Does Digital Conversion Still Matter in 2024

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[@PetrolMediaInc]

G.A.S. Is real. I always tell people buy the most expensive thing you can afford and like so you don’t have to update for a long time. Don’t buy the new shiny thing every few years. Great video.

[@bobdhoffnar]

Accurate clocking makes a BIG difference! That is why I went with aurora and like rme. Weird clocking is the root of many gremlins.

[@Steve-br7wt]

I think it’s more about the songwriting as it is the tools. In my day job as a photographer composition matters much more than the latest digital sensor. In regards to music, I believe the album For Emma (Bon Iver) did pretty well, and that was with an SM 57 and pro tools m-powered. Sometimes limitations can be a boon.

[@rickeguitar9086]

Barry, I am so glad you decided to continue sharing your experiences with the home recording world. I always appreciate the way I am able to have questions answered without having to take personal time with you to resolve! Thanks again for all you do. And, Cheers!

[@MrFn65]

Over the years I’ve gone thru at least a dozen audio/MIDI interfaces and these days the 200-500 ones totally do the basic job of recording and mixing. Moving up to RME/ LYNX, UA APOLLO/Steinberg with DSP etc IS worth it if you have the cash and really want the sound of your music to go up a big notch. I hope you can talk about word clock and what the higher end converters actually bring to your mixes so the typical user can understand WHY they should move up if they have the money to spend.

[@jon4739]

IMHO the sound chain is as follows ...... first the Musician and instrument then room treatment then the mic placement and mic then preamp then the AD/DA conversion. It is far down the audio chain. running 64 channels of Digi192 with an HD native card and pro tools HD and lots of outboard hardware. Conversion is the last thing I am thinking about when recording. When I started back in the early 2000s I got caught up in the conversion hype and maybe it was a little true but today I think the other parts of the signal chain are WAY more important. Great video as usual Barry!

[@briancoyne6700]

I love your channel, Barry. Thanks for your hard work!

[@BarryJohns]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@tylercruit6261]

I just found your channel yesterday. I was having some... issues understanding totalmix. Your videos have been very helpful on that front. Also I am feeling comfortable with my purchase of an RME HDSPe RayDAT. I had considered other devices but ultimately went with a PCIe audio interface.

[@facelessproduction7059]

Antelope Audio. Best clock and conversions that I have used and use. Prism Sound and RME are great as well! Focusrite do great stuff for lower cost.

[@Rhuggins]

This is more advanced of course: but I will say, for mastering purposes specifically, conversion does matter - especially with outboard. I was using a cheaper converter to master with my analog chain, and noticed a big difference in transient reproduction and overall sonic integrity. While most high end analog does sound better than plugins, one thing plugins do not have to contend with is DA/AD conversion rounds, which do noticeably change balances in my experience. I find for mastering it is better to invest in good converters (but not necessarily the mega expensive ones which to me seem exorbitant). Im very happy with my UFX III

[@Ritzourne]

Super wise as always. « spend some time and save your money » is the best advice here.

[@GdpJapan]

I'm on and HD I/O. It sounds great to me, the first time I listened to it I was freaking amazed, I am still freaking amazed how it sounds, how it behaves... I want to keep it till it dies. May be there are now ones with better converters but I don't care. Sounds great, it's stable, has plenty of connectivity and room for expansions. No one ever in my studio or in the big ones I work at with tons of gear, has ever asked me about the converters. That's it. Whenever I walk into a studio, I check what they're using, I know more or less if it's good or bad, that's important, but the numbers and comparisons. If it gets the job done, it works. I spoke to someone from AVID today cos I've been going crazy about upgrading my mac and stuff and he told me: hold on, dude. Don't even think about buying anything now. We 're in the middle of something, PCIe cards have their days counted as computers will get other connections, don't sell your stuff and go Carbon, because it's not clear yet where it is exactly going to... Buy a Mac, buy a chassis, plug the PCI cards you have, install pro tools, don't touch a single cable and keep working till we know what is the next thing. Once is out, wait a while then buy. Not now. He saved me a lot of money. I mean a lot. For reals.

