The Apogee Electronics Big Ben is an analog to digital converter that can handle sample rates up to 192 Khz. I run it with a Digidesign 192 I/O that controls Pro Tools HD and this basically serves as a separate world clock that I synch up with my Pro Tools system. It also 2 XLR inputs and outputs in the back as well as connections for ADAT optical and AES/EBU. The reason I run this in addition to Pro Tools is because these converters are a world of a difference when compared to Digidesign's.

I've been using the Apogee Electronics Big Ben analog to digital converter for about a year and I'm definitely to have it in my chain as it provides a super clean conversion. Apogee has been building up a reputation for making great converters, and the Big Ben is one of their best products and is starting to be seen in a lot of professional recording studios, even though it doesn't have a huge price tag. The unit pretty easy to use, and since it was set up the only thing I ever need to set is the sample rate. This being said, the Big Ben has a lot of capabilities, some of which I haven't had a chance to look into and some of which I don't have much use for in my line of work. If you have a Pro Tools HD system and are unhappy with the converters on there, the Big Ben is a great choice to expand your set up and get your signal coming in that much cleaner. While I could live without this, having the Big Ben in my chain helps to get the highest possible sound quality I can get while I am recording. I definitely recommend looking into the Apogee Electronics Big Ben converter for all types of analog to digital audio conversion.