ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSIOn - WHAT IS IT? AND HOW DOES IT MATTER

Ever wonder how analog wave forms become digital data? It's a confusing process but nonetheless an important thing to know how because it has an effect on how your recordings sound. Let's start off with a short video which will give you a brief intro. 

A/D conversion often takes a backseat to preamps and microphones as it should but nonetheless you chain is only as strong as its weakest link. On the lower end of the spectrum you have audio interfaces that might cost as little as 150 dollars like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 which has two channels with pre-amps and of course A/D converters. On the other end of the spectrum you have companies like Lavry, Lynx and RME making dedicated converters that can cost much more. The holy grail is often considered Prism converters. You want eight channels of pure analog to digital perfection. It's going to cost upwards of 12,000 dollars. 

How important are converters? There is a lot of debate. There have been shoot outs, discussion and more to try and determine how important it is. One thing that seems be unanimous is that quality of the mic should come first, followed by pre-amp then the A/D converter comes into play.

Lastly, you may want to consider buying a high end D/A converter if you are doing a lot of your own mixing. Why? well it's pretty simple. The better you can hear your music the better you will be able to mix it.

If you want to get into the deep science of A/D conversion and geek out check out this article