DP-01FXCD and 'Speaker Outputs'?

J

jalbert

New member
I just ordered a DP-01FXCD and I was looking at the User's Manual I downloaded when I saw a warning saying to, "NEVER plug the speaker outputs of a guitar amplifier into the DP-01".
First of all, what constitutes a speaker output? My amp has DI outputs(XLR) and LINE OUT's(1/4). Are either, or both, of these speaker outputs?
And, secondly, does this warning apply just to the DP-01(which has no XLR inputs or Phantom Power) or does it also include the DP-01FX and DP-01FXCD?
Does anybody connect an amp to their DP-01(FX,FXCD)? How do you do it?
Thanks.
 
They refer to any output from your amp that's used to directly drive a speaker. These outputs are the ones rated in watts, whereas the DI and LINE OUT jacks are rated in millivolts (mV), also know as 'Line-level'. The DP01 (or any recorder) will be overloaded and probably destroyed by signals rated in wattage. If you stick with anything labled 'LINE OUT' or 'TAPE OUT', 'TAPE MONITOR OUT', etc. you'll be okay.
 
Trillian said:
They refer to any output from your amp that's used to directly drive a speaker. These outputs are the ones rated in watts, whereas the DI and LINE OUT jacks are rated in millivolts (mV), also know as 'Line-level'. The DP01 (or any recorder) will be overloaded and probably destroyed by signals rated in wattage. If you stick with anything labled 'LINE OUT' or 'TAPE OUT', 'TAPE MONITOR OUT', etc. you'll be okay.
Click to expand...

Thanks Trillian. That clears things up for me. I have one other question you might be able to answer. I know the DI's and LINE OUT's are line-level but when I try plugging a pair of headphones into them or running them to the mic input on my crappy JVC tapedeck(the only thing I have to try it with till the Tascam gets here) the sounds is always horribly distorted. With the headphones it's extremely quiet, since the signal is line-level, but it's still distorted. With the tapedeck I can turn up the gain on the mic input and it's louder but sounds just as distorted as with the headphones. Is that normal? What will it sound like if I plug it into the Tascam? Thanks again.
 
Headphones are not line-level devices. Since they're just tiny speakers, they need a bit more juice than l-l provides. And since microphones usually don't have any power (we'll leave condensers out of this for the moment), they're not line-level either. With the phones and the mic input, it's probably severe impedance mismatch causing the distortion. Unless your JVC has a pair of TAPE IN or AUX IN jacks, don't try to compare what you're hearing with what you'll get with the DPO1FXCD.
 
My only Casio keys output is a headphone/output 78 ohms 4v (rms) max.

Is it safe to take the above unbal 1/4" out into an Art preamp unbal input and then the Art unbal out into the DP01.fx line input.

Thanks a lot.
 
While technically it's not correct to do so, many equipment manufacturers recommend you use the headphone out as a line out (Yamaha, for one). You can always check the manual for the preamp to see what the input specs are and match them up against the output of the Casio's headphone jack. My gut feeling is you won't have any trouble, just keep the volumes down until you can adjust them to a good level (no nasty spike surprises anywhere).
 
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