[@alejandrosm8955]

My interface journey from sound blaster , digidesign 002, avid Mbox and currently Focusrite Clarett …. I really don’t need an upgrade at the moment although I would love to have RME. Love your videos 👏👏

[@SteveAaron]

I'm still using 3x FF800 with a FF card on a Mac Pro with Ventura, connected to a 24-track 1979 Neve console, and I'm not planning on changing. I don't feel the need for that change. FWIW.

[@angermanagementstudios]

“Take your specs and shove em” Ne’er a truer word uttered Baz!

[@hendricksam]

This is a great take, as always! A quick and dirty answer I give my students is that convertion doesn't matter when most of what you need to do is grow skill and build a solid portfolio. At this point, get something you can afford that's good quality. Then at some point when your skill is good enough that you can hear and want to deal with the nuances, that's when it starts to matter, but it will be built on your subjective preference, that you've developed over time. For example, I find Lynx convertors a bit too coloured for my taste, so I prefer RME because I can get surgical. But that's preference, I certainly will use a Lynx when I have to use it, and I adjust accordingly. Either way. It only matters when you have enough skill to hear and deal with the nuances. And that takes time to build and finesse.

[@DanBires]

I agree because you don't see companies doing those comparison tests that much today say like several years back when they would compare UA verse Focusrite or Apogee verse RME. I have had people hear some recordings and mixes I have done and right away ask me all kinds of questions about my gear. Then some would precede to geek out on me over this interface and that AD/DA converter and literally it would drive me nuts. They would want to talk about it for hours and I would literally be frustrated thinking do these people record and mix or are they some sort of secret society of people who are sent to distract you from recording mixing and mastering.

[@dnashofficial]

i got my first high end system a few years ago, moving from motu and early apogee to antelope, and the great "lifting of blankets" was on full display. i recently added the ferrofish pulse 16 as a "quick fix" for an extension ADAT ADA that failed, and i love the thing. i was initially worried i was taking a step back in quality (cause, you know, spec sheets), but your videos have wonderfully augmented my confirmation bias, lol. i still use my orion 2017 as my main I/O but, as a drummer, the ferrofish stuff is an awesome way to make sure all of my monster kit bases are covered. thanks for another great video

[@THE.JOZZER]

When I first started making music in 2006 I tried using a cheap Motu interface. Man, was that thing terrible! I moved over to an Apogee Rosetta 200 with a Big Ben clock later and the difference was day and night!! Now’a days I’m just using a UAD Apollo X4. It sounds great!

[@draztiqmeshaz6226]

Still rockin' a Fireface 400. As everything around it slowly gets upgraded, it has yet to be a bottleneck in quality or utility.

[@StratsRUs]

Great advice.I had a MOTU 8Pre I was very happy with for 16 years ! So I willl most likely get another MOTU.

[@operasinger2126]

Thanks again, Barry! Getting too caught up with equipment is a giant black hole.

[@hjvarfjell]

Thank you for not giving up this channel. I really enjoyed your update on this topic. Even though I'm not in the market for an interface right now, and probably won't be for years. However your former vid on this topic helped me a lot when I did research before getting my interface. It helped me think through what was really important when it came to features I wanted in my new studio interface and reach a conclusion I'm very happy with. I totally agree with your views. Like Julian Krause, who I also used for information when I needed it, says. "Yes. The interfaces I have tested have some differences. I can measure it. But when you have to use measuring equipment to be able to tell a difference in the sound quality the difference really doesn't matter in real life situations."

[@J.ELDRIDGEVISUALS]

Man your so on point there is no finding fault in what your saying. 💪

[@Mitsch76]

Haha great video again, Barry! I totally agree with you on that conversion thing. Having experienced many interfaces as well, I can say today the quality is so good, that even in the low budget sector the interfaces are waaaayyyy better than few years ago. As simple as a power supply today is a complete other thing than some years ago....when they were more of a heater than delivering stable power, and broke down every 2 weeks of usage. No, these days are over. Whatever technology you may compare, today we have great stuff!

[@MarcPlaysDrums]

Domi and JD Beck made one of the best albums of 2023 with a keystation 49, a bunch of 57s and 2nd gen focusrite scarlet 18i20 and it was a great album because of the quality of the songs not the quality of the audio. The older I get the more I see that the music I like was recorded on far inferior quality gear but the songs were just great songs. I’m use to dealing with tape hiss(dating myself) so my clarett does just fine.

