RME vs Apogee Converters

[soundtrack2life]

Has anyone A-B these? Looking at the Apogee AD / DA-16 (X) and the RME ADI DS. I already own the RME unit and I need more high quality I / O. Not interested in the Berringer Unit.
Thanks,
Joe

[TotalSonic]

I think the recent generation of Apogee's are a definitely easily hearable step up from the RME's. In my own shootout between the Apogee PSX-100 and the Mytek Stereo96 the Myteks won - http://www.mytekdigital.com - highly recommended.
For another step up check out Lavry - http://www.lavryengineering.com/

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[matt]

I have never been impressed with the RME converters. I used to own a Digi96 PST and have tested the Multiface. The Digi96 was purchased to replace a CardD+. Huge step down! I ended up buying ADAT external converters. Later I decided to test out the Multiface. Same situation. I have only heard Apogee converters for mixdown from a Neve and 2"... it sounded really good
A well respected engineer told me the Mytek's are a step up from the Apogee's. Good advice Steve. Aerosmith agrees Never heard the Lavrys. Very curious though.

[AudioAstronomer]

Hrm. Im still waiting for my lavry's.... Ive been borrowing a set for a bit on and off (sharing/barter) and they are the best i've ever heard.

But Id say the mytek's are where it's at if you're in the apogee price range, seriously...

Also benchmark has some nice stuff out there as well... I personally would put apogee in the mid-high end. RME for converters imo is great, but you can get better. Much better.

[matt]

.

[Alex_G]

Matt,

Have you tried ADI 8 Pro, or some other stand alone RME AD/DA converter?
I do not think Digi96 PST converter is the top of the line from RME.
(Your comment seems to have some personal taste)

Let's keep it polite.

Regards

Alex G.

[soundtrack2life]

The Myteks & Lavry are out of my price range. At least with RME & Apogee I can get 2 x the inputs / outputs for the same cost. Are there any other converters within this price range that sound as good or better?
Joe

[earthpig]

I use a apogee rosetta 800 connected to an rme 9632 via adat.
Very happy with the quality of the sound. The clocking is done via the apogee big ben.
( Would you believe there is a lead time of 6 weeks to get the optional wc card for my 9632? )

[matt]

I have experienced a lot of frustration with most converter boxes. I'm now using a Sydec SSIO-3 with professional results... but I have to watch the levels as it has a sensative input... probably -10dbv.
Alex, I thought I was being polite. You should hear me after a few beers.
No, I haven't tried the stand-alone boxes from RME, but I have also been told that they are only marginally better. Do you have a different experience with them? Please share.

[TotalSonic]

I'd say there are several levels to the current converter crop. There's the run of the mill (usually with cheaper AKM chips with budget analog components surrounding them) such as the Behringer (which as noted here are actually capable of some good sounding results), the mid line (like RME, Digidesign, Lucid, and the cheaper Apogees), the higher end (like Benchmark, DAD, Mytek, the more expensive Apogees, Lavry Blue, Pacific Microsonics), and the ultra-high-end (like Lavry Gold, DCS, etc.).

fwiw - The recent crop of RME converter boxes sound with out a question better than the SSIO-3 to me. I'd put the recent RME boxes in the same ballpark as the "industry standard" Digidesign HD boxes actually.
another fwiw - Bob Katz did a recent shoot out with a number of engineers comparing the latest generation Apogee box (forget the model #) against a Digi 192i/o and he stated that the entire room preferred the Apogee box playing back at 48kHz over the Digi at any sample rate! So often it isn't the sample rate - or the chip in the converter in fact - but the quality of the analog components leading in (or out if we're talking DA here) of the converter that is making the difference in the quality of sound.

The Myteks really aren't that expensive - I picked up a Stereo96 AD for less than $900 and it truly is mastering grade quality to my ear. So if you primarily track just a part or 2 at once it can actually make a lot of sense to budget at this level. The Apogee PSX-100 (which also has DA) seems to go for around $1400 - so if you're talking Apogee - Mytek is in the same budget range.

Converters are definitely like monitors though - everyone has a subjective opinion! - what sounds great to one guy might be just ok to the next. Main thing is to LISTEN and make up your own mind - internet chatter will get you a good list of which boxes to check out - but it certainly will never tell you what is "best"

You might want to check out the ADCD by Lynn Fuston's 3d Audio which compares a ton of different ad converters. CD is not the ideal format to do this with to me - but it definitely can get you a sense of the range out there.

Best regards,
Steve Berson