Monitor controller reduces SQ?

5

5ergo

New member
Hello!
Heres my plan:buy a pair of monitors (Dynaudio BM6A) and a good sub later.Than connect this 2.1 system to a PC and CD Player at the same time and enjoy life. ;)

IIRC the only way to connect all these stuff together is to use a monitor controller.
My question is how many % of the sound quallity is lost if using monitor controller?

Id like to have monitors connected to 2 sound cards (or 1 if not possible) and CDP.
Heres my gear:
NAD C542 CDP (it doesnt have vol controller)
Audigy2
Revo7.1 which will soon be replaced with EMU0404

Id use the setup for movies (PC) and music (CDP) mainly, but i also need a gaming card, Audigy2.
And i was also wondering how smart would be to add a SVS PCi20-39 subwoofer (which has no balanced XLR output) to these BM6A?
 
Measuring the "percentage" of quality loss isn't possible - Depending on the unit, it may be very transparent at certain volumes and not at others. PASSIVE is ideal, and you need several I/O...

Sounds like you need a PreSonus Central Station.

[A or B plus C] switching ("C" being your eventual sub), several inputs, good quality D-to-A conversion, passive signal path for the most part. I don't think more bang for the buck is possible in a monitoring controller.
 
Hehe i was testing (in a store) the BM6A on this PreSonus, but the thing is that i was looking for a cheaper solution.Seller told me there are also a 50USD monitor controllers and those i had in my mind.
But now im more thinking that saving more for PreSonus is a better idea.I will test Dynos on both controllers and see whats the difference.

I dont make music but i do notice the details and those i love.Thats why i dont want to use my Dynaudio bookshelf system because it doesnt sound good in my small room.

Does anyone know if connecting a none-XLR sub to monitors would cause any disturbance?Cause Dynaudio subs are too expensive compared to SVS/HSU.
 
Shouldn't be a problem - Just make sure to get a sub with STEREO inputs. A lot of the cheapo subs only have a mono in. Then you need to sum the signal externally, yada, yada...
 
The other thing about powered subs is to make sure that they have a volume control and a frequency crossover control. That allows you to tailor them into the sound of whatever your main speakers are.
 
Ok than this SVS PCi 20-39 would fit in the setup perfectly.
SVS subs are "cheap" for what they offer, but you probably know that already.

One more thing; which DAC do you think is better for music:the one in PreSonus or the one in NAD C542?
Im gonna use NADs DAC for music and PreSonus DAC for movies (via Revos digital out).

Thanks again guys!
 
As long as the sub has volume control and allows you to adjust the frequency crossover point it should be fine. I'm not sure I see your distinction about using one converter for music and one for film. I use the Presonus for music much of the time and it is fine for that.
 
Well one reason for using 2 DACs is that Presonus has only 1 SPDIF.I can connect CDP to it or a soundcard (with bit-perfect digital out such as my Revo7.1).
Second reason is i bought very good CDP NAD c542 so why not use its DAC.

If i was using sound cards DAC for movies i had to buy a new one cause Audigy2 or Revo wont do.
 
It's really easy to convert the optical input on the Central Station to a SPDIF. All you do is get the TOSlink/SPDIF converter from Radio Shack. It works great and only costs $15! It's called the "PCM/Optical Converter" and is catalog number: 15-1228.

If you want to use your other converter I understand that, but I just wanted to let you know that there is an easy way to get a couple SPDIF signals into the Central Station.
 
If it is an NAD CD player, it's converter might be better than the presonus. For two track playback I don't think you are going to see a huge difference anyhow.
 
I checked the specs and it looks like Presonus has stronger dac.
I dont know which info is the key when comparing 2 DACs but for instance this Presonus has Dynamic range 117dB while my NAD has 98dB.
I need a clean signal up to 100, 105dB@ 1,5m away.

Does it matter what quallity cable is used for digital connection (SPDIF)?
 
You're comparing two totally unrelated measurements there - Noise floor and dynamic range have nothing to do with SPL - That's farther up the monitoring chain (amps, speakers, etc.).

Use a S/PDIF cable. Most of the cheap ones (Hosa makes a pretty blue one) are fine.

It's NOT the same as a standard RCA interconnect.
 
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