black lion 003+ mod

[Maddawg383]

Has anyone had the sig mod done to the 003R+ yet.
Reason why i ask is because its much different than the
002r because of the lack of space in the unit.
For one they cant decouple the analog and digital stages and put a seperate power supply (which apperantly makes a huge differance in 002r)
So they bump up somthing else to give it 12db more headroom.
And second, they toss in the micro clock unit (again, because of the space issue.
When i spoke to them, they were verrrry hesitant to tell me the mod was as good as the 002r.
They were actually trying to talk me into returning my 003+ and buy a used 002r saying its much better.

I'm keeping my 003+ because i need the 8 xlr's.
I'm still going to send it in next week anyway.
I reslly would like some input for those who sent in the 003R+

[tamasdragon]

I'm in the more skeptical camp with this. I compared the stock 002 and 003 side by side, and the 003 is much better instanltly.
Note that this is my private opinion, but I don't think that any bla mod will give the result. I mean the stock unit is capable of serving a pro, resulting an absolutely professional end product, be it an album or whatever.
12 more headroom for what? In my experience the 003 has enough headroom if you use the digital/analog domain properly.
One more thing (not against you), it amazes me that many people already bashing digi because of the hardware prices, but happily spend on the bla mods. But if digi would improve it's own design and would ask for more money, than....
I'm not affiliated with digidesign, only use their products, and I think the stock 003 doesn't need modification. Get a lavry for the frontend, some good pres and mics, and done. Of course imho.
Tamas Dragon

[mattrixx]

I have to agree with the headroom scenario....
In a world where final delivery requires a dynamic range of 10db from top to floor, these sorts of arguments haven't got a lot of weight.
I understand that not all situations are the same, but for my money, the 003 (in my case the 003R) is actually quite impressive. It is not my main system, but I bought it for compatibility and the price was right. I was pleasantly surprised. Of particular note, is the low latency recording mode, which is absolutely essential.
just my 2 cents worth

[Sounds Expensive]

It's not just the pre that makes a difference in the sound, but also many other things along the path.

Stock Digi A/D to D/A, and word clock are nothing to write home about. Think about how cheap the interface is for what you get. There's just simply no way you can get professional parts at every point in the interface at that price.

I did the Signature series BLA mod for my 002r. It was night and day. Now, that's just the 002, and I do understand that the 003 is better. But, BLA has mentioned those differences and short comings on their website.

I would always recommend BLA. Great work, great price, pro sound.

[Maddawg383]

First of all lets keep in mind that im talkin about the 003R + with 8 channels.

Now, when you say get a lavry , which unit are you talkin' about?

When you say to get some good mike pres are you saying to just get another set of 8 and forget about the pres on the interface or get 1 kick ass pre for recording a single channel at a time.

U usually record 18 channels at once (but 4 of those are usually scratvh tracks unless the guitar player made no mistakes).

I was contiplating up grading the 8 pre's on the 003+.

[DrFord]

Well in my opinion, you should just buy an Apogee AD 16x. I have one and talk about night and day. It comes with the Big Ben clock built in, so you clock externally to it, and viola. 16 pristine ins.

here's my analogy. People buy an 82 honda civic and spend $23k doing mods. At the end of the day, when I roll up on you in a 2009 Shelby GT500 Cobra, you're in a 82 civic, and I'm in a Shelby Cobra.

Know what I mean? Black Lion audio does a great job sure, but if you are ever going to upgrade your pro tools system to something better, why not buy pieces of gear that will stay with you. Professional audio products that will enhance you sound for years to come. And items that hold their value.

You will need a pre-amp pack with your Apogee, I have the ISA 828. Love it. All my connections are dsub25pin and it works like a charm.

[Maddawg383]

so is an apogee a 16 channel pre?
So then i wouldnt touch the pres on the digi.
Man... In this case it seems like such a waste to get to get rid of my 002 and up grade to 003+ for the 8 channels.

With the apogee can i still use the 2 extra S/PDIF channels to record 18 channels?

Thanks everyone for your opinions!

[Maddawg383]

damn i only have 1400 hundred bucks.
That stuff is 3 times more than i can afford.

[EGS]

The 002/002R/003/003R all provide a maximum of 18 simultaneous inputs. Analog ins 1-4 always go through the Digi mic-pres, even if you have it set to line (yes that's potentially 2 gain stages). Ins 5-8 are line-ins. Ins 1-8 use Digi converters and the Digi internal clock (unless if you clock externally). To keep hardware costs down, the stock Digi mic-pres, converters, and clock are ... well ... okay. The ADAT ins (8 at 48k max) and the 2 SPDIF ins can be fed from external DA's and clock sources. If you need to use all 18 simultaneous inputs, then you must use a single master clock source that all devices slave to. In my humble opinion, the Black Lion Audio guys REALLY know their stuff; I'm a satified customer and recommend their mods.

[Maddawg383]

I was wondering if i used an apogee 16x
Would i still be able to use the two extra S/pdif..... I guess the answer is yes ( just a matter of clocking.

As far as the BL mods.
You'll know what my real concerns are.

I'm refering to the 003+ with 8 pres,
Not any other interface with only 4.

Thanks