Digital or analog out for recording?

awyatt1 · Post by **awyatt1** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 4:50 am

I record my Kronos with a Tascam Neo 2488 recorder and I have been using analog connections. I was just wondering if those of you who use the digital output of the Kronos can tell much difference in sound quality over the analog outputs? I'm trying to decide if it would be worth it to invest in a Toslink to coax converter and use digital connections. Thanks.

xp50player · Post by **xp50player** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:44 am

IFAIK, the Kronos is only 48k digital out and the Tascam is only 44.1 digital in. I have a Midiman CO2 Optical/Coax converter and it works fine with Kronos & Cubase, but only if I want to record at 48k.

coyote144 · Post by **coyote144** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 8:26 am

If you use the kronos balanced outputs to go into the neo preamp, you should obtain an really good signal. I have used so many times digital signal with no obvious improvement but many clock worck glitches, that I neveŕ use digital outs on any synth.

awyatt1 · Post by **awyatt1** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 3:51 pm

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I think I will just stick with the analog outputs. After reading about word clocks, sample rates, etc., it seems like using digital outs would be more of a pain for me than anything else. I appreciate the quick replies.

Kevin Nolan · Post by **Kevin Nolan** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 4:30 pm

I can only speak for OASYS, and this is not a very 'scientific' comment - but I find the internal digital management of fidelity and dynamic range within the OASYS to be absolutely pristine. I use SP/DIF to link to the rest of my system and just find the OASYS to be similarly utterly pristine.

Assuming the Kronos to be the same, I recommend going digital. As said, I don't feel I can stand over this with science / measurement - it's just my experience (of dozens of synths and workstations) where the OASYS is utterly impeccable, both internally and via digital out.

I'm sure that recording from analogue outs is completely fine, but I just feel the shear purity of the signal maintained within the Kronos will be better served via digital out.

Remember that the Kronos contains quality internal features such as uncompressed samples (unlike all other workstations) and effects such as O-Verb (among the best reverbs there is) - so there's a lot in there worth preserving, quality wise, for top recordings.

Don't worry about whether its 44.1, 48 or 96 KHz - they'll all be impeccable (once the rest of your system works at the chosen frequency too of course).

awyatt1 · Post by **awyatt1** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 4:48 pm

Does the sample rate of the output source and the input source have to match? The Kronos is 48k out and the Neo is 44.1k in. I was looking at devices like the M-Audio CO2 that convert toslink to coax, but I don't think they convert sample rates. Is there some other kind of converter I would have to use to get the sample rates of the Kronos and Neo to match?

coyote144 · Post by **coyote144** » Fri Jan 02, 2015 5:04 pm

It has to match. Otherwise, you will need an digital converter.