[@davidallanmusic]

I heard about a guy winning the lottery, therefore I don't need to worry about saving money..... same logic.

[@chevaliermusic]

@@davidallanmusic Respectfully, not the same. As mentioned in this video - greater dynamic range (conversion) isn't necessarily a great reason to upgrade interfaces anymore. Even inexpensive interfaces available today outperform tape - and most users still enjoy the sound of tape. And forgive me if I've misunderstood you.

[@davidallanmusic]

I think you're confusing the fact that people like the older "songs" that were recorded on tape. If you listen to pop music over the last 5 years the sound quality has gone up immensely. I understand that this is ultimately subjective, but regardless I believe that people would be best served by making the best sounding and written songs that they can to stand out from the crowd. There's too much uploaded each day not to put out your very best.@@chevaliermusic

[@chevaliermusic]

@@davidallanmusic not all of the best songs were recorded on tape. Digital recording has been in use since 70s. And I don’t think that sound quality has improved very much over the last five years. I’ve been recording professionally for the last 35 years and the change isn’t as great as many believe. For this reason, we aren’t seeing as many new conversion systems brought to market. Apogee hasn’t released a new flagship system since 2016. UA since 2018. Even the low in systems produce audio recordings well beyond the range of human hearing.

[@davidallanmusic]

To clarify, I meant that the amount of pop songs that sound great has gone up over the last 5 years. To your last point, I disagree. I noticed a large improvement when I upgraded to the RME ADI 2 pro FS from the Focusrite Clarette. The biggest difference being with drums. This improvement allowed me to make better mixing and mastering decisions. Being able to make better decisions seems to get lost in these discussions. @@chevaliermusic

[@_acixxx]

I think it's the sum of the parts. In my experience from my current journey, upgrading converters are lower in the priority list of things to get right. But the right converter can make a noticable difference. In my current setup, I use 3 great converters: Apollo x8, Antelope Galaxy 32, and Lynx Aurora (n) 32. The Lynx does something really special and you can easily hear the difference but more importantly FEEL the difference. As a software engineer by day, i'm thoroughly impressed by their tech. Maybe everyone else will catch up eventually, but today in 2023 there's still secret sauce with regards to conversion.

[@calving3867]

The Lynx sounds more rock and roll than any other converter regardless of specs. It just sounds like rock and roll.

[@koubeat]

I recently was able to get a good deal on a pre-loved Apollo 8p blackface. I really just thought of the converters as a bonus because of the DSP power for the money. The conversion blew me away though coming from a Steinberg UR842. I kept hearing about how the newer UAD models have better conversion let alone the higher-end conversion boxes. I'm pretty happy(ignorant) overall and feel like this Apollo will last me for quite a bit. What's itching my anxiety though if these converters from 2015 are at least as good as them Scarlett gen 4 Rednet converters. Great video Barry always love your video topics!🤩

[@torta122]

I think it’s interesting you make this episode when the new Focusrite Scarlet has their Red Line converters. I think this move proves your point.

[@philipcacayorin]

Thanks for all you do; know you are appreciated !

[@bullet1218]

Experience is the best teacher...your valuable insight is....💯👍

[@teashea1]

Interesting video. Over the last several years the quality of converters has dramatically improved. Many rather inexpensive audio interfaces have conversion quality that is excellent - to the level of there being no audible issues.

[@briananthony9083]

Still using a 192 IO. Mixing hundreds of songs year. Lots of studios with “better” stuff send me their tunes to remix. I often ponder upgrading, but so far, no reason to.

[@GgWifi-ot2sh]

hey!, professional recording artist and engineer here . just want to say i love your outlook man ! you give great commentary for all levels of skill to enjoy. in 2023 it doesnt matter if you are CLA or if you just downloaded audacity.... everyone MUST develop and maintain a home rig. i wanna share a tip though. that i see almost every creator in the gear space overlook.. if you need a REAL bang for your buck. Clear conversion. excellent preamps and a clean eq before it even hits the DAW. Purchase an USB MIXER CONSOLE!!! in my opinion it is better than almost every interface 1000 $ and under. my 12 track usb console is so versatile and dynamic adds such a great punch on top of the analog chain i can route through it . I can record a band or ensemble comfortably as well. you can track to your daw directly through mixer. but sometimes ill still run through a standard interface to get even more gain ....

