Prochannel

[Emanu3le85]

I use the Prochannel a lot as a channel strip of the console, putting the pre at the beginning then the compressor and equalization and the FX Chain represents the Insert and I put everything post FX, but sometimes I wonder if the Prochannel is really a channel strip or if it is an insert, The fact that the modules are outboard style and not channel strip makes me think so in a channel strip I don't have an LA2A in outboard format or an 1176 or a reverb, the pre should be at the beginning not at the end how do you use prochannel? Would I be better off inserting a third-party emulation as a channel strip and using the prochannel as the track insert?

Thank you

(Google translate)

[John Vere]

3 hours ago, pwal³ said:

how about the ad/da converters? surely they can be just as important (maybe more?) as the pre-amps?

It’s been gone over a million times on all the audio related forums and the conclusion is that in blind testing nobody can hear a difference.

Even the super budget converters on a computer sound card seem to work fine. Of course there must be a difference but it will be off the spectrum of human hearing. 
 

You won’t hear anything different running the signal through a mixer like a Mackie. They are good mixers and transparent. 

Edited April 21 by John Vere

[Glenn Stanton]

the audio part of the secret are the anti-aliasing filters used. for the digital side: power, clocks, etc all contribute to how good (or not) a AD/DA unit "sounds". poor clock stability, under-powered, cheap opamps and filtering components all make a difference. and much of it is measurable. check out a DIY equipment forum where some folks get really in depth on the components, actual o-scope views, log traces, etc etc.

Edited April 21 by Glenn Stanton

[Starship Krupa]

On 4/18/2024 at 9:19 PM, John Vere said:

Digital channel strips will usually fall short of the emulation of analog gear. Often making things worse not better.

Whether they fall short is a matter of opinion. I don't agree that they "often" make things sound worse.

As with any effect you put on a track, it's up to your ears whether they make the audio sound "better" or "worse."

Most of them are pretty subtle, like the console emulation in Cakewalk's ProChannel. Since a well-designed physical analog channel strip shouldn't add much color to whatever audio is sent through it, the same goes for an emulation.

The design goal of a channel strip is usually to color the sound as little as possible. Accurately emulating a piece of hardware that is designed to have as little effect on the audio as possible seems like it wouldn't be that big a job.