Am I missing out on better quality recordings?

III G

New member
Hello, I currently record through a small mixer a xenyx QK1202 Usb, Im wondering If i buy a interface such as the apogee quartet will I have noticeably better recordings before mix down? The mic I use is a sm7b, Im saving up for a TLM 103 ( I'm aware that I'm switching from dynamic to condenser) My room will have bass traps and acoustic foam for treatment, Am I missing something, What works best for you?

Please and thank you
III
 
Noticeably better - yeah. Night and day better? That depends - most people would say the Xenyxes are pretty low-end stuff (and they are), but low-end mic preamps in this day and age tend to just be rather unspectacular rather than outright horrible. The Quartet has great but transparent pres. But changing the room, changing the way you or what/whoever you're recording, changing the mic - they're all going to be much more significant changes to the sound than buying a new interface. Not that it's not a good investment, but the change in the sound alone will not most likely be as drastic as one might expect.
 
Everything is relative. If you buy a Prism solution a.k.a. the standard of Blackbird Studios you are going to be able to hardware limit the signal at 19.5 volts before clipping, so a Quartet at 7.7 volts combined with a digital brickwall peak limiter is of course nowhere even near that type of audio quality. Is it a big difference in sound between the Quartet and the Dream AD-2/DA-2? You bet.

- "How can I get my mixes to sound more like my commercial reference mixes?"

The answer is in this post.

It is so sweet that when you have a great mix going the cymbals send chills down the spinal chord. No distortion, just pure emotion.
 
Last edited:
Well Im looking to get the best sound I can on a budget of 1000$ per month to spend. Thank you for the sobering response it was much needed.
 
Back
Top