[@joelglaser5657]

Excellent! Thank you Barry.

[@adambell4513]

Good talk Barry. Sound advice as always!

[@notgiven3114]

This channel is very aggravating! I've been trying to find THE THREE VIDEOS in the series called "Series - Using Outboard Hardware..." But YOU DON"T USE CONSISTENT NAMING!

[@curtis2299]

RME ADI 2 pro fsr black edition….. Matters! Frikkin thing is gorgeous and quite noticeable!

[@binladen5299]

I sent mine back sounded way to harsh for vocals . But for listening it was awesome

[@LaminarSound]

I noticed INSTANTLY an improvement when going from Apollo Twin X to RME UCX II. Kinda shocked me. Apollo was great. RME great-er. The UCX II sounds just incredible. But to be honest the RME workflow is the main reason i switched back to RME. I just didnt jove with Apollo and Console. I was a long time UFX gen 1 user so…. Youre right Barry. In 2023 and moving forward its pretty much all about your needs and workflow preferences.

[@XavierMoreno-s8d]

I've owned the original UCX and even that model has always been light years ahead of UAD

[@Cookie-Yeah197]

I got a RME UCX II a few months back , blew me away . The overall quality is amazing.

[@Danksta02]

Great video! Thanks for continuing to post!!

[@LodvarDude]

I think we're in a very good place today regarding conversion. Most interfaces seem to have decent conversion, even the ones at entry level for a home-studio. The options are mostly solid, and given the information available it's way easier to find a decent on suited for ones needs nowdays with channels like Barry's and others. It was much harder back in the early 2000s. I bought some real duds, let me tell ya. I finally landed on UAD, and I think I'm sticking with my Apollo for many years to come. I like the workflow with the Unison-architecture and they sound great.

[@lmrecorders]

My first interface that wasn't a sound blaster was an Echo Layla. After that it was a Motu that digitally connected to a Tascam DM24 mixer. From there I got an Apogee AD16X for my input conversion and from that point I was dedicated to a la carte conversion. Almost everything had adat connections in some number. I added to my apogee converters and got nearly 20 years of use from my first unit. Earlier this year I began replacing my apogees with Burls. One advantage of a la carte converters is being able to mix and match. Eventually I'll have 32 Burl inputs but thankfully it won't have to be all at once.

[@chevaliermusic]

I also had a MOTU2408 connected to a Tascam DM24. Eventually I got the FW card for the DM24 and eventually moved on to many other interfaces.

[@lmrecorders]

@@chevaliermusic I stayed in the tascam ecosystem with a DM3200 and DM 4800 but they're all strictly digital signal routers and a controller for pro tools. I mix in the box but as a tracking and studio audio routing tool it is fabulous. Channels that appear on the desk are sourced from outboard preamps and not the built-in preamps. However, my talkback mics are using the tascam preamps.

[@leshawn1977]

amen sometimes I think we spend a lot of money these days and the listener could care less apogee is great but it cost a arm a leg and these things get old and will be much cheaper 3 or five years later keep up the great work

[@EnochGitongaKimathi]

We have affordable good quality conversion the technology has matured. Both in terms of sample rate and bit depth. It is common to find 96kHz sample rate and 24bit converters on cheap interfaces. Computers are now more than capable of processing DAWs with multiple audio channels of high sample rates and bit depth. The connection interface to the DAW has also greatly improved with USB-C. USB class compliant drivers have helped reduce the mess of installation. You can use a smartphone or a MacBook Pro with a USB-C class compliant audio interface. The iPhone Pros and iPad Pros feature studio quality mics with good conversion.

[@mjrisinsd6836]

It depends on the person. I honestly couldn’t be bothered to worry about it, but there are plenty of audiophiles out there that will always insist on going down the rabbit hole. I can’t ever know what they hear, so have to assume it is worth it to them. For myself, I am too lazy to put energy into it.

