Topic: M-Audio Flash Tracker details

[tonyvt]

Sorry about that. I must have missed it somehow and have deleted the post.

[hammerhorror]

This is what someone had to say today over on the Oade Brothers forum.

"I hear reports from Europe that say it clips and phantom power mics cause noises if the cable moves."
http://www.oade.com/Tapers_Section/Forum/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=100&topic_id=3057&mesg_id=3089&page=

I don't know how they would have gotten this info yet.

[The Kilted Taper]

I thought the Europe release date was late August. What's this person's source?

[udovdh]

This is what someone had to say today over on the Oade Brothers forum.

"I hear reports from Europe that say it clips and phantom power mics cause noises if the cable moves."
http://www.oade.com/Tapers_Section/Forum/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=100&topic_id=3057&mesg_id=3089&page=

I don't know how they would have gotten this info yet.

Clips under what conditions?
Noise if cable is moved? WTF? What could be causing that (if true and not caused by somethign outside of the recorder)?
I still see no 1/8" stereo TRS line in...

[John Kelly]

This is what someone had to say today over on the Oade Brothers forum.

"I hear reports from Europe that say it clips and phantom power mics cause noises if the cable moves."
http://www.oade.com/Tapers_Section/Forum/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=100&topic_id=3057&mesg_id=3089&page=

I don't know how they would have gotten this info yet.

Clips under what conditions?
Noise if cable is moved? WTF? What could be causing that (if true and not caused by somethign outside of the recorder)?
I still see no 1/8" stereo TRS line in...

Noise if the cable is moved could be cause by improperly shielded cables.

I smell bullshit, though.  "I hear reports" - put up or shut up.

[BLOODYJACK]

There are only a handful of manufacturers that make 24bit/96kh codec chips so the converters will be on par with all the other reasonable priced 24bit/96kh equipment out there.
So knowing this I would assume that the line in should sound pretty good in fact I would speculate that there will be no need for an outside A2D. In fact I do not believe the digi mod to the UA5 will actually send 24bit/96kH data down the spdif if I am correct the internal A2D will be better than using an external one    As for the mic input who knows. Looking at the pictures there is no analogue knob for the mic amp so it has to be digitally controlled. This is less than ideal because the mic amp has to have a fixed gain (loud all the time = noise) an then be attenuated further down the audio chain.

[it-goes-to-eleven]

Looking at the pictures there is no analogue knob for the mic amp so it has to be digitally controlled. This is less than ideal because the mic amp has to have a fixed gain (loud all the time = noise) an then be attenuated further down the audio chain.

Wrong.  Not having a knob doesn't mean it is fixed gain analog.   The speculation is getting a little out of hand..

My Linn LK1 pre-amp.. It just has buttons. and a remote.  Of course those digital controls change the amount of analog gain.  Yep, it goes in steps.  But the steps are quite fine.

[nickgregory]

There are only a handful of manufacturers that make 24bit/96kh codec chips so the converters will be on par with all the other reasonable priced 24bit/96kh equipment out there.

sorry, dont buy it....the A/D converter has a different sound in AD2K+, V3, Minime, 722, R1...based on your logic they would all sound the same...

[BLOODYJACK]

Most of the higher end products dont use codecs they will have a seperate A2D chip and a seperate D2A chip.
These seperate chips can be built with better noise figures but are way more expensive hence they cost more.
You get what you pay for. I would recomend the Apogee A2D it is the best out there period.

[BLOODYJACK]

Wrong.  Not having a knob doesn't mean it is fixed gain analog.   The speculation is getting a little out of hand..

My Linn LK1 pre-amp.. It just has buttons. and a remote.  Of course those digital controls change the amount of analog gain.  Yep, it goes in steps.  But the steps are quite fine.

I am speculating but I design this stuff for a living and have done for 25 years.
My speculation comes from knowledge of audio design yours comes from places like this and various gear you might or might not own.

[nickgregory]

Most of the higher end products dont use codecs they will have a seperate A2D chip and a seperate D2A chip.
These seperate chips can be built with better noise figures but are way more expensive hence they cost more.
You get what you pay for. I would recomend the Apogee A2D it is the best out there period.

doesnt this contradict what you said above?

There are only a handful of manufacturers that make 24bit/96kh codec chips so the converters will be on par with all the other reasonable priced 24bit/96kh equipment out there.

[BLOODYJACK]

When I said reasonable priced I meant other products with codec’s in them not separate A2D and D2A,s

My real concerned and I will have to look in to this is that although spdif can handle 24 bits of data on paper the format was intended for 16 bit so I am not convinced A2D manufactures are really sending 24 bits of data at 96kH. In fact the pro interface ASEBU has 24 bits but some of them are used for other things other than audio These products may well be sending 24/96kh to a computer via USB but I would have to look at what is being spit out of there digital outputs to be convinced.

[wboswell]

When I said reasonable priced I meant other products with codec’s in them not separate A2D and D2A,s

My real concerned and I will have to look in to this is that although spdif can handle 24 bits of data on paper the format was intended for 16 bit so I am not convinced A2D manufactures are really sending 24 bits of data at 96kH. In fact the pro interface ASEBU has 24 bits but some of them are used for other things other than audio These products may well be sending 24/96kh to a computer via USB but I would have to look at what is being spit out of there digital outputs to be convinced.

So you're saying that the V3 isn't really sending a 24 bit signal over its s/pdif output and that the unit (such as a 722 or the like) isn't really receiving a 24 bit signal?

[keepongoin]

When I said reasonable priced I meant other products with codec’s in them not separate A2D and D2A,s

My real concerned and I will have to look in to this is that although spdif can handle 24 bits of data on paper the format was intended for 16 bit so I am not convinced A2D manufactures are really sending 24 bits of data at 96kH. In fact the pro interface ASEBU has 24 bits but some of them are used for other things other than audio These products may well be sending 24/96kh to a computer via USB but I would have to look at what is being spit out of there digital outputs to be convinced.

So you're saying that the V3 isn't really sending a 24 bit signal over its s/pdif output and that the unit (such as a 722 or the like) isn't really receiving a 24 bit signal?

I, too, would like to know that.

[BLOODYJACK]

Maybe
it depends on what unit and what its connected to.
ASEBU has 4 bits dedicated to something other than audio
In its spec but if both units have been designed to ignore the
Spec and use them for audio it would work.
Spdif is expandable to 24 bits assuming both units have been designed to do so. I don’t think SPDIF can do 96 k, light pipe parts that can flash fast enough to do 96k are 6 times the price of a standard light pipe part you would find on a piece of audio gear. What I am saying is the whole thing is questionable between different manufactures
And without analyzing the signals you cannot be sure.
Here is some stuff on digital audio formats
http://www.mtsu.edu/~dsmitche/rim420/materials/Interface.html

24/96 has been a big selling point its an industry buzz word I looked in the UA5 manual for example and the specs for there digital outs  just say “conforms to spdif” very ambiguous if you ask me. The big players with the hefty price tags will have this stuff it’s the consumer stuff that cuts corners.