connecting another soundcard

[judiefre1]

Hello im getting a different company external soundcard that i want to use for its converters, pres, drivers...will i still be able to use my pci scope cards and open sfp for recording synths, modular, effects..? how exactly would i set it up?

[astroman]

the most simple setup would be an Adat bus if your new device has Adat in/out
(Scope's Adat Out to new Adat in and vice versa)
in your DAW Software switch from Scope Asio to the other devices Asio
Scope will continue to operate as usual - just without direct DAW connection
Midi is routed via virtual ports anyway so that's usually not a problem - Asio is the exclusive part

Adat connection is very simple and straight forward - and requires no resources
if not available you need a virtual audio cable software
afaik there are several... some recently introduced here in announcements - but as it's software... it may fail...
(no hands-on experience yet)
http://odeus-audio.com.au/Odeus/AsioLinkPro

cheers, Tom

[judiefre1]

sounds simple enough, but rather than ADAT, can i use S/PDIF instead from my home card same way ?

thanks

[astroman]

yes, if 2 channels are sufficient there should be no problems and Scope Home supports bi-directional S/PDIF transfer
I'd set Scope sync to clock slave from the 'other system' (which one btw ?) - converters usually work best on their own clock

cheers, Tom

[ronnie]

Word to the wise. When Scope is slave, make sure the master clock doesn't disconnect cause Scope could soft-crash, freeze or worse (BSOD) and need to restart or even reboot. Save, save, save.

[judiefre1]

thanks guys., Im kinna debating now on which card to get. Question, how is the DA on the cards in comparison with high end converters like lavry, mytek,apogee, lynx,prism...?
will i notice a big difference? I am so used to the sound of the cards and have never really compared converters, so i have no idea how accurate what i am hearing is and if i need to upgrade on the DA part.
thanks

[garyb]

the cards are pretty good, about as good as a card will get, for the most part.
a high-end AD/DA will definitely be better, just look at the price disparity.

will you notice the difference significantly? probably not, if the room hasn't been treated and if you have inexpensive speakers, cabling, etc...

[astroman]

I usually record with an Audient ID22, which has great preamps/converters
from from specs it clearly outperforms a Scope card
on the other hand I have a couple of recordings made with a vintage Telefunken preamp digitized by that simple Scope card...
don't ask me why... but I clearly prefer those tracks sonically

I'd rather buy a dedicated preamp, preferably the classic Type like Neve or a Focusrite ISA for clean stuff
the Audient ASP-800 is a great device for Adat connection - 6 clean channels plus 2 'vintage' enhanced channels

cheers, Tom