PlanetZ forums - scopeusers.com

Hi,

I've been searching on the net as well as on this forum and am having trouble finding exact specs on the A16 and the Pulsar I card. Dinosaurs, I know, but still great gear.
I purchased the hardware from a dear friend, very luckily at a great price, and don't have manuals on the hardware

My specific questions:

1. The A16 does 18 bit input and not 20 bit? And what is it's DA bit depth?

2. If it is 18 bit going in, should I just record in 16 bit with the hope that the extra 2 bits creates a higher than normal quality 16 bit file or should I record in 24 bit in Cubase to utilize the 18 bit AD?

3. If anyone has the full specs on the Pulsar I card, (i.e. specs for the AES/EBU and S/PDif connections and also if it would record 24 bit through the ADAT's if I had an a16 Ultra) I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks!

yes, it's 18bit going in. i would use 24bit files. afaik, if you used the a16ultra, you would get a 24bit input. this might, but not definitely would, sound better...

Thanks very much, garyb..!

some details here (once opened mine)
http://www.planetz.com/forums/viewtopic ... 28&forum=5
the Pulsar One has 24 bit DA output converters by Analog Devices, the inputs are 20 bit AKM Types.

To add to GaryB's 'sound' comment: a 24bit conversion of a highly dynamic signal gives you much more headroom and as such makes it easier to work out the details (if required).
Since a lot of contemporary stuff either ends fairly compressed anyway or the source (like a synth bass) isn't much (physically) 'dynamic', the input bitrate isn't that important.

If it's available, it doesn't harm, tho - but it NEVER (!) sounds 'better' because of the higher number of bits.

It may sound better indeed (and in quality gear there's a good chance it will), because of the analog design of the IO stages and the basic 'soundprint' of the conversion stage - which includes the clock signal (extremely important) and the anti-alias filter that supports the converters.

cheers, Tom