Pro Audio Asylum

Posted by Jim Austin (R) on November 02, 2006 at 09:44:21

In Reply to: Re: Sensitivity of Mackie 824 powered speakers? posted by Bill Fitzmaurice on November 2, 2006 at 06:30:37:

In my experience, consumer stuff is HOTTER than pro stuff, much of the time, so it's a valid question, which is not what +4dB (pro) vs -10dB (consumer) would suggest. Unless I'm fundamentally misunderstanding what those numbers mean.

As an example, a while ago I tried to use an M-Audio interface with input from the output of a consumer CD player. It was WAY too hot; I had to put a mixer in the middle (only thing I had on hand that would attenuate the output) to make it work. I talked to the folks at the store where I bought the M-Audio unit (yeah, it's not truly "pro" gear, but the specs indicate pro levels, if memory serves, and it's got quarter-inch inputs, not RCAs). He said the same thing: that he finds (eg) CD player outputs to be a lot hotter than typical pro line-level stuff.

Jim

Jim Austin