Just a self-evident side note- The 1296 does sound worlds better than the 2408, as I own both and can attest. Worlds. Which makes it pretty darn cost effective in its own right. But, like you, I've often wondered how it stands up to other boxes, so if any of you have A-Bed. . .

What about the box between the 2408 and the 1296? I think its the 2412. What about that one? Way better than the 2408? I hear the 1296 is very much worth the money.

I have no idea which MOTU box it is that we've been using as the interface to get into the DP. FWIW, before the Lucid, I had been using an Apogee unit, the Lucid kicked it's ass. I've been kicking around the idea of putting my own 'DP' rig together, in which case I figured I'd get the least expensive MOTU box that will interface with DP, and move on from there. As long as it has 'digital ins', I figure I'm going to be OK.

Then again, please realize that I'm pretty much of a neophyte when it comes to setting up these kinds of systems.

There is no comparison - switch from one to the other and the MOTU sounds like sandpaper

Originally posted by sjoko:
There is no comparison - switch from one to the other and the MOTU sounds like sandpaper

the 1296? then you had a faulty one... mine sounds pretty fucking much like what you put into it. the 2408 i might agree... id definately agree. but no one could tell the difference between my mix bus and the DA return off a 1296 [and that was on some VERY revealing monitors]

i havent heard lucid, im sure they are nice. i went with the motu simply for ease of configuration with the DP system, and they sound fine... good enough so if you have a bad sound, its not the converters.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by tubedude:
What about the box between the 2408 and the 1296? I think its the 2412. What about that one? Way better than the 2408? I hear the 1296 is very much worth the money
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The 1296 AND the 1224 both blow away the 2408, they have a much wider dynamic range. I’d consider the 2408 to be used more for digital interfacing.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sjoko:
There is no comparison - switch from one to the other and the MOTU sounds like sandpaper
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As far as sandpaper sound goes, IMO, that’s always a possibility with ANY A/D/A box, how you set up (or mix and match) your software and interfaces can definitly make or brake your sound source.

Tony / Alfa I was talking about the difference between a Lucid and a 1296, both in bench tests and listening tests, direct a/b comparison, with both converters clocked by a highly accurate external source. No faulty gear, accurate tests, even to the extend of clock re-allignment prior to D/A conversion.

Question for sjoko:

Would you rather have a Lucid ADA8824 clocked to it's own internal clock or a MOTU 1296 clocked to a Lucid GENx6? Thanks in advance.

Brent

[QUOTE]Originally posted by sjoko:
Tony / Alfa I was talking about the difference between a Lucid and a 1296, both in bench tests and listening tests, direct a/b comparison, with both converters clocked by a highly accurate external source. No faulty gear, accurate tests, even to the extend of clock re-allignment prior to D/A conversion.[
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Hmmm, when you say clocked to an external source what do you mean? Did you use the converters with other digital devices resulting in the need for a master clock such as a Genx 6? What was your sound source? What was your software application? These things also matter.
If your sound source was the sound of sand paper through a mic than that makes sense..... From what I've heard (FWIW) the Lucid box has a little more coloration (not dynamic range), but in a very cool way. Perhaps they sound different. Good chance I might even like it better and get one, but if your implying that the 1296 sucks, I don’t buy it.
If anything the MOTU stuff is always described as transparent, unless it's used with poorly written software, but never grainy (if that's what you mean by sand paper).

bgroup - thats one difficult question, a bit of a chicken-and egg.
Lets put it like this - If I already had a 1296,I'd definately clock it with a GEN.
In reality a 1296 / GEN6 combo would outperform a
8824 running on its or a DAW's internal clock.
Also in reality an 8824 with a GEN6 would sound better than the previous combo.

Tony C - you did pick up on one of the main strengths of the Lucid Converters, their noise-shaping is outstanding compared to the vast majority of other similar products.
Please note that when I talk about tests, I don't talk about "lets play a CD and listen what we like best", I'm talking about tests undertaken in a controlled, high quality environment, running audio at varying bit rates and speeds, with data captured graphically as well as notated by ear.
For the tests I referred to we used a sonic solutions as well as pro tools. Clocks used were a GEN6 and a prototype GEN6-96. For vocals we used Nigerian singer Uru, who apart from being breathtakingly beautiful, has one of the wides possible vocal ranges, through a Stayne MagMike and a Forssell CS-1 preamp.
For the purpose of testing converters we did not clock anything other than the immediate chain involved. However, hanging multiple digital devices of a system does not jeopardise audio quality, providing everything receives accurate clock.
Finally - the last part in the chain -, prior to hitting a D/A converter we re-allign the audio by running it through a SRC192 sample rate converter, without using the conversion capabilities. This process re-alligns the clock fed-in via AES with the external clock, and once again improves quality.

I think I should state that testing some gear is what people pay me for, which is not bad, at least then I know what to get myself :)

Originally posted by sjoko:

In reality a 1296 / GEN6 combo would outperform a
8824 running on its or a DAW's internal clock.
Also in reality an 8824 with a GEN6 would sound better than the previous combo.

Thanks sjoko. That's helpful. I've got a Lucid 9624 (which I LOVE!) and I need to get the GENx6 and an 8-12 input set of converters. 8's not really enough, 12 would be perfect. Also, the 1296/GENx6 combo is about the same price as the 8824 by itself. I really can't afford to do the 8824/GENx6 combo, so it looks as though I'm going to need to get my hands on a GENx6 and a 1296 to check out. I'm hoping the GENx6 will make me love my 9624 even more! Thanks again for your input.

Brent

hey bgroup,

the genx6 will make you love your ad9624 and all your converters even more. It will also make you like your monitoring more. It made a big difference in the sound of my converters, including the ad9624

wow, im curious... how do you use a 1296 with pro-tools? that might just get me to buy the mix3'd system with a procontrol.

lucid might be the right choice for some nigerian vocalist. i really have a hard time believing that the 1296 sounds like "sandpaper", im using pretty damn accurate monitors and its pretty fucking smooth IMO. im sure clocked to a genX would make it sound even better. but in blind listening tests with several good ears "judging", no one could pick out the source and the converters with any reliability.