garww
New member
See post above. That is really important.... lol!
Fosters
See post above. That is really important.... lol!
What did you have for lunch?
"My Akai disk recorder is 220-volt, yet has a 120-volt plug on it : )"
That ^ is not supposed to happen here in UK* and is in fact 'illegal' . Does not stop certain off shore suppliers sending gear with the wrong mains plug though. Pisses me off when 'certain' (cough!) amplifier manufacturers go to great lengths to supply the RIGHT mains lead and connector at the RIGHT local mains voltage to every country in the world. Such care and the exhaustive testing that goes with it is a cost the penny-pinching consumer does not see and is avoided by many.
*Though WHERE we shall be in 5 years time C, Alone Knows!
Dave.
I agree G but I think the newcomer to these matters can be forgiven for gaining an impression of simplicity? The fact is Pinkertel, there are no standards about this and in any case 'balanced' comes in various forms.
The 'classic' balanced output uses a amplifier per 'leg' (pins 2 and 3 of an XLR). This has the advantage of a 6dB level boost when driving a proper balanced in out but is a bit dodgy for the home bod who might UN balance it because shorting the 'cold' side to ground can cause problems. The signal is still 'tied' to a ground and so does little to help ground loops.
Almost gone now is a fully 'floating' transformer output. Pretty bombproof, full galvanic isolation and very resistant to RFI but no 6dB lift and expensive to do with high quality. Very common these days is the 'impedance' balanced source. No signal gain and no better ground isolation than twin amps but very cheap to implement and no signal degradation as per the transformer. Z balance also has the great advantage that you cannot get the polarity wrong (aka, improperly, 'phase') since if you do you get buggerall!
Now, +4 (dBu) Mr P! This Operating Level has been snaffled from truly 'pro' gear and is often quoted where it really does not belong. You see, saying OP is +4dBu IMPLIES pro levels and that means a headroom of 18 to 20dB above +4dBu but a very great deal of otherwise really very good kit, AIs mostly, can only muster around +12, maybe +14dBu at most.
It is as you can see, a complex and varied subject and, as you rightly point out, MANY people do VERY good work and know Jack S about decibabble!
(and we have not even STARTED on ground cancelling systems!)
Dave.
Quote Originally Posted by Pinkertel View Post
Do we all agree this is normal because there isn't a standard and buying other active monitors won't matter. And I just have to cut 15 db with a mixing board between the monitors or a pot in a tin?
No, I think most of us think that the monitors you bought are junk. There is no reason in the world that the soundcard would put out a signal that a standard monitor wouldn't take. It should be one of the line levels.
I think my question/issue and answer has gotten more complicated than it has to be.
If I have to buy other monitors fine. What do I check for If I buy them?