[@OrangeMicMusic]

Although I understand your opinion (and others’ commenting here), I’m wondering if anyone did a double blind test with their gear before deciding which one is better

[@Em1lyB]

Considering Rme ufx 3 for total mix or use Apollo x8p for unison pres and latency free tracking

[@cthncthn7405]

Great considerations, I totally agree. Also quick mention to all you musician slash engineers out there that already know the ropes- quit obsessing over new technology and make music (talking to myself here as well 😀)

[@dwdrummer0129]

Great advice! love your videos!

[@DnBLand81]

i own prism lyra 2 and i still run on two different stage of conversion an apogee rosetta 200 that has a sound that i like (mainly i use it to capture the analog unit before i go back to prism

[@jasoncruizer]

I own a $300 focusrite and a $4000 lynx hilo. The hilo outputs pure silk to the monitors, a 3d shine, reverbs and delays and low end have a seperation i dont get on my focusrite. Focusrite is cool for writing music with, but serious mixing and editing, its hilo or the highway.

[@alainjulot3490]

I have Apollo x6 combined with Steinberg AXRU. Steinberg is a beast!

[@thumbody1]

Great video Barry. Like you, I have been doing this pro audio stuff for many decades. I'm a bit older than you. I have quite a number of pieces of external analog hardware so I need IO IO it's off to work we go. I am still using my old RME Fireface UC interface. It's a bit short on IO but it's enough for what I currently have. Between the 8 analog inputs and outputs as well as the single ADAT port I can get it done. Total Mix was a game changer for me. I have a Focusrite Clarett OctoPre 8 channel mic pre that has ADAT connections that I use as 8 additional channels of analog IO for the external hardware. I could use more IO but the reality of it is that I have enough to do whatever I would need to at any given moment. I might have to repatch some things in the patchbays for certain situations at mixdown but I can make it work. I have yet to find a situation where I couldn't do whatever I wanted to. I just have to be creative and find work-arounds at those times when the most direct method doesn't work due to interface limitations. Could I use or want better conversion? Youbetcha! Do I need it for what I do, nope. I'm not doing this for a living anymore. I am a retired hobbyist and have more than enough of everything to do quality work. If a situation ever arises where I have to have better conversion I can rent an interface. I live about an hour from Blackbird Studios and they have any and everything you can ever imagine in their rental facility.

[@mehAudio]

I will update when 32 Bit conversion is included in sensible products. Just solve the gain issue once and for all for mic and instrument INs. I know how to do it with 24 Bits, I‘m not lazy, I just think it doesn’t have to be an issue anymore. Or we could go back to analog stages you can easily drive into saturation without clipping for a specific sound. Free the headroom 😅

[@calving3867]

I agree with this. I run my monitors with RME, and capture the prints with it, but I'm very happy with the Cranborne and Motu units I fed the summing mixer with that are much cheaper per channel. Infact, the Cranborne specs the same as higher end interfaces like cranesong designed 10+ years ago that still sell for 10x more per channel. I do disagree about specs, but if you don't know what the specs mean, then just ignore them.

[@michaelminshew904]

I started my journey with a Zoom R16. The mic pres in that thing were pretty crappy and I guess the conversion was middle of the road, but for a USB interface starting out with 16 channels (8 physical faders, bankable up to 16) it got the job done. BTW I'm a drummer and I was looking to record and demo full bands so I skipped over the 2 and 4 channel rigs and went straight for the16 track. (I'd learned recording on a 16 track ADAT tape deck rig with the remote that I bought off a former audio school student so that was my comfort zone) I eventually upgraded to the Focusrite 18i20 and tacked on a Behringer ADA8200 using ADAT lightpipe to get a full 16 channels. The 8200's output was a slight bit hotter than the Focusrite, but that was a super solid setup. I did most of my work on that rig until right after moving cities and setting up my third studio. For that, I've upgraded yet again and decided to run my I/O on a Dante audio over IP setup. I went with the Focusrite Rednet 3 interface and two Ferrofish Pulse 16 boxes connected via ADAT. I've got 32 in and 32 out via that setup, I'm monitoring on Dante channels 33 and 34 with an AM2 box, plus I've got the use of a 32 channel Soundcraft Ghost console for mixing OTB - I've got 8 Neve 1073 outboard preamps and two Focusrite ISA 110 with 16 of the console's preamps/channels/eqs for my front-end. Those Pulse 16's are about as good as it gets when it comes to conversion. I'd thought about dropping the money for a Prism Lyra 2 to print the two-track back in, but I've found that just printing back in through a couple of channels on the Ferrofish setup is going to yield the same if not better results than adding in yet another piece of gear. I'm in complete agreement with your assessment here. Keep the good stuff coming!

