The OctoPre LE's optional CODEC board features both an ADC and a DAC, transmitting and accepting digital audio in ADAT (lightpipe) format. This allows quality digital conversion of all eight input channels within the unit before transmitting directly to the DAW (interface or soundcard) or other recording medium. Additionally, the DAC means that a digital output of a DAW (interface or soundcard) can be connected directly to the unit for monitoring purposes; all eight channels can be converted and fed to the Line 1/4? jack outputs on the rear panel, or just 1-4/5-8 as required. Digital audio can be transmitted or received at either 44.1 or 48kHz sample rates (selected on the front panel) and 24-bit resolution. The converter is 24-bit and 128x oversampled, handling sample rates of up to 48 kHz, with S/PDIF output and BNC word clock connector. Tracking a vocal direct into your DAW or any other digital recording media has never been easier or more affordable. An ADC lock LED on the front panel shows when Word Clock sync has been established.

With converters, as with many other things in life “It’s not how big it is, but what you do with it that counts”. Whether running at 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96 or 192 kHz, or at 16, 20 or 24bit rates, the converter specifications alone are no measure of the quality of the record signal path. Rather, it is a combination of both the converter specifications and the quality of the system that supports it. Focusrite A/D converter cards are designed to meet the absolute maximum design specifications possible for the converter chip-sets used. However the real benefit comes from using a recording system in which the ADC is included within the closed environment of a single box. The integral closed environment allows a shorter record path to digital, with no unnecessary analogue connections out of the Focusrite box to the input of the recording equipment. (The receiving equipment will also certainly include more analogue circuitry in the form of gain/trim stages before the external ADC, only further lengthening the record path.) A further benefit of a single, closed environment relates to the level of unwanted noise in the vicinity of the converter circuitry. Because the Focusrite unit operates as an analogue device right up to the point of the ADC, the environment within which the converter operates is extremely quiet and controlled. It does not contain extraneous clocks, nor other sources of digital noise, which exist within many digital desks and multi I/O DSP environments. Any of these may further contribute to the lack of clarity and accuracy. So, innovative circuitry around the converter, the operation of the circuitry within the host unit, the shorter signal path and a quieter operational environment mean that Focusrite’s optional A/D converters offer an immense level of performance for the price.