Synth into DM24--Mic in or Line in.

[audiblefrequenc]

hello,

i am trying to hook up a synth into my dm24 digital mixer and as stupid as it may seem i am not sure where to plug it in. plugging into the "line in" 1/4" gives me very little signal so i end up using the preamp to boost up to line level, the trouble is that the pres on the dm24 are a bit noisy to my ears.

plugging into the xlr mic inputs gives me much better level(almost optimum gain) although i end up using a 1/4" to xlr converter.

i dont quite understand this whole concept and i am no expert but shouldint i be using the "line in" to plug in synths? yet my mic inputs give me better level and i dont need to the use the preamp.

why is there a level difference between the line in and mic in? does this have something to do with impedence? also, should i be using a DI box to plug in synths into the DM24? would i be better off plugging into the line in or the mic in?

hopefully someone can shed some light onto this topic that has been troubling me for some time.

Derek

[fraserhutch]

You should in general be using the line inputs (1/4"). Is the volume up on your synth output? It sounds like a gain staging issue. Yes, you should have to up the gain a bit on the line in (it's not a pre, btw). But it shouldn't be noisy, at least mine aren't.

The pre-amp is on the mic in (balanced), not on the line ins.
I used to use the line ins with no issues at all (I now use outboard convertors, so I don't use them anymore).

There are people who use DIs, but it is mostly for the colour that they add to the signal. There is really no need that I am aware of for using one otherwise.

[audiblefrequenc]

if i am not misktaken(and i usually am) this is an impedance issue.

the dm24 specs state that the mic inputs are rated at 2.2k while the line in is 10k.

i forget what the rating is on my v synth but i know it is considerably lower then the line in, much closer to the mic input.

does this make sense to anyone?

Derek