« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2006, 05:53:59 PM »
Wondering how the pre & a/d compare between a digi mod edirol UA-5 and a denecke AD-20 if running into a bit bucket @ 16/44.1
I am aware of all of the advantages of the ua-5 over the ad-20 (16 or 24 bit, matrix / multi-mic capability, phantom power, etc.)
I'm just wondering about your opinions on the sonic comparisons between the two units when running 16/44.1
(I know that Denecke brags about the 20 bit a/d being a perfect companion to a 16 bit recorder. I would probably run the ua-5 @ 16 bit since the recorder is just going to truncate the 24 bit signal anyway.)
Thanks in advance.
OK, I'll offer my opinion: The (stock) UA5 is pretty good. The AD20 is not very good.
Why? Well, IMO the AD20 has low noise, but it just sounds "flat". It does not have the detail I had hoped. I bought one tried it for one show, and immediately sold it. I traced the circuit. It uses a discrete transistor front end, followed by an opamp. Normally this would be good, but the transistor circuit is very crude. It has a differential pair, but no additional features, like a constant current source, that would reduce distortion. The opamp stage is OK, as is the ADC. I was tempted to modify the transistor circuit, but I think my time is better spent on other projects. So, I believe the AD20 offers low noise (good for film people), but not good sound quality. I would rather live with (a bit more) noise of the UA5, but nicer sound.
Richard
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Mics: Sennheiser MKE2002 (dummy head), Studio Projects C4, AT825 (unmodded), AT822 franken mic (x2), AT853(hc,c,sc,o), Senn. MKE2, Senn MKE40, Shure MX183/5, CA Cards, homebrew Panasonic and Transsound capsules.
Pre/ADC: Presonus Firepod & Firebox, DMIC20(x2), UA5(poorly-modded, AD8620+AD8512opamps), VX440
Recorders: Edirol R4, R09, IBM X24 laptop, NJB3(x2), HiMD(x2), MD(1).
** This individual has moved to user "illconditioned" **