SPIDF vs. Analog a Visual Comparison

  • Like already said above, I also use a master clock for all my digital gear so spdif on the Kemper won't work for me until there is an update that allows the Kemper to clock to spdif.
    But I have tested spdif on the Kemper and prefer the sound of the Kemper analog out to line in on my Focusrite ISA828.
    It adds some nice smoothness and a "larger than life" sound to the Kemper.

  • More likely that the interface used is not up to the job.
    Also, keep in mind that the audio interface's converters themselves are not necessarily to blame. There's a whole analogue circuit before the signal hits the actual converters.

    He says no matter what converter you use, so that would assume all recordings of vocals and acoustic instruments are equally poor.


    I doubt you could sell expensive converters and preamps if they imparted a harshness to something that is mainly midrange. Imagine the mess on a complex sound with more dynamics and bigger frequency range.

    Karl


    Kemper Rack OS 9.0.5 - Mac OS X 12.6.7

  • Mickrich said:


    "But I have tested spdif on the Kemper and prefer the sound of the Kemper analog out to line in on my Focusrite ISA828.
    It adds some nice smoothness and a "larger than life" sound to the Kemper."


    Your statement proves my point - the analog out dual conversion (D to A and the A to D) "distorts" the sound.


    1. Digital Out-KPA is a digital device therefore the Digital Out is the unaltered REFERENCE sound of the rig loaded into the KPA. Any deviation from this is a "distortion".
    2.Your statement, "It adds some..." Adding anything is a DISTORTION. You like/prefer the "distorted" (ie. altered from the reference) sound from the analog output better.


    Again, the original posters snapshots prove nothing at all....and therefore his/her "conclusion" is irrelevent.

    Will

    Edited 4 times, last by WillB: added a " (quote); spell correct. ().

  • Err, adding anything isn't distortion.
    Please don't quote me to prove your point when you know that's not what I meant.
    It may be "distorting" the sound if you mean distorting in the sense of altering it, but when it comes to audio, distortion generally means adding unwanted noise or clipping, not altering the sound. EQ or compression alters a sound too, would that be considered "distorting" the signal?
    The Kemper DA is really good and my converters are excellent.
    The signal through my ISA828 may not be as "pure" as going via spdif but what it is adding is making it sound better in my opinon.
    If your point were followed by professional recording engineers (like me), then everybody would want to use the clearest, most uncoloured mic pres when recording.
    In most cases, engineers want the colour given by Transformer or tube mic pres like Neve, API etc.

  • YES & Yes & No & Yes
    Adding to the sound = Altering the sound.
    Altering the sound = Distorting the sound.
    ***Distortion reference is NOT referring to IM type distortion.
    Euphonic colorations can be beneficial ie. Neumann U47, Neve ..... Etc.


    Once in the digital domain many Professionals try to stay there and not do a double conversion unless for euphonic coloration purposes.

    Will

    Edited once, last by WillB: Add content ().

  • Mickrich said:


    "But I have tested spdif on the Kemper and prefer the sound of the Kemper analog out to line in on my Focusrite ISA828.
    It adds some nice smoothness and a "larger than life" sound to the Kemper."


    Your statement proves my point - the analog out dual conversion (D to A and the A to D) "distorts" the sound.


    if by "distort" you mean "make sound better", then fine...


    play with words all you like

    Once in the digital domain many Professionals try to stay there and not do a double conversion unless for euphonic coloration purposes.


    SOME do.
    Most mixers I know (self included) use some hybrid mix of analogue gear which requires D-A-D conversions.
    Similarly, all of the mastering engineers I've used always play the mix back through their analogue chain, even if I present a digital mix, before reconverting it to the final sample rate for replication.

  • Things that can be added to your signal by audio processors include noise and distortion (talking about the frequency domain here). These have quite distinct defininitions.


    Distortion adds harmonically related frequencies that aren't there in the source signal whereas noise is audio frequencies that are not harmonically related - eg broad spectrum / white noise at some level added to the signal.


    These terms make a lot of sense when you are looking at the waveform on a CRO and looking at the frequency distribution on a freqency analyser after feeding a source like a frequency generator through whatever signal chain you are measuring.


    Distortion actually alters the wave shape on the CRO and you can see the extra harmonics appearing on the frequency spectrum on a frequency analyser - eg feed your signal chain a pure sine wave and a series of multiples of that freqency (harmonics) appear in the spectrum of the audio that has passed through what you are measuring.


    Similarly with added noise, you can see the noise floor right across the audio band when analysing the output of your signal chain. Heaps of examples of these sorts of graphics can be found online.


  • These terms make a lot of sense when you are looking at the waveform on a CRO and looking at the frequency distribution on a freqency analyser after feeding a source like a frequency generator through whatever signal chain you are measuring

    yes just the other day I was listening to the Mona Lisa ...

  • How do you set up the panoramas in the Kemper to separate amp tone and DI track? I can't figure this out, please help.

    Cheers,

    Csiszi

  • It's an S/PDIF output option - check the Output menu. You don't pan anything - you can have the DI track on one side and the amp on the other.


    If you're using analogue, use the DI out for the DI track and either the Monitor Out or main-stereo out (or one side of it) for the amp tone.


    Welcome to the forum, mate.