What does it mean??

J

Jose_Man

New member
Hey guys, I got a question.

I was checking out the some Effect Processors (POD, V-AMP, J. etc) ...I know shit about technical terms, and the thing that I've always wanted to know is:

What does it mean when it says... STEREO LINE OUTPUT (+4dBu Balanced/-10dBV Unbalanced)?

PLZ! I would appreciate if you would explain this to me in SIMPLE ( 1+2 = 3 ) terms.

I know nothing about : dBu's and dBV...why is it + and - sometimes?
What's the difference between dBu and dBV?? :S
----------------------------- What is Balanced and Unbalanced ??? :(
----------------------------- Plz explain me with the basics.


Damn I hate being a noob. I would have posted this on the Noobs board, But I guess ppl come more to this one.

I Appreciate your reply.
Thanx

Peace
Jose
 
"What does it mean when it says... STEREO LINE OUTPUT (+4dBu Balanced/-10dBV Unbalanced)?"

That means that it will output either a +4 signal if a balanced plug is inserted into the jack or a -10 signal if an unbalanced jack is plugged into it.

Balanced outputs give more sound and less hum or noise. The balanced +4 signal only goes into another device that is balanced. If the mixer or computer that this device is plugged into has only unbalanced inputs then the signal gets the third leg or the wire cut off and only a -10 signal will be getting into the recorder.

I don't know all the technical jargon (math) by heart but I believe one way to see it is that the noise floor would exist in the same dB range in both signal types but it would be comparitively louder in the unbalanced output..makes sense right?

I think that's right...
 
With the higher gain structure, the noise floor is farther away from the signal (since the signal is much higher), and the noise floor is constant in both gain structures.
 
yes...but...

Aren't dBu different than dBv? ugh....too hard to explain...many mathematics...gah..had to learn that at recording school :(
I hate mathematics but I love physics (does it make any sense?) :)

Peace...

PC
 
yes! i love math and hate physics! and i also don't get the +4/-10 stuff. i have a balanced RNP and DMP3 (with balanced cables) running into protools. i set the line levels through the software. to keep the program from cliping i have them set below -10! shouldn't i be able to set them at +4? when i do that it clips like crazy. i don't want to hijack this thread, but i think if someone could explain this or help me i would help a lot of us who love math, but just don't know enough about equipment...and maybe this will answer jose's question too.
 
dBu values are referenced to 0.775volts, dBV values are referenced to 1 volt.

In terms of actual difference, there is about a 12dB difference in levels between the two ratios. So a signal reading zero VU at -10dbV is 12dB lower in level than a signal reading zero VU at +4dBu.
 
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