An external analog/digital digital/analog converter can be used in conjunction with a digital soundcard. Benefits: DA/AD conversion takes place away from noisy computer components, and your setup is much more flexible. The Big DAADi is a good mid-priced choice for a DA/AD converter.
Big DAADi Audio AD/DA Converter:
$599.00 List Price
Tracer Technologies Inc.
1100% Pennsylvania Ave #101
York PA 17404
This is a stand-alone Digital-to-Analog/Analog-to-Digital converter, hence DAADi. Traditionally, devices that record digital audio, such as a DAT machine or audio card, had their own built-in DAAD converters. However, there are a number of reasons to have a dedicated DAAD converter, and they are growing in popularity.
February 25, 1999
The most compelling reason is quality. A dedicated 20-bit box like the Big DAADi is of better quality than the converters included in many DATs and cards. DAT recorders also have notoriously mediocre meters. Another reason for a dedicated DAADi is that it allows you to integrate various digital audio components more smoothly. As many engineers have found to their sorrow, the meters on different brands of DAT machines are by no means calibrated alike. A recording that sounds fine on a Tascam DAT may clip on a Panasonic, or when you record from a DAT to a digital audio card. With a stand-alone converter, all the digital audio goes through the same box, and the same meters, avoiding compatibility problems.
This unit has a flexible and convenient configuration. Both S/PDIF and AES/EBU digital formats are supported, and both balanced and unbalanced analog I/O is provided.
