Guys- Let me explain my experience in more detail, being slightly less inflamatory. A couple of years ago we were looking to upgrade from Mackie 24/96. We had the good fortune to be able to A/B the following systems-
Mackie with proprietary converters
Mackie with SSL xlogic
PT M with SSL xlogic (lightbridge)
PTHD (7? not sure) with Aurora Lynx
Apogee 16X symphony with Logic 8
We used identical 2 track program material and mix signal path for each system- Digital out/TAC matchless/UA 2192/Masterlink.
Mackie sounded good- We had used it without problem for more than a decade and loved the editing interface.
SSL/Mackie- no noticable improvement in sound or operation.
PTHD/Lynx- seemed very solid on startup clock\sync etc. Sounded surprisingly similar to the Mackie...Flame on..
Apogee/Logic- to us, best sounding- insert you own adjectives- full,smooth,wide,warm whatever. You can turn it on,unplug it,start the computer first or last,run it hot(HVAC break down)run it cold(long story)and to this day a great system (albiet a somewhat sharp learning curve with Logic).However I can not say the same about...
PTM lightbridge/ ssl- when we could get them all to sync up-which was NEVER, it sounded like the description in my original post, not even close to the audio quality of any of the other systems including the Mackie by itself. Maybe it was the SSL,but it worked well with the 24/96,even though it didn't improve the sound. I am sure many folks are making great records with a lightbridge. And there is no question its all about the converters and clock but I have heard hundreds of PTLe and PTM mixes and they do not sound as good as PTHD or Logic mixes-TO ME.
Also,I am not trying to be critical of anyones setup, but I will repeat-You can't expect a box that does 24 channels and costs 400 bucks to be dependable and sound good. I guess the best advise is to buy the most system you can afford that works great as a system. PTM powered/lightbridge did not work for us.
Sorry about the long reply and thread hijack.
Scott
analog2studios.com