I posting the clips of a simple test I did that started a long discussion:

Conversion.....overated?

I took a CD wav rip of the Steely Dan song "Peg" and ran the output from the M-Audio Profire 610 back into the inputs on the Profire and recorded the result. The test was done because I wanted to hear what the D/A and A/D stage on my Profire was doing to the audio.

Take a listen and let me know what you guys with the really high end D/A's are hearing. If you could state your listening setup (D/A and monitors) that would be great.

One 30 second sample is simply the original file, the other passed through the Profire converters. Can you tell which is which?

Send big files the easy way. Files too large for email attachments? No problem!

Mytek converter v.s. Digi 002 converter:A/B Test here!

the performance curve vs. price is not lineal, its logarithmic. but its not always true.
there are some verry overpriced converters out there that dont sound good.

Found: Lavry Gold AD122-96MKIII vs. Apogee AD-16x
digital loop tests is not the best way to test converters, but its fun.

the best way is something like:
pure analog direct transformerless condenser mic ---> clean mic.pre---> AD -->DA vs. DA ---> analog console--->Big Far Field "Cinema" loudspeakers.
vs.
direct analog from mic.pre--> in analog

here are some interesting original files:
https://gearspace.com/board/gear-sho...est-redux.html


loop tests are verry limited to many variables, like listenin equipment, AD quality, wordclock jitter, cable quality, etc... its like a window inside a window.

for example; ive done loop tests with Emu 1820m, in the loop test didnt sounded soo bad, but listening 1820m DA vs. other DA the diference is incredible. the 1820m DA sounds verry colored in the mids, the E-DSP 576ps wordclock sounds totally lifeless.

here is another interesting test:
https://gearspace.com/board/gear-sho...hout-ears.html

Okay, I'll bite.

"A" sounds pinched,especially noticeable on the melodic stabs at the beginning and on the snare and lacks some of the depth that the other clip has, "B" has more depth and doesn't have that pinched sound.

My guess is that "B" is the original track.

Benchmark D/A->Bryston->NS10's->EARS

Mark

Hey Mark,

Thanks for taking the test!

I hope to get 20 or so votes before revealing the answer.

for the record you know my opinion about this :-)

I voted B. I prefered the sound of B because it sounded like what I remember when I was 13 (peg was one of the first basslines I learned when I was in grade 8 - DAMN I LOVE THAT SONG).

However I understand a little too well the inaccuracy of the human brain, so I will chalk it up to me "thinking" that B sounds better than A while I expect fully well that if I put both into an editor, superimposed them and analyzed the results I'd find them virtually identical.

Hey, wait a minute, that's a good idea! LoL hang on, let me do that

cheers,
Don

B seems to sound better on my setup. Slightly more clear - better snare - better cymbals at intro - neat stereo image...

not super obvious which one is orignal though

The lack of response on this thread is hilarious... no one wants to get it wrong.

I actually wanted to not hear a difference because I'm a backer of the "converters are all so good these days that they really aren't worth spending a ton of money on" school of thought.

But what would be funny is if B is the converted version eh?

Like that famous dat deck test where the few people who could hear a difference after dozens of times through dat converters to dat tape and back again generally preferred the sound of the mult-converted one thinking it sounded more full and had better imaging so it must be original.

it will be very interesting to me.

Hey OP, could you PM me the results? I won't tell (you know I won't) but it might take a long time to find out at this rate if you're waiting for more voters.

cheers,
Don

B sounds like the original. Tighter and more distinct. Snare drum decay is clearer.

The ears do play tricks, though. These tests are best done blind.

If B is through the M-audio converters, then they are doing something nice to the audio!

Would love to hear the answer soon. :-)

Really could not tell much of a difference on headphones, at least not enough to justify buying better converters...I own a profire

I love how someone starts a thread like this and never replies or finishes it...

Pffffffft.