can I use personal headphones on echo mia midi?

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bball_1523

New member
I noticed that a lot of soundcards, including the mia midi, do not have a headphone jack, so I was wondering if I can buy a 1/8" to 1/4" converter to use with the Mia Midi input, for headphone use? Or is there another way to use headphones?
 
Took me a moment to see if what you were asking was what you were asking.

Just in case, remember that MIDI connections are basically data only; they are used to interface with keyboards/controllers and sound modules only, and audio does not pass through them.

I pulled up a page on the Mia Midi.

It seems that you have two 1/4" jacks in, and two 1/4" jacks out, plus two RCAs on the dongle for SPDIF in/out.

I'm going to take a wildy accurate guess that the 1/4" jacks are not stereo, so not only does it mean you can't record 4 tracks through both, you can't just plug headphones into one of the outputs either.

If you can get a Y-adapter that can get left out of one 1/4" out, and right out of the other one, you may be able to drive headphones off of it. However, the output volume may not be to your liking.

The best option is to get a reciever or headphone amp and connect the two 1/4" outs of the soundcard to the receiver or amp and listen through that.

I would also advise that if you wanted to record 4 tracks simultaneously, this is probably not the card for you, as SPDIF to analog converters can be costly.
 
Alexbt said:
Took me a moment to see if what you were asking was what you were asking.

Just in case, remember that MIDI connections are basically data only; they are used to interface with keyboards/controllers and sound modules only, and audio does not pass through them.

I pulled up a page on the Mia Midi.

It seems that you have two 1/4" jacks in, and two 1/4" jacks out, plus two RCAs on the dongle for SPDIF in/out.

I'm going to take a wildy accurate guess that the 1/4" jacks are not stereo, so not only does it mean you can't record 4 tracks through both, you can't just plug headphones into one of the outputs either.

If you can get a Y-adapter that can get left out of one 1/4" out, and right out of the other one, you may be able to drive headphones off of it. However, the output volume may not be to your liking.

The best option is to get a reciever or headphone amp and connect the two 1/4" outs of the soundcard to the receiver or amp and listen through that.

I would also advise that if you wanted to record 4 tracks simultaneously, this is probably not the card for you, as SPDIF to analog converters can be costly.
Click to expand...

well right now I'm a lonely musician with a guitar and mic. So probably one track at a time is the most I'll be recording using the inputs. But I'll probably be using a program like Reason to record synths, drums, etc at the same time as I record my guitar. Will that work?

Are there any other alternatives to use a recording soundcard with headphones? Can I maybe buy an sb live 5.1 and use it at the same time?
 
You can't use the SBLive and the Mia at the same time to record. They won't record together in sync or playback in sync.

With the Mia you are limited to 2 channels in (record), 2 channels out (playback), that's all you have. I think you can use the SPDIF ins and outs at the same time as well.

Reason works within the recording/sequencing program that you're using, you don't have a need for extrernal inputs for that.

You need a small mixer for mic preamps, headphone amp and routing.
I use a Soundcraft Compact 4, works great for that, $99 at MusiciansFriend.
Go to Echo's site and read the Layla/Gina/Mia manual in .pdf form. Everything you need to get up and going is there.
 
now can I run SB Live and Mia at the same time NOT to record, but one for doing regular stuff, and the Mia for recording?
 
Getting back to the original question, you need a headphone amp to drive a set of headphones... just plugging the phones into the soundcard wont work.

Same with passive monitors.... you'd need an amplifier to plug them into the Mia.

(There are diagrams in the Mia manual on how to hook up the inputs and outputs!)
 
TimOBrien said:
Getting back to the original question, you need a headphone amp to drive a set of headphones... just plugging the phones into the soundcard wont work.

Same with passive monitors.... you'd need an amplifier to plug them into the Mia.

(There are diagrams in the Mia manual on how to hook up the inputs and outputs!)
Click to expand...

the poster above said I can you sb live with the mia. So I'm wondering if you know anything about using two different soundcards. For example, the sblive for regular audio use, and the mia just to record?
 
There's no need for any of that. You should be able to find one soundcard that can do what you want.

Perhaps you don't need to go the PCI route just yet. A USB soundcard might be right for you. I highly recommend the Tascam US-122. It has two inputs with selectable ports (XLR mic, guitar, line), MIDI, RCA in and out, and it does come with a headphone port!

Similar interfaces include the MAudio MobilePre 2x2. There are also similar Firewire options as well. Be sure to cover all areas and prices before you run out and buy something--you might not be getting the most for your money.
 
bball_1523 said:
the poster above said I can you sb live with the mia. So I'm wondering if you know anything about using two different soundcards. For example, the sblive for regular audio use, and the mia just to record?
Click to expand...


Actually, I used to keep an SBLive in my DAW with my Mia so that I could use it to process soundfonts. They will co-exist peacefully and you can switch back and forth between them.

But there is NO reason to. The Mia will give you better playback sound and all your games will work with it. If you want to play back MIDI, alll you have to do is use a soundfont VSTi like rgcaudio.com's "sfz" or Bismark's "BS-16" with a good GM soundfont (free from hammersound.net and others).

That's why I dumped the SBLive.... "sfz" and "BS-16" gave me FAR better sounding playback than the SBLive card, so I chucked it. Never missed it since....
 
TimOBrien said:
Actually, I used to keep an SBLive in my DAW with my Mia so that I could use it to process soundfonts. They will co-exist peacefully and you can switch back and forth between them.

But there is NO reason to. The Mia will give you better playback sound and all your games will work with it. If you want to play back MIDI, alll you have to do is use a soundfont VSTi like rgcaudio.com's "sfz" or Bismark's "BS-16" with a good GM soundfont (free from hammersound.net and others).

That's why I dumped the SBLive.... "sfz" and "BS-16" gave me FAR better sounding playback than the SBLive card, so I chucked it. Never missed it since....
Click to expand...

How would I plug in my speakers and headphones into a card like the Mia or M-audio delta 44? Do I get a 1/8" to 1/4" converter?
 
You STILL need a headphone amp.

Line-outs of ANY soundcard do NOT have the voltage to drive phones directly.

Get a mixer with a headphone jack or a headphone amp....
 
TimOBrien said:
You STILL need a headphone amp.

Line-outs of ANY soundcard do NOT have the voltage to drive phones directly.

Get a mixer with a headphone jack or a headphone amp....
Click to expand...

how about this:

headphones 1/8" to 1/4" plug -> M-audio Firewire solo -> computer?
 
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