Question about line matching...

  • Thread starter Thread starter dingwall
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dingwall

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Hey everyone...

I have a question which I'm sure some of you will be able to answer...

Ok... for preamps.. I have a Soundtracs Solo 16x8x2 console. The outputs on the channel strips are (unfortunately) 1/4" UNbalanced. For a recording interface on my ProTools system I have a Digidesign 882... which has balanced TRS inputs.

Would there be an impedance mismatch if I went from the unbalanced outputs on the console, to the balanced inputs on the interface. Should I be using something to balance the outputs. I don't know what I would use... a whole bunch of DI's seems a little unpractical.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks a lot.
 
I don't know that I would worry about it a whole lot other than you may induce a tiny bit of noise into the system. But that's just me, you talk to someone else I'm sure they'll say "oh no you can't do that blah blah"
 
Well as long as you use very Short and Shielded cables there shouldn"t be much of a Problem....It is when the Cables are long (say over 10 feet) and are close to other electronix equipment when you start getting interferance...

If you are useing longer cables and would like to take advantage of the Cleaner signal Ballancing gives as well as the CMR Improvements(Common Mode Rejection) you could Build or Buy a Ballanceing unit which does one of 2 things to create a Ballanced Output...

It either uses an IC Ballanced Line driver to Invert the Phaze of the Signal to create a Ballanced output or it uses an Impedance Ballanceing Curcuit which is Much less complex and cheaper but not as Reliable as the Impedance can change with Frequency.....

Another thing you can do if you are handy and have some electronics Knowlege is to Open up your Channel Strips and add a Ballanceing Curcuit and add XLR Connectors, Or you can add a audio Transformer to create the Ballanced signal but this would get very expensive if you had a Lot of Channels.....


The problem with useing an external Ballanceing unit is that the Signal will allready be somewhat degraded once it gets to the external Unit because it will be Unballanced leaveing the Console untill it gets to the Ballanceing unit which is why it might be better to Mod your Channel strips amd make them ballanced.....

Good luck
 
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