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R/E/P => R/E/P Archives => Budget? Budget? We Don't Got No Steekin' Budjet => Topic started by: Ashermusic on October 27, 2005, 06:07:52 PM
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I had a chance recently to compare Lavry Blue A/D and D/A to some other gear.The following is not scientific I know, strictly anecdotal, so please don't post back saying that. I will readily concede it. But I trust my ears and that of the engineers I was testing with and we all agreed on what we heard. So take it for whatever you feel it is worth.
I went to my engineers house to hook up the Lavry to his PT HD rig. I sang into a Mic and mic-pre using PTs HD A/D. Then I sang into the HD clocked with the Lavry. Then I sang into the Lavry A/D. Unfortunately because of the way my engineer's rig is hard wired we could only listen back through PT's D/A into his Dynaudio BM6s.
Here is what we both heard:
1. The PT HD sounded pretty good.
2. Clocked to the Lavry not much difference. .
3. The Lavry A/D sounded significantly better than the PT. Not 5% i.e., closer to 30% if I were to quantify it. After listening to the Lavry A/D the PT HD A/D sounded "cotten-y". It also sounded warmer to our ears.
Yesterday I went to a listening room and audiomidi.com to test it against the RME Fireface 800, I sang into a mic and mic-pre using the Fireface A/D. Then I sang into the HD clocked with the Antelope Audio Isocrone. Then I sang into the Lavry A/D. We listened back through thje Fireface's D/A, then through the Lavry D/A into their Dynaudio BM5s.
Here is what we both heard:
1. The Fireface A/D sounded pretty good.
2. Clocked to the Isocorne not much difference.
3. The Lavry A/D sounded significantly better than the Fireface. Not 5% i.e., closer to 40% if I were to quantify it. After listening to the Lavry A/D the Fireface A/D sounded "cotten-y". It also sounded warmer to our ears.
4. We then listened to it all back through the Lavry D/A. Even the recordings using the Fireface A/D improved dramatically and the ones done with the Lavry really shined.
My conclusions,.
1. The Lavry A/D is considerably better than the PT HD and the Fireface 800 A/D. The Lavry D/A is considerably better than the Fireface D/A and presumedly the PT HD D/A.
2. To my mind Dan is apparently correct about if the internal clock is properly designed hooking up a presumedly better clock will not improve the sound if it is only one device you are clocking.
3. A lot of so-called "warmth" that is missing in digital audio is partly the lesser quality of the digital devices being used. When high quality devices like the Lavry Blues are used (and I can only imagine the Gold) instead a lot of the "warmth" is there.
I now understand what expensive digital is all about.