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"Line Level" and M-Audio...help!

Posted by Jim Austin on December 30, 2005 at 04:53:05

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

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