[@eancurtis9333]

I could never tell the difference lol and I've been playing music for a longtime ... but when tape is being used then I definitely can

[@nunoandradebluesdrive]

As far as I can realistically find, is the mic pres where you notice something more..and even most of them these days are decent, in the worst case scenario you can't push over a certain point of that gain on a cheaper mic pre, but in the end, after a good mix and master who can really tell the conversion, the pres, even mics.. I mean sure great gear is "better", but it's not as noticable as the marketing noise wants us all to fall in to. I find this to be true for lots of technology.. photo and video cameras etc. The only way you can "sometimes" notice is on side by side comparisons.. The knowledge and mixng an mastering skills are way more important.

[@vc2tb]

Great video Barry 👍

[@gfromshankside]

This makes me feel good. G.A.S. is real....but I love the feature set of my Arturia Audiofuse Studio. I suspect I'll have it in service for quite a while longer....and upgrade around it. 😊

[@teashea1]

The best source by far for information on audio interfaces is Julian Krause on his YT channel.

[@SaccoBelmonte]

Since some time already, converters in mid tier hardware is simply outstanding. No need to high tier gear as it was back around the year 2000 in which RME and Apogee were kings. Not anymore.

[@pipelineaudio]

RME wasn't really king for sound quality, it was because of their completely peerless dedication to drivers and support for their products. By the time they came out, none of these cork sniffers could ABX between a cheap interface converter and a Lavry

[@Justin_the_Analog_IC_architect]

I just want everyone to offer Dante. Since I'm a Windows user, Dante gets around the ASIO/manufacturer driver issue.

[@MiguelNoyola1]

Sum of all the parts. Good player solid gear and quality conversion worth it!

[@makemusicordie]

Still real happy with the Apollo x16 after a good 4 or so years with it, and expect to remain happy with it for quite a bit longer!

[@makemusicordie]

(It’s what I’m using for my main home studio interface)

[@ThaRealDawn]

Hey Barry, i was wondering if you ever produced like a big song and did music as a full time job. I'm asking because you know so much... a lot more than the average hobbyist.

[@FreakinOutOnAudio]

Hmm. A lot of A/D has a sort of "brittle" and harsh sound to it for me, especially on computer interfaces from the last 15 years or so.

[@RandyWhited-rw7wo]

My 1st interface was the Firepod that became a brick then I went with a 2i2 because it was cheap. I still was able to make some decent scratch tracks imho. Now I want the best customer support and audio quality I can afford so I splurged and got a ufx III. Now I just have to figure out what to do about increasing channel count without living in the doghouse forever.

[@furryz666]

Howdy fellow freak, 62 and still at it, Not much stage these days but did pretty well during the 80s-90s metal run So I still got a few bucks to spend That being said I’ve been on this side of the glass since PTs 8 Had the Avid profire 2020 Then when I switched to all Mac it was the Apollo twin and now Apollo X racks But I want to add those lovely 8 adat spdif channels Had an 8200 ultra and I thought it was fine until I heard a 10 year old piece of kit from Audient that I’m sure you know Asp880 Although a decade old it’s still being produced and sold commonly Sound is stellar in comparison the the ultra gain but I read a mix reviews of love if it’s working and not so much when it fails I’m not sure if a 2 year use is worth $1400 But I can’t find another higher end solution with all these features Any input regarding the Audient box, thanks

[@XavierMoreno-s8d]

Barry, avid listener and big fan here. Keep up the good work! Quick question I own the original RME UCX bought back like in 2013, do you think its worth upgrading to the mach 2 version?

