How important is a Signal to Noise ratio?

[JonWormwood]

I was looking at some new interfaces.

Would a 120db s/n be noticable over a 112db s/n or even a 100db s/n ratio? (a-weighted)

Considering all I'll be recording is screaming vocals and heavily distorted guitars, should I even worry about shit like this?

 

[006]

Eh not really haha. I mean, ideally you want the lowest possible, but with the sources being so loud I don't think you should worry too much about it TBH.

~006

 

[Ben Johnson]

ideally you want the lowest possible

You mean highest?



120dB SN is 10 times better than 110dB.

110dB SN is 10 times better than 100dB.

Therefore, 120dB SN is 100 times better than 100dB.


Just sayin'...

(not that it'll make that much of a difference in metal production)

 

[Metaltastic]

Considering all I'll be recording is screaming vocals and heavily distorted guitars, should I even worry about shit like this?

Nope! Besides, I assume those snr's are for the preamps, so if you run external preamps into the line-in's, it won't be an issue anyway. Either way, there are tons more important factors that should be influencing your interface shopping!

 

[JonWormwood]

Nope! Besides, I assume those snr's are for the preamps, so if you run external preamps into the line-in's, it won't be an issue anyway. Either way, there are tons more important factors that should be influencing your interface shopping!

Right on.

You have an Onyx Satellite right? How do you like it?

I'm still debating USB vs. PCI

 

[JonWormwood]

Eh not really haha. I mean, ideally you want the lowest possible, but with the sources being so loud I don't think you should worry too much about it TBH.

~006

You mean highest?



120dB SN is 10 times better than 110dB.

110dB SN is 10 times better than 100dB.

Therefore, 120dB SN is 100 times better than 100dB.


Just sayin'...

(not that it'll make that much of a difference in metal production)

 

[Metaltastic]

Right on.

You have an Onyx Satellite right? How do you like it?

I'm still debating USB vs. PCI

Yeah man, I love it - it works rock solid at 128 samples latency (~2.9 ms according to Reaper), and sounds great (and is built like a brick shithouse, ALL metal construction); another REALLY useful feature that sets it above any other interface in its price range is that it has more than 2 outputs (6 to be exact), so you can monitor out of two and send a clean signal for reamping out of another (I'm sure you can imagine how annoying it would be trying to send a dry signal for reamping out of the same output your monitoring, because you wouldn't be able to listen to anything except the dry guitar ). It is Firewire, by the way, but with a good FW PCI card with a TI chipset it'll be WAY better than USB and close enough to PCI.

 

[JonWormwood]

Yeah man, I love it - it works rock solid at 128 samples latency (~2.9 ms according to Reaper), and sounds great (and is built like a brick shithouse, ALL metal construction); another REALLY useful feature that sets it above any other interface in its price range is that it has more than 2 outputs (6 to be exact), so you can monitor out of two and send a clean signal for reamping out of another (I'm sure you can imagine how annoying it would be trying to send a dry signal for reamping out of the same output your monitoring, because you wouldn't be able to listen to anything except the dry guitar ). It is Firewire, by the way, but with a good FW PCI card with a TI chipset it'll be WAY better than USB and close enough to PCI.

Fuck I really want the Emu 1212m due to the 192 chips that are in em but lack of options blow ass and I don't have 400 bucks for the 1616m with breakout box and shit. Unless I get clever and make a DIY patchbay or some shit I might just get the Onyx...Or Ediorl UA25EX

I had a MOTU 828 MKII with FW and it worked flawless with my PC so I should be good there.

How are the pres and shit? The talk back shit is awesome.

 

[JonWormwood]

Holy crap

Specifically, the Onyx mic preamp delivers outstanding, verifiable specs like 123dB total dynamic range, –129.5 dBm Equivalent Input Noise, and 0.0007% Total Harmonic Distortion. Onyx mic preamps also address things like input impedance and linearity, maximum input level handling at low gain settings, shielding and grounding effectiveness, overload recovery, and radio frequency interference better than any preamp in Mackie history. And because Onyx mic preamps are designed for use at "real world" gain settings, they'll easily handle anything from +22 dB line level down to microvolt-level signals from a ribbon mic, without adding noise.

 

[006]

Not Marcus but...the Onyx pres are great, I want a 1200F like nobody's business.

~006

 

[Metaltastic]

Fuck I really want the Emu 1212m due to the 192 chips that are in em but lack of options blow ass and I don't have 400 bucks for the 1616m with breakout box and shit. Unless I get clever and make a DIY patchbay or some shit I might just get the Onyx...Or Ediorl UA25EX

I had a MOTU 828 MKII with FW and it worked flawless with my PC so I should be good there.

How are the pres and shit? The talk back shit is awesome.

Hahahahahaha, 4 "shit's," I love it And yeah, the Onyx pres have a fantastic reputation, and while I haven't been able to compare them to anything, they sound great to me!

 

[Omega_Void]

120dB SN is 10 times better than 110dB.

110dB SN is 10 times better than 100dB.

Therefore, 120dB SN is 100 times better than 100dB.

For the sake of pedantry:

+10dB is a tenfold increase in power, but only double the perceived loudness. POV the potential listener, 120dB is therefore only twice as good as 110dB, and four times better than 100dB.

A badly noisy pre will have a negative effect on the clarity, immediacy and detail of the finished mix, even if the recorded sound is loud and dense enough to drown out the noise.

However, IMHO I'd rather a great-sounding preamp with an okay SNR than a poor-sounding pre with a fantastic SNR.

Some products with good spec on paper disappoint in practice.

Don't buy anything until you've had a chance to let your ears decide.

 

[JonWormwood]

Hahahahahaha, 4 "shit's," I love it And yeah, the Onyx pres have a fantastic reputation, and while I haven't been able to compare them to anything, they sound great to me!

Rofl, I even talk like that