Conscious Sound's A/D, or analog-to-digital signal path is the key to our ability to preserve the vitality, warmth, and subtle essence of acoustic and analog sounds within the powerful and flexible digital environment.

These analog sounds - such as vocals or bagpipes - travel directly via low capacitance balanced cables from the microphones to the respective pre-amps. From here the signal travels to one of our forty discreet analog-to-digital converters, including the acclaimed Apogee AD-8000.
This interface is highly regarded by some of the world's top engineers such as Bob Clearmountain, and Bob Power. It also serves as our digital workspace's master digital sync reference due to its extremely low-jitter clock. The AD8000 also features extremely pleasing "tape saturation" characteristics when utilizing its 'soft limit' feature.

Our mic pre-amps include the high performance Amek SYSTEM 9098 Equaliser, designed by Rupert Neve. It allows us not only to capture the smallest details from our microphones, but also provides us with a high quality EQ to sweeten pre-recorded tracks. The circuitry is based on the 9098 console, which is considered by some to be the best sounding console in the world. Great care was given to retain the highly-prized musical character of the famous early Neve designs.

We also use two Precision 8 mic preamps, designed by True Systems. Precision 8 uses a high-voltage composite architecture with discrete devices plus integrated circuits. It offers very low noise and distortion as well as high headroom. The totally balanced dual-servo design eliminates nearly all capacitors in the audio path and is DC-coupled at the output. Many components are military grade and hand-matched for optimum performance. All this results in a very detailed and transparent sound quality which challenges even the most esoteric microphone preamps.

For situations requiring a distinctly "analog" sound, both in terms of miking live sources, as well as adding "warmth" and "fatness" to prerecorded tracks, we also use tube-based preamps including an Aphex model 107 which we modified to accept line-level signals as well as mic signals. Sometimes we deliberately drive these suckers a little hot when tracks need a slightly overdriven "tube saturation" type of sound.

In combination, the components of our A/D path deliver outstanding sonic performance, sparkling presence, detail, openness and image, silky high frequency response without any harshness, and punchy bass response that is tight, deep and rich.


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"Joy is but the sign that creative emotion is fulfilling its purpose."

-Charles Du Bos