Apogee AD-16X Brochure - Page 4

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A P O G E E S Y M P H O N Y

If You Please, Maestro

The AD16X & DA16X Converters

Released in 2004, the AD16X and DA16X were the successors to Apogee's

previously popular 24-bit AD16 and DA16 converters, with the 'X' in the

names denoting support for the X-Series cards that were originally introduced

for the Rosetta 800. Other significant improvements included support for

192kHz sampling and the inclusion of the same C777 clock technology used

in Apogee's Big Ben digital master clock, famous for its low jitter.

The AD16X and DA16X each support either 16 channels of A-D or D-A

conversion, respectively, and, accordingly, each unit has 16 analogue

connections (from two 25-pin D-connectors that require breakout cables),

along with both ADAT and AES connections (the latter via a 25-pin

D-connector). Each converter has four ADAT ports (only two are used at

44.1/48kHz rates) to support S/MUX (sample multiplex) modes that allow

either 16 channels at 88.2/96kHz or eight channels at 192kHz. To allow all

16-channels of A-D or D-A conversion to operate at 192kHz you either need to

use the AES ports in stand-alone mode, or an X-Series card, such as an

X-Symphony, as described in the main text.

Once you use an AD16X or DA16X with an X-Series card, the

digital ports effectively become redundant, because either the

digital input to or output from the converter will being handled by

the X-series card instead of the converter's own digital interface. To

take advantage of this redundancy, Apogee added an extra mode of

operation to the converters, called Advanced mode — the regular,

default mode is referred to as Standard mode — that allows you to

make use of both the digital and analogue connections simultaneously when

the converter is using an X-Series card. With the AD16X, for example, you can

get 16 channels of A-D (input) conversion, and 16 channels of digital output

via the onboard digital connections. With the DA16X you get 16 channels of

D-A (output) conversion with 16 channels of digital input.

As you can imagine, Advanced mode is pretty useful when these converters

form part of a Symphony system; if you don't require analogue input and

output for every channel in the system, using the AD16X and DA16X

converters in Advanced mode provides a number of digital inputs or outputs

for connecting to other digital devices in your studio. It also means you need

fewer converters. In Standard mode each converter provides either

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16 channels of input or 16 channels of output, so four converters (two

AD16Xs and two DA16Xs) are required to handle the 32 channels of input and

output supported by a single Symphony PCI card. In Advanced mode, however,

because each converter now offers both 16 channels of input and 16 channels

of output, only two converters are required to provide 32 channels of input

and output.

Sonically, the AD16 and DA16 converters are, as you would imagine and

hope given Apogee's pedigree, pretty good. Judging A-D and D-A converters is

always highly subjective, especially at the higher end of the market, and

having listened to many converter shoot-outs over the years, one thing you

notice about high-end converters is that, quite honestly, the differences

between competing units can be very small indeed. Personally, I've found the

AD16 gives a certain clarity to the sound that I like, especially at higher

sampling rates, maintaining the detail of what's being recorded in a very

flattering way.

Talking about the high end of the market, it's worth noting that the AD16

and DA16 converters are priced quite affordably compared to far more

expensive models from companies like Prism and Genex, and many engineers

I know prefer the AD16s to more expensive offerings from other companies.

A friend of mine recently did a blind test on a scoring stage with the AD16s

competing against more expensive converters from another reputable

company, and everyone on the stage apparently preferred the Apogees. While

the quality of converters can be highly subjective, and other engineers may

disagree with my assessment and anecdotes, that the AD16 and DA16s fall

into the category where we can discuss them subjectively rather than

technically is perhaps the highest compliment.