Audiophile 2496: Is RCA input noisy?

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oldrover

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I am setting up my first home studio; bare beginner. I have a Dell 4600, a DMP3 preamp, and an Oktava 319 mic. I have read that the onboard audio will not work well, right? So, I was looking at getting a sound card.
The DMP3 has 1/4" balanced outputs and the Audiophile has unbalanced RCA inputs. Is that a problem? If so, would I be better off with an EMU 0404 or an Echo Mia?

Thanks! :)
 
Any one of those soundcards will work fine with the DMP3.
 
You only need balanced inputs if you're going to have very long cable runs or if your environment is rf (radio frequency) noisy.

RCA and 1/4" are identical. It's just 2 wires and a metal shell. Don't be thrown by the fact that the metal shell is shaped differently; it makes no difference.

Any of the beginner cards (Emu0404, Audiophile or Echo Mia) will give you similarly great results.
 
The Audiophile 2496's inputs are as good as anything else under $400 or $500.
 
Thanks for the responses! I had read about ground loop problems with unbalanced cables and it worried me. Now I can sleep tonight!
 
I got the same setup like you except for the mic. No problems here, running cheap short RS cables.
 
What kind of cables are you using? Can you buy a 1/4" to RCA cable from Radio Shack? If so, is it Tip Ring Sleeve? Is 8 feet a reasonable length?
TIA.
 
Ditto with everyone else. I have two of them, I'm very happy with them.
 
TimOBrien said:
RCA and 1/4" are identical. It's just 2 wires and a metal shell. Don't be thrown by the fact that the metal shell is shaped differently; it makes no difference.
Click to expand...

You are correct if you are referring to a 1/4" TS (2-conductor). However, a 1/4" TRS (3 conductor) is not the same as an RCA. TRS is balanced, as is XLR. TS and RCA are unbalanced.

That being said, you can probably get away with plugging the output of the DMP3 into the Audiophile 24/96. There will be a reference level mismatch between the two. As long as you take care not to send too hot of a signal into the Audiophile, all will be well.

The Audiophile 24/96 is an excellent card. I used one for years and was very happy with it.
 
I downloaded the DMP3 manual and it says:
"Output Jacks A and B: These 1/4” TRS jacks are the main outputs for the
pre-amps. Using a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) 1/4” plug, the DMP3 will
provide a balanced line-level output. Using a TS (tip-sleeve) 1/4” plug,
the outputs will be unbalanced."

So, I should buy a cord that has TS 1/4" on one end and RCA on the other end, right? like this:
Amazon cable
 
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Correct. The only thing to note is that when you set the input of your soundcard to 0db (not even sure you can change that), the signal will NOT read the same as on the VU meters in the DMP3, because those view the balanced signal, while your soundcard is getting an unbalanced signal. Not really a problem, just be sure to notice it, or you could be thinking you have a good level going in, while your actually clipping the AD convertors.
 
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