[@drewwebsteraudio]

Hey Barry, do you primarily write/mix your own music or mix other artists? Either way, I'd love to hear some of your work! Where can I find it? Thanks and keep it up

[@587583922]

Conversion is a weird one to me. I can hear some differences, and it's not particularly difficult to measure others (though you'll never get the data from manufacturers). And the actual differences do somewhat correlate to price but not at all with marketing or some of the "hivemind" reputation a few companies have gotten. It's one of those things where it's "worth it" at some point. But, at the same time, it's a bit ridiculous to go overboard unless everything else is sorted out. Monitoring makes a much bigger difference, and as long as people don't understand why so many popular monitors are unmitigated junk...conversion literally does not matter.

[@damon_aaron]

Short answer: NO. You could buy a $50 M-Track Solo and make professional recordings.

[@ladanzza]

Good luck

[@herbphelps8713]

Hi Barry, have you got anything I can listen to that you've produced over the years? Many thanks in advance.

[@PharaohLawLess1]

I upgraded my iMac’s operating system which no longer allowed me to use my 003. I had to buy the SSL 2+ to use. I’m wondering if I should upgrade from it sooner or later 🤔

[@LondonSteveLee]

Does conversion still matter? No. We are way beyond good enough with budget interfaces - way beyond.

[@AliAlZayer]

Lynx Hilo forever

[@deetgeluid]

Everyone is entitled to my opinion.😂❤

[@StevePaulSounds]

How does Allen & Heath SQ5 rate sound quality alongside RME UFX ii or Apollo X8P? I currently have an Apollo Twin X and Behringer X32 and the sound quality is so much better on the Twin X (although that's partly the output - so beautiful with Rokits ). I'm ready for an upgrade but worried about sacrificing inputs as I sometimes have 3 or 4 people round with a bunch of instruments....

[@Geeztown]

I just had my Apogee ensemble firewire die on me that I've been using almost 15 years. Now I'm trying to figure out what to replace it with. Thing is, I haven't recorded drums or any big projects in about 5 years, it's all been singer Songwriter programed drums for r&b, pop, and hip hop. I still have the mics, stands, and cables for it though. Should I go for something like the rme adi 2/4? I have 2x 1073 500 series pres as well. Or if conversion doesn't matter, I've thought about even going with some of the Presonus live sound stuff because using cat5 and having a whole board with faders, plus a cool way to do monitor mixes could be really cool.

[@MellowXBrew]

Difference between my SSL 12 and Quantum is night & day. But only because I have a setup that can hear it. I figure most people can't hear the conversion differences based on their room and speakers.

[@LaidbackSounds]

i can hear the differences too between ssl12 and my audient, never tried the quantum which one you prefer ssl12 or quantum ?

[@MellowXBrew]

@@LaidbackSounds Quantum most definitely

[@LaidbackSounds]

i found the ssl12 sounding superb already , i would have never thought quantum was better @@MellowXBrew

[@conrow1157]

Man chill your life! its all good! you do great vids that I really like if you talk about gear etc but these deep talk vibes are for different channels in my opinion!

[@dougyfresh2054]

Have you listened to metric halo LIO8 3D ?

[@FreestyleGalaxyNMore]

NO NO NO NO BARRY! YOU ARE WRONG!!!! 😂😂😂😂 JK

[@privateer2584]

I started with an M-Audio Mobile Pre I've been through a lot of interfaces. I feel pretty good now with my RME UFX III. I had planned on an Aurora or Lynx, but like you say it's not really worth it.

[@Duskybuka]

Exactly the same for me 😊 still have my M-Audio

[@thaexception3406]

Stuff to think about

[@javiernajar1457]

Don't spend $3000+ if you are just going to record in 44.1k/16bit. It will just sound like a $200 interface.

[@joeydego2]

Does it matter? Sure. To the point it is even a selling point or worth a conversation? No.

[@pb25193]

How about hybrid mixing ppl?

[@bboymac84]

Gettem unk!!

