2 to 96 or even more receiver channels that may be connected to a corresponding plurality of local coils or to a corresponding plurality of coil elements in a coil array when the nmr signal is received by the receiver coil 50 the nmr signal is at or around the larmor frequency in a traditional mri receiver system this high frequency signal is down converted in a one or two step process by a down converter that first mixes the nmr signal with the rf carrier signal and then mixes the resulting difference signal with the reference synchronization signal thus in traditional mr systems all mixing is performed using analog signals however in the present invention the use of a d converters 84 with high bandwidth and high dynamic range enables detection at the mri larmor frequency as opposed to some intermediate frequency accordingly the present invention provides true u201c direct detection u201d of mri imaging data at the same frequency as the rf excitation signal applied to the imaging subject this is true for example even when performing three dimensional 3d imaging processes with magnetic field strengths of 3 tesla t or greater for example the rf mri imaging signal that is received may correspond to the proton magnetic resonance frequency when subjected to a static magnetic field strength of 3 t or greater and still down conversion.