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  #11  
Old 09-29-2022, 12:41 AM
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Eric Lambert Eric Lambert is offline
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

I wish I could agree about the sound of the 192 (because I'd buy 4 of them at today's prices just to get the extra IOs) but I've never found them to be top-notch. Even when first released, the competitors (Apogee) had a strong advantage. The 192 got the job done, because that's what we had available to us then. Upgrading the clock does help (we put a Big Ben in front and the converters got better). They have their limits, however. I think most interfaces today, even the inexpensive ones, would prove themselves as better sounding. Not to throw fire on this topic, but I'd put some time into other options, at least as an audition. You might be surprised by what you hear.
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  #12  
Old 09-29-2022, 07:50 PM
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

Quote:
Originally Posted by smurfyou View Post
Why would they need it?
Electrolytic capacitors degrade over time. The plates oxidize internally
and the capacity level degrades. If you have any older analog gear,
when they get into the "decade" range, you'll likely have to re-cap
them. Resistors age very well as do inductors (if they don't get
exposed to elements). .. but capacitors (which
are like little batteries) don't.

I've done that with my 192 Analog cards and they sounded much
more like when I got them.

I would love to be able to upgrade the A/D converter chip to something
more modern .. like a "Black Lion" upgrade.

But even still, I like the way the card sounds. I don't use the Blue
interfaces for D/A .. and front-ending them with a good pre-amp
is essential.
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  #13  
Old 09-29-2022, 07:53 PM
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric Lambert View Post
I wish I could agree about the sound of the 192 (because I'd buy 4 of them at today's prices just to get the extra IOs) but I've never found them to be top-notch. Even when first released, the competitors (Apogee) had a strong advantage. The 192 got the job done, because that's what we had available to us then. Upgrading the clock does help (we put a Big Ben in front and the converters got better). They have their limits, however. I think most interfaces today, even the inexpensive ones, would prove themselves as better sounding. Not to throw fire on this topic, but I'd put some time into other options, at least as an audition. You might be surprised by what you hear.
Hmm .. I put Antelope clocks in front of mine and I've felt that the A/D side
of the 192 was quite good .. the D/A side not so much.
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  #14  
Old 09-29-2022, 10:00 PM
smurfyou smurfyou is offline
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff markham View Post
Electrolytic capacitors degrade over time. The plates oxidize internally
and the capacity level degrades. If you have any older analog gear,
when they get into the "decade" range, you'll likely have to re-cap
them. Resistors age very well as do inductors (if they don't get
exposed to elements). .. but capacitors (which
are like little batteries) don't.

I've done that with my 192 Analog cards and they sounded much
more like when I got them.

I would love to be able to upgrade the A/D converter chip to something
more modern .. like a "Black Lion" upgrade.

But even still, I like the way the card sounds. I don't use the Blue
interfaces for D/A .. and front-ending them with a good pre-amp
is essential.
I"m familiar with maintenance I'm just surprised they'd need it.
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  #15  
Old 09-29-2022, 10:17 PM
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

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Originally Posted by smurfyou View Post
I"m familiar with maintenance I'm just surprised they'd need it.
I think it depends on how much "up time" they had. Mine were up
for 12 years continuously. When re-capped, the analog side got
brighter sounding.
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  #16  
Old 09-29-2022, 10:20 PM
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

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Originally Posted by Darryl Ramm View Post
The issue now/recently seems to be not wether the 192 still works on DigiLink system, it's that HD Native systems on recent Macs/macOS seem to be having serious problems for some users, seemingly mostly the PCIe card in Thunderbolt expansion chassis, and according to some of those users Avid support is well aware of the problem. I get the impression (but would love to be wrong) that there have not been clear updates about this to affected owners. I wish Avid would share where they are at with understanding this problem.

If Avid does not get a handle on these HD Native problems could well be the end of many of these (today Intel) Mac HD Native systems that will not survive a migration to Apple Silicon.
I've had issues with my HD Native system on MacOS Monterey. I think
it's actually the OS more than the HD driver. I've had other USB and Ethernet
interfaces freak. Apple screwed the pooch on MacOS Monterey on Intel CPUs.

But we've been through this before with Apple CPU changes. PowerPC Macs
went unstable during the Intel switch. They're chasing the M chips and there's
going to be turbulence.

Last edited by jeff markham; 09-29-2022 at 11:21 PM.
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  #17  
Old 09-30-2022, 06:57 AM
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff markham View Post
have you re-capped the analog cards?
Never recapped any cards as it would be contraproductive for us as moved away from them 12 years ago so 4 of them collecting dust now and will donate them to a school here we help as much as possibe. They all work so the school will use them for a few more years so that feels good to know and to give
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  #18  
Old 09-30-2022, 01:19 PM
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Eric Lambert Eric Lambert is offline
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

Quote:
Originally Posted by jeff markham View Post
I would love to be able to upgrade the A/D converter chip to something
more modern .. like a "Black Lion" upgrade.
It's a safe bet to call that a waste of money. a) What you can buy in today's market for similar money is impressive, and b) Black Lion isn't a responsive company. As documented elsewhere in this forum, I've been waiting a month for a response about an interface update. They're AWOL.
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  #19  
Old 10-02-2022, 09:42 PM
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jeff markham jeff markham is offline
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Default Re: Digi 192 Blue Interfaces ... in praise of the analog card

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Originally Posted by Eric Lambert View Post
It's a safe bet to call that a waste of money. a) What you can buy in today's market for similar money is impressive, and b) Black Lion isn't a responsive company. As documented elsewhere in this forum, I've been waiting a month for a response about an interface update. They're AWOL.
Sorry man about Black Lion. You know I just don't like to give up on
old gear (obviously). Like old gear from our recording past, some
rehab might be worth the effort. I'm ok being wrong ;-)
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