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Hi folks. Not exactly a pro question but kindof in-between. I'm trying to get set up to do a little amateur digital recording (for a local arts center), but I also want something that will interface well with my home (consumer) stereo. I bought an M-audio Firewire 410, but "line-level" outputs (e.g., from a CD player or a phono stage) are causing it to digitally clip using the line-level inputs. What's weirdest about this is that I previously tried an even more "consumer"-oriented interface--the Audiophile USB--and it did NOT clip via the line-level inputs.Checking the documentation I find that the "line-level" inputs on this thing are -10dB--consumer line-level--not +4 as I was expecting. Still, consumer-level equipment shouldn't cause these problems, should it? Any way I can solve this problem? I've only got one piece of requipment--a Benchmark DAC (which, of course, was designed for pro use) that has variable output gain. Am I stuck?
One other question: this M-audio unit (the Firewire 410) has front-panel inputs that take XLR (mic) inputs or 1/4" TS "instrument-level" inputs. There's also a 20dB pad. So what is "instrument-level"? Will these inputs solve my problems (when I started to try it out last night my RCS-TS adaptor broke...)
Thanks,
Jim Austin
Follow Ups:
Are you CERTAIN that the clipping is occurring at the input to the unit, and not somewhere else in the chain (including playback)? How have you verified this?I have an M-Audio Audiophile 192 card in one of my computers, and feed it signals from mic preamps, stereo preamp, and Revox tape recorder, and never had an overload or clipping issue.
If you need a fast and reliable resolution, you probably should call M-Audio. They are pretty good at resolving this kind of question.
> > Are you CERTAIN that the clipping is occurring at the input to the unit, and not somewhere else in the chain (including playback)? How have you verified this? < <The software that's included (Ableton Live) shows the input going off-scale, and the unit's red clipping light comes on.
It seems, however, that in the front inputs ("instrument level" with a 20dB pad and the variable input control set near it's lowest level, I've got enough headroom.
Thanks,
Jim
OK, that's good that you've found a way to get some headroom. On the other hand, if you're accomplishing it by intentionally mismatching the two components, you might want to take a look at your signal-to-noise ratio and your frequency response performance. Both can be affected. It seems strange that a line output from a consumer product would overload a high quality sound card. I still think you should call M-Audio. My guess is that they've dealt with this before.HTH
Yep, you're right. I'll give 'em a call.Jim
Build a simple aluminum box with input and output jacks and 10kohm audio taper pots to control your levels. Typically instrument level inputs are intended for electric guitars, etc, with 100mV sensitivity or so, while mic XLRs should work down to -60dB, so neither could take even -10dB devices, though with a 20dB pad down the instrument inputs might be OK.
Thanks Bill. There's also an input level control. With the 20dB pad in and the input level control turned down pretty far, things seem to be working pretty well. Thanks for your help.Jim
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