Gain Switching on a MY4-AD Input Card...

  • Thread starter Thread starter KineticSound
  • Start date Start date
KineticSound

KineticSound

The VOICE
I need a little help here. I recently purchased a MY4-AD card to expand my Yamaha AW-2400 console - the MY4-AD is simply a board of additional XLR inputs that installs into the back of the Yamaha so that I can track an entire group at once without having to use a submixer.

In reading through the instructions before I install the expansion card, I have options to pre-set gain switches on the card before it's inserted into the console. I can set them to +4dBV, +18dB, or +24dB. All settings are intended for use with standard 600ohm lines. Everything I've ever used on a balanced connection has been at +4dBV, but my understanding was that it had to do with level output from a device pushing a balanced signal, so I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to set the input...

Does anyone have any experience with what settings I should be using? I plan to run dynamic drum mics directly into these inputs, and am unclear if I will be able to adjust trim from the board on these inputs once I have the card installed.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
I searched for this topic on a few other forums and found some comments indicating that these switches may operate like a pre-set trim control for the XLR in's (since there is no other hardware gain knob for expansion inputs). I'm not sure if anyone can confirm this... any help is much appreciated!
 
I've got an AW2400, this is the way I understand it. If I'm wrong please correct me. Here's a link, halfway down it explains some stuff.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may00/articles/yamaha.htm


The DIP switch acts as an attenuator to incoming signal (I believe) between different types of pre-amplified gear. Therefore, if you had a keyboard coming in @ +4db you'd want to have the dip @ the 4db position to achieve a unity gain structure ie. 0dBfs without any attenuation/boosting. Likewise, if something was operating @ a +28dB level you'd set the DIP to achieve a unity gain coming in to operate @ a line level.

If you were to connect a dynamic microphone to your MY4AD there would probably be a differance in gain between dip settings, however the MY4AD isn't going to provide enough gain to your microphones, you will still need external preamps to drive a microphone to a +4 dB line level.

awinspire.com has some good posts on all of this stuff.

Andy

I'd double check this info, its been a year since I graduated audio school and most of the the stuff was in one ear and then out the other.
 
Sorry, it's probably more like if something was operating at -10dB you'd have the input card set to +28
 
Thanks, Andy. Now I kinda feel like a dud... somehow, I got in my head that since the board was an "XLR expansion board" that it would have a preamp circuit built-in. Now, I don't think that's the case. I should have done more homework up front.

Thanks for the help!
 
That's OK. Yamaha literature isn't the greatest and all of the interfacing between gear types gets confusing.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top