Author Topic: M-AUDIO Flying Cow (Read 5111 times)

mmadd29 · « **on:** March 22, 2006, 08:24:57 AM »

Does anyone use one of these?

I'm looking for an AD/DA and trying to balance price and quaility. I see a bunch of these on ebay, and new their only around $350. I'm not looking to get the most expensive thing, but not the cheapest......middle of the road, where I can use it for a year or so and upgrade later.

Any feedback on this?

Thanks,

Roving Sign · « **Reply #1 on:** March 22, 2006, 08:30:45 AM »

Look at the Flying Calf - Its just does A/D - not sure you really need the D/A in the field - maybe ok for home playback...

But they go lots cheaper than the Cow...you can shop one up on ebay for 50 bucks or less...

20 and 24 bit models out there - be sure to check if you are buying on ebay.

Only the sample rate is selectable - the bit depth is fixed.

Nice metering.

The Flying calf doesnt have a gain control - I use a mixer, so I drive it with that...

Runs on 9V DC - will run all day and more on a Wal-Mart battery...

Perhaps these will see new life since the MT has made 24 bits accessible to everybody...

The one draw back is the 1/4 UNBALANCED inputs...not a big deal really - but I guess I'd wish for balanced...

mmadd29 · « **Reply #2 on:** March 22, 2006, 08:49:13 AM »

Are there any issues with using a Flying Calf with a JB3, I'm a little confussed on the 24bit, I thought the JB3 will toss out the last 8bits, or am I nuts

I suppose I could you a mic preamp after to adjust gain.

shruggy1987 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 22, 2006, 08:53:51 AM »

you would have to have a mic preamp in front of this to adjust the gain going in, as it sends out a digital signal.

the JB3 truncates the 24-bit audio to 16-bit, which is not ideal, you can get a better A/D that does 16-bit natively for a comparable price.

as for people with 24-bit recorders, if only this box had 96kHz output, it would be a great.

mmadd29 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 22, 2006, 08:55:52 AM »

Ok, any suggestions on an AD that does 16 bit natively.....I'm still new to the AD/DA thing.....and I appreciate all the suggestions

Roving Sign · « **Reply #5 on:** March 22, 2006, 08:59:36 AM »

Ahhh - JB3 - yes you will truncate the last bits...4 bits for the 20 bit/8 bits for 24

Does it sound bad...not really. You'd have to have an A/B to hear the difference - and even then, its subtle.

Does properly dithered 16 bits sound better...yes...

Thats why I mentioned the MicroTracker...

My original rig was MX100 > Flying Calf > JB3...the MT would be the perfect friend for that rig...

mmadd29 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:08:08 AM »

I'd like to apologize for my ignorance in advance...what exactly is a Micro Tracker....trying to Google but can't find it.....also Iwas trying to find th MX100.

I saw a device that let you adjust to 16bit, but I think it was by Behringer....and I'm not too sure on their quailty...so I would tend to stay away.

I just upgraded from MD to JB3....I have a Sony ECM-907 > JB3 currently, I have an AT822 coming, looking at the Beachtek level meter since it is cheap ~ $90....and now need an AD

shruggy1987 · « **Reply #7 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:16:56 AM »

microtracker =
m-audio microtrack 2496
look around/search these forums...there is a lot of info on it.

mmadd29 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:18:27 AM »

Oh....I already seen a ton of info on that....maybe when I'm done with the JB3 in a few years.......so any suggestions on a 16bit AD?

Roving Sign · « **Reply #9 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:25:45 AM »

Are you strictly a DC power taper?

mmadd29 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:28:06 AM »

No I do open taping and have always had access to AC power.....

shruggy1987 · « **Reply #11 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:31:57 AM »

check out the 2 channel lucid audio AD processor. it has a built in 16-bit dither.
good for when you have AC power.

EDIT- Lucid Audio not Liquid

Roving Sign · « **Reply #12 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:35:40 AM »

A lot of the rackmount preamps have built in A/Ds these days...plus they have phantom power, pads, etc...

I use the dbx386...just need a coax>optical box to get the to the JB3.

Here's a model by ART

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DPSII/

EDIT - might have to take that back - this looks like it is locked in at 24 bits, unless connected to an external clock...

Well - the dbx has selectable word length...

