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by Food for Thought |
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When converting audio from analog to digital, we are trying to preserve what we already have, but does it really stay the same? I believe that digital storage and processing are very useful and do have their places, especially in mastering, but some people will question the idea of converting their digital masters back to analog for processing. We convert to digital, thinking that our audio will be as safe as it was before conversion. However, the conversion back to analog brings with it a perceived 'analog degradation'. Was the program material perceived to be in a state of degradation before the initial A-D conversion? Probably not. This perceived 'analog degradation' is not really an analog problem at all. In almost every case, it can be traced to inadequate conversion to and from digital. Not the state of being in digital, but the conversion process itself. Consider this: Contrary to the big-budget marketing hype of various tape and equipment manufacturers, get ready now..."There is no such thing as digital sound!" All sound is analog. Some sounds are generated in a digital environment but most sounds we hear and record are analog sources.(I.E.: Piano, drums, violins, guitar amps, horns etc.) Because our ears are not a digital device but an analog transducer, all sound is heard ...'analog'. So what's the problem with analog? There really isn't one. It's the first and last step in almost every recording session and it's a great recording medium, (how many studios wouldn't swap their ADAT's for a 2" Studer if they could?) but in all the comparisons I've been involved with, the weakest link is still getting in and out of 'digital' with some degree of accuracy. Most DAT player's A-D and D-A converters lack the precision of high-end converters such as those available from db Technologies, Apogee, DCS, Wadia or Prism. Considering this grade of converter shows up at the 4K-8K price point and higher, and a common DAT player like the Tascam DA-30 costs about 1.5K, only a fraction of this 1.5K goes into the construction of it's converters. Imagine a 1/2" 15 ips Dolby SR master transferred to one of these machines. This would result in a digital recording but with comparatively low fidelity, due in part to the inaccurate A-D and D-A conversion. So go ahead and record your tracks to digital, but understand that using a set of high end converters will eliminate the weakest link in the chain, providing you with a precision copy of your work. |
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