[@dab7963]

Happy Holidays to my favorite freak. I am thinking of getting a Ferro fish 16 like you. I am out I/O. Also think I. Going to get an RME UFX III. I am sick of my UAD Apollo 8xp and Apollo 8. I could add a Ferro Fish 16 to my ADAT but I am so annoyed with UAD. I also would like a great EQ unit so it's killing me. Do I skip a great EQ and get an RME or do I buy a Ferro Fish and expand my Apollo and get the high end EQ. Can't decide. Your making me think a Ferro fish and a high end EQ like the high voltage HVA-NEQ EQ or the HCL Thermos EQ or my favorite Custom Audio Germany HDE -250A. I hate to spend more on an interface upgrade. I can buy the high end EQ and add I/O with a Ferro Fish 16 when I need to add more I/O to my Apollo units. It's just that I hate my Apollo gear but I also bought thousands in UAD plugins. Don't know what to do.

[@StevePaulSounds]

why do you hate Apollo? x8p is top of my shopping list....

[@dab7963]

@@StevePaulSounds I owned a very expensive windows PC with an AMD chip. On Windows 11 the drivers for Apollo do not work after a certain revision. I contacted Apollo support and was told that they don't support thunderbolt on AMD CPUs. I own thousands of dollars of their plugins and an Apollo 8XP and an Apollo 8. I was so annoyed that I rode a letter to the president and CEO asking him when they intended to update their AMD thunderbolt drivers on Windows. I received absolutely no response. I called back tech support and was told to buy a Mac. I did actually buy a Mac Studio and of course on Mac it works fine. I asked again when are you going to update the windows AMD drivers and was told that they are not going to update them because thunderbolt on AMD is not supported and it's a niche market. Do yourself a favor and don't buy Apollo Go purchase an RMA you'll be happy you listen to me. Having invested thousands of dollars in Apollo and universal audio to be told that they have no intention of updating their drivers is just totally unacceptable. Also telling me to go purchase a Mac is ridiculous. if that's the position you want to take then state that your system only runs on Mac and don't allude people to believe in that it runs on Windows. Also even despite the AMD situation their windows drivers are shit. By RME my friend and save yourself the aggravation. Oh I should also add that I put a new motherboard in my windows PC and also purchased a new Intel based top of the line CPU chip and yes it runs now in Windows but it is not always stable does not always come up needs to be rebooted and quite frankly forget about Windows on universal audio Total waste of time and money. My having to go out and buy a new motherboard and very expensive CPU and memory just to support Apollo was a stupid move I should have dumped them sold my Apollo gear and just purchased RME. The RME drivers as has been stated on this channel or rock solid. If I could go back in time and take back my massive investment in universal audio I would have gone RMA but who knew at the time.

[@pipelineaudio]

I hope this one has a lot more reason and actual data in it than that silly mic preamp episode!

[@BarryJohns]

Ladies and gentlemen, let’s applaud the troll.

[@torta122]

Block him.

[@pipelineaudio]

Yes. Asking for actual evidence when someone is making scientific claims makes me a troll? That one was surprising becuase it was nothing like Barry’s normal videos where he goes in depth on WHY he says what he says and he also usually shows as well as tells. The mic preamp video was painful in comparison to his normal videos

[@torta122]

@@pipelineaudio Well, you act like one. Because you well know that he can talk based on his personal opinion which is made up of years of experience. He is not necessarily the scientific kind of KZbinr and you should know that by now. There are others and you might one to go there instead. The way you express your criticism is far from constructive. You are free to go anywhere on KZbin if you’re not pleased with the content.

[@pipelineaudio]

@@torta122 you act like one. See two can play that silly game.

[@joshtarnow492]

Barry..I believe in you and value your opinion BUT you have to stop qualifying yourself by measuring the amount of time you've been "doing this"..a guy can say he's been "doing (the nasty)" for decades but we all know that doesn't mean he's good at it! Your regular watchers/listeners appreciate your tenure in the recording world..that's enough!

[@AdamGotheridge]

Based on the state of the world, probably not. 😉

[@yodamandala]

video seams really loud.....my cat had a heart attack hahaha

[@BarryJohns]

Can’t be on my end, even if I did make it too loud, KZbin’s gonna always bring it down to 14 LUFS

[@AdamGotheridge]

@@BarryJohns They reduced it by 1.2db. Regardless, a talking voice for a whole video at -14 is going to seem a lot louder than more full frequency music. I don't need to tell you though.