack as my interface. Are the AD/DA conversions any better or the same as the 003? I will be using a keyboard (Roland Fantom G8) and guitar for recording my songs.

[Hotcrazyfruit]

I believe they are the same, the mic pre might also be the same.

On a side note, i think it would be better to use your 003 as your main interface, and tie in an eleven rack VIA S/PDIF connection. i know a few users here use that setup with great success.

[nst7]

I don't know about specs, I'm just going by my ears. Having had an eleven rack and a 003R, I can tell you the 11R conversion is not as good. It's partly for this reason that I returned it.

[Hotcrazyfruit]

Originally Posted by nst7

I don't know about specs, I'm just going by my ears. Having had an eleven rack and a 003R, I can tell you the 11R conversion is not as good. It's partly for this reason that I returned it.

Are they that bad?? :S

[Bubblegum]

I've not heard the D/A or A/D conversion of the Digi 003, but the conversion quality of the 11 rack is about what I was expecting... OK

It's certainly not bad enough to stop you making good recordings, but I still wish Avid would put more into this area (they probably have a little with the next gen M boxes and hopefully new 004? Whatever else they've got up their sleeves).

Personally I use external conversion both in and out (Apogee). I think D/A conversion is more important actually because if you are listening back on your stock converters you are less likely to hear any benefit from upgrading your A/D.

There is a noticeable difference to my ears between the 11 rack converters and my Apogee ones (Mini Me and Mini DAC), but I doubt there's as much of a difference between the 11 rack and the Digi003, whatever the specs.

I usually pay more attention to the quality of my source sound and mic placement when I'm recording... and the recording levels, which will make much more difference than what converters you've got.

In fact cheaper A/D converters sound cheaper, the hotter you run your input signals into them in my experience. Cheap D/A conversion quality is more of a problem.

[nst7]

To me it was noticable enough. I'm sure it would be even more noticable coming from Apogees.

To be fair, I don't think the Line 6 stuff, or anything else in that price range would be any better. There's only so many things companies can pack into these things at the price point they're trying to hit.

[Bubblegum]

Yeah you're right nst7. I think the important thing to consider is to weigh up the advantages to having an Eleven Rack for it's functionality with the quality of conversion you need.

I already had my external converters, so I didn't consider that at all.

If you want all the DSP and guitar features of Eleven Rack and are on a budget, it is a winner. If you still want those features and you have a bigger budget, then it's a winner along with an Apogee Rosetta or something similar.

If the converters in the 11 rack are cheaper than the 003 then that may explain the competitive price. It's still cheaper than a DIGI003 (OK less I/O of course).

[Hotcrazyfruit]

Wow, what does a cheaper converter even sound like? :S lol

Nick

[nst7]

You tend to notice it more when you compare it to a better converter. With the better converter, it sounds more "real" and more musical, has better low end and high end, better dynamic range and transients, etc.

This is across the board, not just regarding 11R to 003. I'm saying the 003 sounds better, but then we would see the same difference again comparing the 003 to much higher end converters.

[jimst57]

Does anybody know of any audio examples on the web? I'd like to try and hear the difference between average and good converters.