Adat xt Hey Bruce?

  • Thread starter Thread starter harley96
  • Start date Start date
harley96

harley96

New member
I got a adat xt with 341 hrs., I hooked it up to my board using stereo( direct out) to trs cables tip/ring for input and output. The problem I'm having is when run any sound source into the adat on any tracks first the meters read very low and when I increase the levels the meters skyrocket to the max (clipping). I ran a cd player through it and the levels were perfect but monitoring the outputs of the adat the levels were extremely low. Then I ran the same sound source through my other adat xt and the output levels were atleast twice as loud. I'm wondering if it's bad ad/da converters or something else. I tried an elco cable with the same results. I didn't try recording with this adat considering the output was extremely low (in otherwords, my monitors were all the way up and the sound coming from the outputs were about conversation level)
 
341 hrs!!?? That's a lot depending if the heads were'nt properly
serviced. Basically heads s/b cleaned after every 200-250 hrs of use (I have mine cleaned after every 125-150).Are the back connections cleaned. Oxidation & dirt buildup on the connectors
also contribute to signal loss as well as uneven signal input.
Just to be on the safe side,have your XT examined by an Authorized Alesis doctor for proper head servicing and problem detection!

BTW, ADATS RUUUULEE!!!!
 
It does sound strange -- need to do some detective work...

First off, if your mixer's gain structure is +4dbu, you need to be using the ELCO connections (which are balanced)... if your mixer is -10dbV, then you need to use the TS connections (which are unbalanced).

Play one channel of a CD thru your mixer (mono, pan control to center) and adjust the trim and fader level so that the signal is averaging 0VU (a test signal at constant level is even better - easier setting of the meters).

If your gain structure is consistent, the meters on your ADAT should read -15dbFS (about halfway up the meter scale) - this is where the ADATs are calibrated for 0-level on a mixer (allowing 15 dbs of headroom before a digital over).

Now when you monitor the tape return level on the board, it should be coming in at the same level it was going out as... (so your meter's levels shouldn't be different).

Now there is an issue if your gain structure is NOT consistent - if you use the balanced outs and your mixer doesn't have balanced tape return inputs, then your output levels will drop by 6db simply because you're connecting a balanced connection to an unbalanced input. So, if this is the case, seeing a 6db drop at the meters is normal.

If your meters on the tape return signal do not show the same reading as what went into the multitrack, and it's much more than a 6 db difference, then it does sound like the unit needs some servicing.

Bruce
 
Adat xt

Thanks for the help, I tried that today I set the board at 0 db with the cd player and the meters on the adat registered -15dbfs so far so good, then I proceeded to record 1 minute of audio and on playback the meters on the board didn't even register. The output when monitoring was very low and I had my monitors all the way up. Then I played the same tape in my other adat and the meters registered 0 db on the board and the volume was perfect. So in other words, I think the adat records at the right levels but on playback there's something wrong there. Is there any suggestions as to what is going .It records fine but after that ?
 
Definitely needs servicing then....

Actually, there is another possiblity -- if using a BRC with s/w version 2.03 and under combined with certain versions of XT ADATs could cause the exact symptoms you describe.

The fix is to buy the upgrade chip for the BRC to upgrade it v2.04 - which was put out to correct the issue. The chips are user-serviceable....

If you don't use a BRC, then the unit definitely needs servicing.

Bruce
 
Thanks Bruce, believe it or not I do have a brc with version 2.03, but the problem still occurs without the brc. I am going to update to 2.04 as to remedy any future problems. As far as the adat I guess I will see it in about 6 month after it's done being serviced. Greg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top