I remember when Overbridge was announced there were concerns about the quality and usability of the analog to digital converters. The first time I heard my tracks through Overbridge, I thought that it sounded good enough to work with (monitoring on Genelec 8030as through an Apogee Duet 2 in a very well treated and ground up constructed control room).
But I was curious to see how it specifically compared to my Duet 2 so I did some tests recording a track through the stereo Rytm Overbridge A/D feed, and my Duet 2 both with line input and with 25dB preamp gained input (the latter as I was curious if the Duet 2’s preamp could impart any vibe).
I found that there were differences, but primarily in the low end. Whether the difference is better or worse is purely subjective.
Below is a graphic that demonstrates the different frequency response measurements of the same musical phrase recorded with Overbridge, Duet 2’s preamps, and Duet 2’s line level input. This is not an overall measurement of either interface’s response. It only establishes a comparison.
Audibly I noticed that the low end was not as pronounced on the Duet 2 (both preamp and line in). Some would call it “tighter” or “flatter”, though I didn’t find the Overbridge recording to be boomy. Again, it was just different.
Response on the Overbridge recording is tighter below 30hz than both Duet recordings, however not as tight as the Duet 2 between 40hz and 150hz.
Keep in mind that Rytm’s balanced output amps may also be doing something here to the Duet 2, and that there is more at play than just the conversion.
I’ll continue to use Overbridge for multi-track recording my Rytm. It is indeed good enough, and I can work with the differences which are much less pronounced than the differences I found a couple years ago when I swapped out my Audiofire 4 for the Duet 2.
One thing I will probably change, however, is how I track in the 9th and 10th channels from Rytm, the stereo FX returns. As the conversion and stereo field sounded fairly comparable between OB and Duet 2, I will experiment with running Rytm’s stereo main outs carrying the FX returns only into my A4’s two inputs and recording those into Overbridge on the back of the A4, instead of into the Duet 2.
