AVID HD I/O vs Omni sound quality

[Firechild]

Hi!
Back in the days it was said that the AD converters were identical on AVID HD I/O as the Omni.
I have done some stereo recordings from an analog mixing console lately and I have a ”feeling” the HD I/O sounds ”better” than the Omni.
What do you think. Ghosts in my head?

[BScout]

Yes. Ghosts.

They are the same converters.

[Matt Hepworth]

Not the same.

Omni and HD I/O may use the same chips (I don't know whether they do), but the Omni has a different sensitivity and lower specs. It is, objectively, inferior to the other HD I/O interfaces converter-wise. It's, objectively, more in line with the blue 192s.

HD I/O (-18dBfs)
AD 122dB A
DA 125dB A

Omni I/O (-16dBfs)
AD 118dB A
DA 120dB A
HP 118dB A

[Eric Lambert]

Originally Posted by Matt Hepworth

It's, objectively, more in line with the blue 192s.

Oh boy, that would be hard to believe. Those specs may be similar to the older converters but, if they HD IO and Omni use the same converters (and I don't doubt the claims above) then the Omni should be a solid step up from the old IO, just as the HD is. Jumping from the old Blues to the HD was a breath of fresh air as that top end just opened right up. I've heard that the Omni is similar in this way.

[TOM@METRO]

Use both the Omni and the old blue HD I/O. The Omni is a definite step up.