For a standalone A/D - I like this Behringer Ultramatch 24/96. It can be set for 16 bit and has optical outputs - but they are kind of hard to get...and you still need a preamp...

http://www.zzounds.com/item--BEHSRC2496

mmadd29 · « **Reply #13 on:** March 22, 2006, 09:59:34 AM »

The Lucid looks nice and in a good price range........now for another stupid question...what cable would I need to connect to the JB3?

shruggy1987 · « **Reply #14 on:** March 22, 2006, 10:19:44 AM »

i don't own a JB3, so I can't answer that question. you might want to put a post in the Cables section. tell them what the lucid digitally (coax? optical? AES?) outputs and that you are going into a JB3.

mmadd29 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 22, 2006, 10:26:35 AM »

I saw that Behringer SRC2496, at $129 great price, but I believe in you get what you pay for......I just wonder if it is something that could be used for a couple years...then upgrade...I like the standard 19" rack size.....and at that price, I could get a preamp since they run about $100....and still be in the cheap range....which means I can spend $$ on other stuff.

Sanjay · « **Reply #16 on:** March 22, 2006, 01:53:39 PM »

Quote from: Roving Sign on March 22, 2006, 08:59:36 AM

Ahhh - JB3 - yes you will truncate the last bits...4 bits for the 20 bit/8 bits for 24

Does it sound bad...not really. You'd have to have an A/B to hear the difference - and even then, its subtle.

Keep in mind the AD-20 outputs 20bit and many tapers use that and are find with the truncation of 4 bits.

Correct me if i'm wrong but i think the SBM-1 does this as well. Seems to not be a big deal.

So the 20 bit flying calf should be ok for jb3.

dnsacks · « **Reply #17 on:** March 22, 2006, 02:22:51 PM »

surprised that nobody's suggested a digimodded edirol ua-5, a TON of folks use these with Jb3s -- the ua-5 provides a mic preamp, phantom power and an a>d convertor at a really attractive pricepoint.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #18 on:** March 22, 2006, 02:25:53 PM »

Quote from: dnsacks on March 22, 2006, 02:22:51 PM

surprised that nobody's suggested a digimodded edirol ua-5, a TON of folks use these with Jb3s -- the ua-5 provides a mic preamp, phantom power and an a>d convertor at a really attractive pricepoint.

What he said. IMO nothing comes close in terms of price / performance / feature set.

Kyle · « **Reply #19 on:** March 23, 2006, 10:01:55 PM »

Quote from: Sanjay on March 22, 2006, 01:53:39 PM

Quote from: Roving Sign on March 22, 2006, 08:59:36 AM
Ahhh - JB3 - yes you will truncate the last bits...4 bits for the 20 bit/8 bits for 24

Does it sound bad...not really. You'd have to have an A/B to hear the difference - and even then, its subtle.

Keep in mind the AD-20 outputs 20bit and many tapers use that and are find with the truncation of 4 bits.

Correct me if i'm wrong but i think the SBM-1 does this as well. Seems to not be a big deal.

The SBM-1 outputs at 16bits. Super Bit-Mapping is Sony's dithering protocol (think Apogee's UV22)

(((KB))) · « **Reply #20 on:** April 08, 2006, 02:39:21 PM »

Quote from: mmadd29 on March 22, 2006, 08:49:13 AM

Are there any issues with using a Flying Calf with a JB3, I'm a little confussed on the 24bit, I thought the JB3 will toss out the last 8bits, or am I nuts
I suppose I could you a mic preamp after to adjust gain.

I've used a Flying Calf 20bit a-d for about 3 years or so with a mixer/pre in front of it... totally solid unit, accurate meters, never previously had a problem with it. Unfortunately for me, it died recently (my bad... the AC cable broke and didn't realize it until it was too late) otherwise, I'd still be using it. M-Audio said they were going to repair my Flying Calf for about 50 bucks so that's what I will probably do when time permits.
I don't think the lossed 8-bits is a big deal. My only complaint is that it's Coax out only. You have to use a m-audio CO2 or Hosa ODL-276 box to convert the Coax to optical for the NJB3. There is a posted recording of mine on archive.org if you want to hear it paired up with the Co2>NJB3 running 16/44.1: turbine2006-02-03
http://www.archive.org/audio/etree-details-db.php?id=33893

I almost bought a used Flying Cow to replace the Calf, but then noticed it's AC only (the Flying Calf is DC9v). Since I usually use portable power sources it's pretty much useless for me. For you, this might be a inexpensive solution since you always use AC.

Hope I've been helpful,

-Kevin