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The subject sums it up - the XLR output is about 20% the volume of the unbalanced output. Surely a faulty unit? As a newbie, I may be missing something. I mailed Tech21, still awaiting a response.

If it is faulty the trouble is, I bought it from America, and have a demo deadline to meet. So I am not particularly keen on sending it back for replacement.

So if it is faulty, my second question is this. Is it a big problem if I rush through all the basslines for this demo (15 or so), and then send it back, and rely on those for the next couple months? Or will the unbalanced signal be too noisy to mix properly?

FYI I am going bass > sansamp > m-audio delta 4-4 (balance inputs) > Cubase SX.

Thanks in advance,

Jamie

Comments

anonymous Fri, 09/19/2003 - 04:54

Hi,

You might get away with the unbalanced signal if the distance between the sansamp and the delta is less than 5-6 meters.

A better suggestion would be to make use of an external DI box. Run the unbalanced signal (with a short cable)through the DI box to the balanced input of the Delta.

The main reason to why there is balanced in's n out's is to prevent the cable's from picking up too much interference from various sources in the surroundings.

Did you try different cables? This might as well be due to a faulty balanced cable. It sounds like it could be some phase issues between the hot and cold pins in the connectors.

Happy troubleshooting :)

Jeemy Fri, 09/19/2003 - 05:01

I tried 2 balanced cables, both about 5m. The unbalance cable was 1m. When I A-B'd, the balanced signal normalized up to a good signal, implying it is super-clean, but I couldn't really tell if there was noise in the unbalanced one which was good volume to start with - hence probably quite good signal-to-noise.

The problem is of course that I can't monitor properly unless i sub out to an external amp when I use the balanced signal. Hardly the point when using amp replacement technology!

I hoped there would be a simple internal fix, if you can shed any further light I'll dismantle the little f****r tomorrow :)

anonymous Sun, 09/28/2003 - 09:58

My SWR Interstellar Overdrive DI output is also weak, and it is definitely LINE level. This is a design failure in the SWR, because it only puts out 0.7 volts maximum. This is not enough to drive my PLX power amps to full amplification, so I use EQ and other signal processing gear with greater than unity gain between the IOD and the power amp.