This is going to be a snobby thing to say... but after you hear the difference you can't not hear it. You also need to have a very high quality PA to hear it. I have not used the TF series desks so I can't really comment there if it has similar sonic issues that the LS9 and M7 had. Hopefully it doesn't. Because it is using their newer stuff I'm sure its good to go. Much of the issue with the LS9 and M7 were clock related... the most of them could be cleared up with an external clock. It at least helped. Still sounded a bit digital, but you could A-B test the desks with a good clock and hear the difference. Some desks needed this more than others.
@FMEng I only own one piece of Mr. Orban's gear, a dual channel, four band, fully parametric EQ gang-able to 8 bands mono. I bought it and added transformers and XLR's while I was head of sound at Stratford, Ontario's Shakespearean Festival. Within a few months of my personal purchase, the Festival bought two of their own, one to live in the Avon proscenium house's booth and one to float between their other theaters as needed. Mine had sat on a basement shelf in my home for a few years but the next time I needed it, it powered up and performed flawlessly. There are certain pieces by DBX, Orban and Rane I've never regretted purchasing, along with AKG C414EB's and Ramko ESP38 phono pre-amps, Panasonic Technics SP15's and SME arms. Definitely all buy once / cry once items.The placebo effect is strong in audio, resulting in myths like applying green sharpy to the edge of a CD and $200, oxygen free copper power cords.
Clock jitter in the A/D conversions is known to modulate and raise the noise floor, but I suspect you'd be hard pressed to hear or measure it, especially with modern equipment in a sound re-enforcement environment. Who's to say an external clock is going to outperform an internal clock enough to hear or measure? More money spent on hardware doesn't mean you can hear it.
That said, some of the early digital equipment had very audible problems. Good, off the shelf parts didn't exist for awhile, which led to compromises.
On such matters, I generally take the opinion of Bob Orban, because he carefully follows the science and has been a broadcast engineering, recording, and mastering voice of reason for 40 years. You can Google his thoughts on the subject.
@FMEng I only own one piece of Mr. Orban's gear, a dual channel, four band, fully parametric EQ gang-able to 8 bands mono. I bought it and added transformers and XLR's while I was head of sound at Stratford, Ontario's Shakespearean Festival. Within a few months of my personal purchase, the Festival bought two of their own, one to live in the Avon proscenium house's booth and one to float between their other theaters as needed. Mine had sat on a basement shelf in my home for a few years but the next time I needed it, it powered up and performed flawlessly. There are certain pieces by DBX, Orban and Rane I've never regretted purchasing, along with AKG C414EB's and Ramko ESP38 phono pre-amps, Panasonic Technics SP15's and SME arms. Definitely all buy once / cry once items.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard
The placebo effect is strong in audio, resulting in myths like applying green sharpy to the edge of a CD and $200, oxygen free copper power cords.
Clock jitter in the A/D conversions is known to modulate and raise the noise floor, but I suspect you'd be hard pressed to hear or measure it, especially with modern equipment in a sound re-enforcement environment. Who's to say an external clock is going to outperform an internal clock enough to hear or measure? More money spent on hardware doesn't mean you can hear it.
That said, some of the early digital equipment had very audible problems. Good, off the shelf parts didn't exist for awhile, which led to compromises.
On such matters, I generally take the opinion of Bob Orban, because he carefully follows the science and has been a broadcast engineering, recording, and mastering voice of reason for 40 years. You can Google his thoughts on the subject.
@TimMc But you do know not only that he's naked but his true identity, right? Just don't start trying to tell us you know who "the old sound man" is or that you've personally met the audio goat.True, but it still didn't answer the primary question: does a different clock signal improve (whatever that might mean to the user) the audio coming out of the mixer? The secondary question is "how does it do that?" I ask the second question first, because I've long ago stopped trying to tell people the Emperor is naked...
@TimMc But you do know not only that he's naked but his true identity, right? Just don't start trying to tell us you know who "the old sound man" is or that you've personally met the audio goat.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard.
I can't recall why but once upon a time Doug mentioned he was on the scrounge for an EV 664 finished in the basic finish and in good condition. I had two in mint condition, packed one in a box and couriered it to him. He was blown away when he received it and couldn't believe it was in flawless condition. I probably had an Amphenol MC4 to XLR3-Male adapter threaded on to it but aside from that, the mic was mint. I've always wondered what he did with it.Well.... uh.... I have a pretty good idea of the real identity of OSM. I don't know who Abdul EQ is, though...
As for Turbo, I never met him but the stories of him sharing adult (and goat) beverages with Fowler were heartwarming to say the least. /nudge, wink
Turbo also wrote an advice column and was a literary presence at Idaho State via his human buddy Prof Martin Hackworth.
Damn, Ron, you made me jog enough memories to burn 100 calories (I hope)!
True, but it still didn't answer the primary question: does a different clock signal improve (whatever that might mean to the user) the audio coming out of the mixer? The secondary question is "how does it do that?" I ask the second question first, because I've long ago stopped trying to tell people the Emperor is naked...
You don't have to convince me. Only reasonable case I believe you'll hear a difference is if the internal clock source is totally trashed by the time you distribute it out to your digital devices, at which point you'll either hear clicks or dropouts, or you'll have entire endpoints falling offline.
We use essential cookies to make this site work, and optional cookies to enhance your experience.