I'm having problems hooking up my M-AUDIO DMP3 pre amp to my M-BOX

B

BAMA

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I just bought a M-AUDIO DMP3. The only problem is that I think that I am hooking it up wrong to my M-Box. Heres the pics. I might be using the wrong cables. Can anyone out there help me with the connecting process?:confused:the guy a the music shop was telling me about the different cables. He said the cable with two white strips on the end is for STEREO and the ones with the single white strip is for MONO. Which cable do I use? and how do I bypass the m box preamp? I posted pics of the m-box and the dmp3 at the bottom. thanks


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Or you can use a xlr cable from your mic to the xlr input on your pre. Then use a xlr cable and go from the xlr output on your pre to the xlr input on your mbox. That is how I have my focusrite preamp hooked up. I think the sound is better using xlr cables than the trs. But I'm sure that is just a personal preference.
 
RD423 said:
Or you can use a xlr cable from your mic to the xlr input on your pre. Then use a xlr cable and go from the xlr output on your pre to the xlr input on your mbox. That is how I have my focusrite preamp hooked up. I think the sound is better using xlr cables than the trs. But I'm sure that is just a personal preference.
Click to expand...

That method would not bypass the mic pre's on the M-Box. It's not a good idea to go through multiple mic pre's sequentially like that. Especially if you're going from a fairly decent mic pre into a mediocre mic pre. Just use the TRS cables coming out of the DMP3 so you retain the higher quality audio of the DMP3.

cheers,
 
If u make sure that u have the power on the mic which is the 48v button off then you are not using the mbox pre. It is only when that button is on that you are using the pre. I have been running my connections like this since I had the mbox 1 starting back in 2004. I have never had an issue. The only time there is a issue is when someone mistakenly turned on the power for the pre on the mbox. But as long as u don't mess with it then it is fine.
 
RD423 said:
If u make sure that u have the power on the mic which is the 48v button off then you are not using the mbox pre. It is only when that button is on that you are using the pre.
Click to expand...

LOL. Okay, keep thinking that, but that's not accurate. You are still using the mic pre on the M-Box whether you are using the phantom power or not. The 48v phantom power is only there to provide power to condensor mics. Dynamic mics don't use phantom power, but yet, you are still using the mic pre if they are plugged into the XLR jack.

If the OP runs the DMP3 out into the M-Box mic pre, he is using the mic pre on the M-Box, phantom power or no. It's best to avoid using sequential mic pre's like that.

peace,
 
Chili said:
LOL. Okay, keep thinking that, but that's not accurate. You are still using the mic pre on the M-Box whether you are using the phantom power or not. The 48v phantom power is only there to provide power to condensor mics. Dynamic mics don't use phantom power, but yet, you are still using the mic pre if they are plugged into the XLR jack.

If the OP runs the DMP3 out into the M-Box mic pre, he is using the mic pre on the M-Box, phantom power or no. It's best to avoid using sequential mic pre's like that.

peace,
Click to expand...

100% accurate.
 
Bypassing the built-in preamp of the Mbox in favor of a better external preamp makes sense to me too. But I'm no expert. I've used an XLR cable between my Presonus BlueTube preamp output and the Mbox source input and I got into trouble. The Phantom Power crapped out on the BlueTube. The BlueTube was was ok with the Mbox and my SM-58 without Phantom Power.

I want to try the TRS hookup now but I don't know if I need a dual TRS or a single . I'm only recording a solo voice but the TRS input on the Mbox is a dual input. It looks like left and right channels for stereo. I'm thinking of a cable with XLR female to TRS male single, not dual. Would that be a better option for me? I'm also wondering if the grass looks greener with an M-Audio DMP3 instead of my Presonus BlueTube. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
@mister jo
" only recording a solo voice but the TRS input on the Mbox is a dual input."
it'll be a balanced input per channel.
your bluetube has a balanced output per channel (akaif)

whether it's xlr-xlr, jack to jack or whatever, you just need one balanced cable per channel of audio.


@OP
if you plug another preamp into the mbox line in, the mbox gain knob still has effect. It's still acting as a preamp.
I recently ran a pair of ward beck pres (trs-trs) into my mbox2 and it just didn't sound right at all.

The only TRUE bypass would be to buy a pre with s/pdif output, and use that with the mbox digital input,
or replace the mbox with an interface that has line ins and no gain knobs (ie. converters only)
 
Yes, you are correct. The built in preamp of the Mbox is still in the circuit and the Gain control does work. But I have it set to zero. I tried various combinations with both preamp gain controls and it appears that I get better sound when the Mbox gain is set to zero. I welcome everyone's opinion on the results they get with their setup. When i experiment, the results are not that obvious.

I'm still not clear on the XLR to TRS cable. Should the TRS end have one phone plug or two? The TRS jacks on the Mbox are in pairs. But I'm thinking that the sound from my mic will be mono and I only need to plug into one TRS jack.
 
Is it an mbox 1? maybe this is where the confusions coming from.


original mbox has an xlr input per channel, and a line level input via TRS which is in the middle of the xlr connector.

The pairs that you talk about (i guess) are the TRS outputs and TRS inserts.


the cable that you use should single xlr to single trs. the three pins on the xlr correspond to the tip ring and sleeve in trs and make up a balanced mono signal.


If you used some short of xlr to twin trs, you'd probably just be sending an unbalanced signal to two different channels on the mbox.
 
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Yes, it is the original Mbox and I don't have anything plugged into the TRS inserts yet. But I do have a cable going from the TRS output to the speakers.
The TRS end of the cable has two male 1/4 plugs. One is labeled Tip and the other is labeled Ring. So it looks like it's not a TRS. But they work fine.
There seems to be some confusion about channels. I was referring to left and right of one input channel.
I plan to buy a balanced cable with one XLR female to one TRS 1/4" male, as you described.

The Mbox manual says that the built-in preamp is bypassed when the TRS inserts are used. So. my existing hookup does not bypass the Mbox preamp. I have the gain control set to zero but you are correct that the Mbox preamp is still in the circuit. I hope I get better results using the TRS input. Thank you for your input.
 
sadly you wont 'bypass' the preamp using a TRS cable, no matter what the manual says...

the idea of left and right of channel one is just wrong...


channel one is mono

channel two is mono

whether a channel is left or right is only really a factor once something's recorded and you're panning stuff.


if you're having any more trouble or cant work it out, feel free to PM me.
 
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