Has anybody tried to use the 11R with a different interface and digital connections? I've just read a report of a guy here in Germany who states that many modelers produce a way better sound if they don't have to handle the A/D and D/A conversion, but get fed with a digital signal. Has anybody tried doing this with the 11R and if yes, with which results?

I have not tried it. You would loose access to the true-z input, if that matters to you.

I don't think you'd lose the true-z if you went guitar--> 11r--> interface--> DAW. But I think it would do 2 AD/DA conversions, first in the 11r and then again in the interface, I don't think there is a preserved analog signal path in the 11r.. I am under the impression that all modelers do their modeling in digital space (please correct me if I am wrong).

Definitely modeling is part of the digital level. But what I'm thinking of is something different than the signal flow you described. I would go guitar > interface > digital out (AES/EBU or S/PDIF, depending on what the interface offers) > digital in 11R (AES/EBU or S/PDIF) > analog out 11R. I am thinking of live use, not recording. My idea was to improve the sound by using higher quality A/D conversion.

Oh, I see clearly now! That is an interesting question, I'd like to know if a) there is a difference that can be detected by some monitoring method and b) if that difference would be perceptible in the live environment..

well,unless your soundcard has better ad converter than 11r i think you wont get a better results even in that case i dunno if it can make a noticeable difference

I think if you experiment you will find it sounds different (marginally), but that does not always equate to better.

I run S/PDIF out of the 11R into another interface, and hear quite a difference between that and running the analog outs from the 11R into the same interface. I don't think it has as much to do the the A/D converters as the interface I have resamples the S/PDIF and has its own D/A for near zero latency monitoring of the digital inputs. So basically what that means is I can run 44.1/48/88.2/96k on the 11R and my interface always runs at its native rate, and maintains the S/PDIF lock.

The S/PDIF out in this configuration (my setup) sounds brighter, and arguably harsher in general. It can be dialed out, but I guess my point is different may not always be better. I only use S/PDIF to avoid having to buy more XLR cables, LOL.

You can argue less A/D and D/A conversion is better in general, but these days with everything running 24 bit and at least 44.1 kHz I think it matters less and less.

Maybe it is different with the AES/EBU digital connections - but I think this would not be worth the expense and hassle for live use. Just my two cents - if you try it please report back your findings!

I was thinking about doing this simply because Cakewalk had not yet muted the incoming signal like Pro Tools so you could add on VST cabinets and things without hearing the incoming signal, and I just like the VST selection better. The Echo Audio cards always let you mute the signal in the mixer. The Eleven Rack don't have a software mixer, and expects you to use Pro Tools or just be okay with what's in the box if you use Cakewalk. I don't know who to blame on that one, Avid, or Cakewalk but they dropped the ball on the interface not having it's own mixer separate from Pro Tools or any other DAW for that matter. I wish whoever made the Standalone Patch loader could figure something out for to make the input silent in Cakewalk so you only hear the end result when tracking. There's not really a modeler out there I would just want the stock sounds to work with, but the 11R came pretty damn close.

Thank God for the Logidy Epsi C. That's got me interested again & I just got a new job so will be hopefully with another 11R by Christmas and back in business sharing new sounds

i struggle for that exat feature too....but noone understand it at avid...