M-audio Audiophile questions and help

[keyz]

In a recent thread I had asked about a basic set up to do some recording and I ended up going with the M-Audio Audiophile 2496 and the Yamaha MG10/2 mixer. I'm very pleased with my purchase for the money. I haven't done any recording before so I have some questions.

Right now everything is working great but I'm kind of confused. Right now I have my keyboard and guitar plugged into two channels and I'm running my RCA cables (L/R) from my mixer into my audiophile input and my output on the sound card is going from the RCA to 1/4 inch jacks into my keyboard amp. I figured out my creative speakers that I have only have a digital in jack and I'm unsure how to hook up those to my sound card (so I'm using my keyboard amp). I read somewhere in the manual that the digital jacks run into the S/PDIF jack or something like that? Do I need some type of adapter. At the moment I don't want to shell out 300 minium for a decent pair of monitors. And I can't really use my keyboard amp for long because it will be away from the house here soon out giggin'. So I'm trying to figure out another option. So that is my first question.

My other question was regarding how I'm recording. Like I said I'm running the RCA jacks from the mixer (where it says REC OUT on the mixer) into my RCA analog inputs on the back of my sound card. Is this the best way to do this? I have some 1/4 inch to RCA cables on the way so I'll run from the ST OUT into my sound card. Am I doing this right? It seems to work right but I want the best sound possible.

Pardon me for being so stupid. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to set this up. I have a problem because I'm using my keyboard amp as my computer speakers. And I also wondered about the recording in so if you can all clear that up for me, then that would be great. I appreciate the help in advance.

 

[keyz]

As I just read my post.. does that mean I'm recording in analog? Wouldn't I want to record in digital? How would I record in digital?

 

[Bulls Hit]

Have you tried connecting from the card's s/pdif output to the speaker's digital input?

You can use either Rec Out or ST out. If you want to record 2 instruments at once and get them onto different tracks, then use the mixer pan controls to pan 1 instrument hard left and the other hard right.

Yes you record in analog. The conversion to digital is done on the soundcard

 

[keyz]

Have you tried connecting from the card's s/pdif output to the speaker's digital input?

hmm.. do I need some type of adapter or something. Maybe my speakers aren't don't have a digital plug. It looks like a 1/8 inch stereo jack now that I look at it. That probably doesn't help.

See I have a creative sound system that came with my card if I remember correctly. It's got a Left front, right front, left rear, right rear and then a sub. The left front, right front, left rear, and right rear all plug into the back of the sub using RCA jacks (I suppose i could take the two front speakers and plug them into the analog out on the m-audio but that's only two little speakers). Then from the sub runs a cable to the sound card (looks like a stereo jack). Is this not compatible? Should I be looking at some monitors?

And thanks for the tip about the panning. Never thought about it like that. That should come in handy.

 

[Bulls Hit]

Sounds like you just need a 2 rca - stereo 1/8" converor lead to connect the analog outs of the audiophile to your creative speakers

 

[keyz]

Sounds like you just need a 2 rca - stereo 1/8" converor lead to connect the analog outs of the audiophile to your creative speakers

hmm.. and where could I find something like that? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

 

[AlChuck]

Yes you record in analog. The conversion to digital is done on the soundcard.

Bulls Hit misspoke a bit there -- or, I should say, the innate ambiguity of the English language makes the way he said it a little unclear.

What you record comes from an analog source but the recording medium itself is digital data on your hard disk. So what you record (when you speak of the result) is digital data, and what you record (when you speak of the source) is analog.

To record digitally you must have a way of getting analog signals into digital representations. That's what the sound card does.

 

[crankz1]

hmm.. and where could I find something like that? I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.

Radio Shack .... If it is an 1/8" stereo plug, it's not likely to be a digital connection. If the sub has an RCA IN jack, then it's possible that the RCA jack is a 75 Ohm coaxial SPDIF input.
If thats the case you would just run a 75 Ohm coaxial RCA cable from the SPDIF out of the soundcard to the SPDIF in on the speakers.

 

[keyz]

Oh ok.. I see what's going on. Thanks for clearing that up.

And that will probably work! I'll stop by radio shack tomorrow and get it. I'm not really ready to spend 300+ bucks on a decent pair of monitors so this will do for now.