Allen and Heath to line in

[benjmn33]

I got an Allen and Heath system 8 mixer a month ago but I just got the power supply. My new toy (otari 1" 8 track) is still on layaway and I wanted to check the mixer out recording on my pc. Well the L/R outs on the board are unbalance xlr's (pin1 &3) so I built the cable, and then again to be sure.When I power up with these connections made to the sound card(sblive) all 16 peak leds light up and all the vu rack and needless to say no output. If I plug the same cables into a tape machine it works great unless I plug the line outs on the tape deck to the sound card then the same symptom. The sound card isn't outputing into the mixer at all, the cables are right- WTF - is it an impedeance issue help

Ben

[The Ghost of FM]

It sounds like your not connecting something correctly?

If you want to test out the mixer to see if it works, take a sound source like a drum machine or a microphone and plug it into channel 1 on the board, then adjust the levels and assign it to the buss system and the main stereo outs and plug a pair of headphones into the mixer directly and see if the meters move and the sound passes to the headphones. This simple test will establish if the mixer is functional.

The output from your sound card is barely line level out which is about 14 db below what the mixer might like to see on a balanced input channel of the board.

The main stereo outs of the board should be connected to the line input of the soundcard and on your PC's sound mixer, (Windows), you must turn on or un-mute the sound card's line input to get the sound to pass through to your PC's speakers.

You might consider investing in a better soundcard too. Sound-Blaster is cool for regular PC usage but for pro-audio applications they're a few bricks shy of
a full load.

Cheers!

[benjmn33]

Thanks,
I've already done the head phones thing and the mixer is fully functional. And as far as the sb goes its just temporary untill I finsh paying for the otari.
I guess this is more of an issue of me trying to understand the problem than to fix it.

why when I connect the L/R outs from the mixer to a 4 track tape deck it works fine then if i connect the decks line out to the sb card ( weather i'm monitoring tape or source) the board acts like im throwing power to it's ground? It does the same thing if i half patch into the inserts.

I know the card works with other line level sources ie.. keys even the 4 track by itself
I know the mixer works with mic - I dont have any balanced lines to check the boards line ins

Am I throwing the wrong levels at somthing? Line Vs. ???
Have I found A shortcoming in the SB card ( it works fine with my studiomaster)?
Is God telling me to just wait for the otari?

[The Ghost of FM]

why when I connect the L/R outs from the mixer to a 4 track tape deck it works fine then if i connect the decks line out to the sb card

You don't connect it to the line outs of the soundcard!!!

You connect it to the line IN

[benjmn33]

I am connecting the 4 track's line out to the sb's line in therin lies the mystery

[The Ghost of FM]

Is God telling me to just wait for the otari?

Yes-indeedily-do.

Sorry bud.

[benjmn33]

The outs on the mixer are 22 ohm configurable to + 4(1.23v) or -8(.31v) dbv I don,t have any specs on the sb card.
I'm wondering if the mixers output need to be brought down to line. What voltage is line? And maybe the 4 track can handle it as is but the sb is rejecting it and throwing it back at ground.
I've been recording for awhile now but am just learning electronics so thanks for bearing with me while I try to understand.

[The Ghost of FM]

Standard, unbalanced line level is .316 volts, -10db.

EDITED FOR ACCURACY!!

[benjmn33]

AH HA - Well since I have managed to lose the back half of my users guide for the a&h and can't confirm I will assume that the outs are (internally) set to +4 and be able to sleep tonite.
New mixer, New power supply, new tape deck on the way and so many cables to build, and not to mention trying to write material that is "worthy" of $70 a reel tape can put you in a bit of a frenzy.
Thanks again for the help
BTW I checked out a few of your tracks and liked them quite a bit. If your into hearing some new music that has more of experimental but solidly musical twinge try the flaming lips - i've all ways felt them as akin to Tull as they are punk rock.
cheers

[The Ghost of FM]

BTW I checked out a few of your tracks and liked them quite a bit.

Cool!

Thanks for giving the stuff a spin!