Dp008ex improving sound

[songwriter65]

Was wondering if anyone knew whether the quoted signal to noise of 81db can be improved with a preamp between the keyboard and multitrack . I have an art V3 for vocals but this also has a flat neutral preset which is said to be cleaner . Would I benefit going thru this and then to the keyboard via stereo jacks . Or is the quoted 81db snr inherent at some point in the muti track itself. Confused . Many thanks for any simple answers

 

[Mark Richards]

Welcome to the forum.

...[portastudio] signal to noise of 81dB ...can [it] be improved with a [artV3] preamp between the keyboard and multitrack...also has a flat neutral preset which is said to be cleaner

Simple answer: No.

The S/N ratio for the portastudio's Line Input circuit throughput is 81dB or greater.

Keyboard --->artV3---> DP-008EX Line-In will not lower the portastudio's noise floor.

And FWIW, the portastudio's noise floor of -81 dB or greater isn't something I'd spend any time worrying about.

BTW, "flat/neutral" means the natural frequency response of the incoming signal is not affected or manipulated by the artV3. This is unrelated to S/N ratio.

 

[songwriter65]

Yes many thanks . I was doubtful .More likely that I record at suboptimal levels anyway which doesn't help get the most out of it

 

[-mjk-]

-81dB S/N ratio is an incredibly good number and you should never have that be a limiting factor. We should address the reason behind the question.

 

[songwriter65]

I have a 16 track and could never get on with it . The one where you switch banks and forget where your mix levels are (not tascam ) I like 8 because it's tight focused quick and navigable. I just wondered whether going from the dp008ex to the dp03sd might be a meaningful upgrade in terms of reproduction quality provided it doesn't slow me down . As things are I've just bought another dp008ex as the play /record function is getting a bit temperamental at times . I've put many hundreds of record hours on it . Optimally I'd probably use 12 to avoid bounces. The notion that bounces are lossless I was never quite sure about . Pretty sure it emphasises the noise floor if nothing else

 

[-mjk-]

The notion that bounces are lossless I was never quite sure about . Pretty sure it emphasises the noise floor if nothing else

Bounces are done in the digital domain, so no, it doesn't emphasize noise. Phil Tipping has proven that years ago with the DP-32SD.

 

[songwriter65]

Ok but basically I guess I'm trying to establish to what extent the dp03sd would represent a meaningful upgrade in purely reproduction terms . Functionally./ features wise it's virtually identical

 

[-mjk-]

@Mark Richards and I were addressing your misconceptions about SNR and bouncing that you brought up in the discussion (the topic title and 1st and 2nd posts) on how to improve the sound of the DP003EX.

Ok but basically I guess I'm trying to establish to what extent the dp03sd would represent a meaningful upgrade in purely reproduction terms .

We didn't know that. You were wondering about how to make the DP003EX sound better (specifically the SNR), while wondering by the 3rd post if the DP03SD would be better. Those are 2 different topics, really.

We need someone to weigh in on the differences.

Functionally./ features wise it's virtually identical

The answer depends upon the differences and how your workflow would be helped/hindered by those differences.

 

[songwriter65]

Hi yes I'm likely mixing up threads a bit . Basically I just need to know if anyone's really used both machines a ton and how they got on between them and any real perceptible response and perhaps build quality . These days you can't really test things and need as much feedback as possible

 

[Findlay]

I used a DP008ex and a DP32sd. Both are equally fabulous with regard to S/N. I record vocals and acoustic guitars on the DP008ex using a dynamic mic with a home built pre-amp and noise is never a problem. I just use the 32 track for mixing assembled tracks.

 

[dctdct]

Similar here: DP-008ex and DP-24. Apart from handling and functionalities no qualitative difference, as long as you keep working in the digital domain.

 

[shredd]

My $0.02:
I also use an '008 for simple tracking (especially playing live); and an O/G DP-32 for "real" tracking/studio work. They play together very nicely and I've never noticed that trax I imported to the DP's projects from the '008 were any noisier or inferior in any way.

Though it's probably worth mentioning that I have the hearing of a 90-year-old. So if there was noise I'd probably never notice it...