Sound quality with audio interface

O

Orlando Flores

Member
I was just curious, but a guy at a show last night told me a mid to high dollar audio interface like Apogee or an Apollo would make my axe sound clearer, even when not recording.

It got me thinking, so wanted to get opinions.
 
These days there isn't much difference in quality among D/A converters...really good ones are inexpensive, so you don't see poor quality ones very often. I know audiophiles will debate their HiFi systems endlessly, but for the rest of us it's a non-issue. So, IMHO, no, using an expensive audio interface won't make your Axe-FX sound any better.
 
It is impossible to get more "clear" than the direct USB audio connection from the the axefx itself. Most high-dollar audio interfaces are designed to have super clean pres and converters so at best you'll just be adding two conversions and imperceptible latency to your signal path for no reason.

With that said, many mic preamps are well-known for the "character" or "warmth" they impart which usually just means they add harmonic distortion which you can accomplish with either the mic preamp tab on the cab block of the Fractal itself, or any number of preamp/channel strip plugins designed to emulate a 1073, 512, etc. Logic has several built in.

It's also worth noting that although the fractal units' usb audio functionality is great for its purpose, adding a dedicated usb audio interface can streamline your workflow quite a bit if you're recording other instruments and mics. I have my FM9 connected to two of my interface's analog inputs strictly for monitoring purposes, but when I'm recording it I set the input device in my DAW to the FM9.
 
Orlando Flores said:
I was just curious, but a guy at a show last night told me a mid to high dollar audio interface like Apogee or an Apollo would make my axe sound clearer, even when not recording.

It got me thinking, so wanted to get opinions.
Click to expand...
I am curious what the background of this story is...Was it your show, where you using an audio interface, if so then which and for what?
 
Yep. Non-issue. You can achieve professional sounding recordings on an old iPad if you know what you are doing. The converters are NOT holding you back one bit.
 
I love the workflow with a dedicated audio interface using S/PDIF connections between the Axe-FX and the interface. But it doesn't make it sound better. It just works better with my workflow. S/PDIF helps to avoid it sounding any worse by skipping a couple conversion steps in this workflow... which in all honesty probably doesn't impact the audio quality all that much. Even modern lower/mid-grade interfaces are quite excellent these days. They're not holding anyone back.
 
I’m currently just using the axe as my interface. I was just helping out with some stuff backstage and he’s an axe owner, and he told me that’s something that he does and make the sound “so much better”
 
Orlando Flores said:
I’m currently just using the axe as my interface. I was just helping out with some stuff backstage and he’s an axe owner, and he told me that’s something that he does and make the sound “so much better”
Click to expand...
I wonder if he isn’t adding something he likes to the signal in his interface. Either way enjoy the fractal!
 
The Axe III a digital device. Recording via USB, SPDIF, or AES gives you the sample data directly from the source. It can't get any more "clear" than that. It's likely that the preamps in the external interface are coloring the signal in a way that he prefers. That's purely subjective, but in terms of accurate capture and reproduction of the audio data, you won't beat a digital connection directly from the Axe III.
 
Everything changes everything. Adding steps in the signal chain will change things. Sometimes (for example a neve di), you may perceive it’s better, and other times, (eg a Behringer eq) it may be perceived as worse. Fact is that you have the purest form of input right from the Axe FX.

Thanks
Pauly
 
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