[Mr. X]

I've tried two different feeds for vinyl:

1) Turntable-->mixer-->{analog}Sony MDS-E10{coaxial}-->MOTU I/O-->Mac
2) Turntable-->mixer-->{analog}MOTU I/O-->Mac

Going through the pro MD sounds MUCH better! (#1)....I don't get it. I go from the MD deck to the I/O via COAXIAL, so that means I'm actually using the I/O's DAC, right? I don't understand why going through the deck first makes it sound so much better.

Can anyone help me out?

I'm a perplexed beginner in the world of audio who is really appreciating all of the help received from this board.

 

[Canman]

The analog to digital converter (ADC) is separate from the DAC. It makes a lot of sense that the ADC in your Sony MD is much better than the ADC in your sound card.

The Sony was made to create good digital recordings, while analog to digital conversion in your soundcard was likely an afterthought since it was made as cheap as possible and without regard to sound quality.

 

[Mr. X]

Ohhhh, I get it now, of course! The MD deck is being using as an ADC…..the analog signal is being converted to DIGITAL….and the MD deck does a much better job of that, obviously…

Thanks for your quick reponse, the light bulb finally went on…