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Post by porkyman on Dec 11, 2015 19:29:13 GMT -6
ive got two scenarios going on right now. i got an old amp to power some auratones and its got unbalanced inputs coming from balanced interface. and ive also got a mixer thats got unbalanced outputs going in to balanced interface.
whats the best way to deal with these? thanks
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Post by rocinante on Dec 11, 2015 23:16:07 GMT -6
I'm not in to different a position with using a Ghost (it's a major drawback imo of this otherwise good console). I kept all my cables balanced since 90% of my gear is as well as my patchbays. No real noise problems or low levels as far as I can tell.
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Post by svart on Dec 11, 2015 23:22:51 GMT -6
Balanced or differential?
Balanced means that impedances are the same. Differential means that there are two signals of opposite polarity to create noise immune transmission lines.
I assume you mean differential, like TRS or XLR.. If the differential output is electronically balanced, the it's OK to just use one of the signal pins to drive your unbalanced/single ended inputs. If it's a transformer based output, then then unused signal pin will need to be grounded.
For a single-ended output to differential input, then either case (electronic or transformer) would likely need the unused input pin to be grounded.
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Post by porkyman on Dec 11, 2015 23:59:50 GMT -6
Balanced or differential? Balanced means that impedances are the same. Differential means that there are two signals of opposite polarity to create noise immune transmission lines. I assume you mean differential, like TRS or XLR.. If the differential output is electronically balanced, the it's OK to just use one of the signal pins to drive your unbalanced/single ended inputs. If it's a transformer based output, then then unused signal pin will need to be grounded. For a single-ended output to differential input, then either case (electronic or transformer) would likely need the unused input pin to be grounded. im assuming theyre differential as well. interface is motu 16a... so do i use a balanced cable pin 2 + pin 1 and 3 ground? do i ground unused pin inside the console. thanks svart |
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Post by svart on Dec 12, 2015 0:11:55 GMT -6
Balanced or differential? Balanced means that impedances are the same. Differential means that there are two signals of opposite polarity to create noise immune transmission lines. I assume you mean differential, like TRS or XLR.. If the differential output is electronically balanced, the it's OK to just use one of the signal pins to drive your unbalanced/single ended inputs. If it's a transformer based output, then then unused signal pin will need to be grounded. For a single-ended output to differential input, then either case (electronic or transformer) would likely need the unused input pin to be grounded. im assuming theyre differential as well. interface is motu 16a... so do i use a balanced cable pin 2 + pin 1 and 3 ground? do i ground unused pin inside the console. thanks svart Not sure if this will help. www.gearslutz.com/board/attachments/so-much-gear-so-little-time/198361d1287341363-question-unbalanced-balanced-unbalanced-ok-rane-chart3.bmpIf the Motu is the source, you should only need pin 2(signal) and pin 1(ground) going to your unbalanced/single-ended receiver(IF you are looking at something like an XLR.). If it's something like a TRS, then signal goes to Tip, ground the ring and sleeve. I guess we need to know what your connector is on the mixer and the motu. |
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Post by tonycamphd on Dec 12, 2015 0:55:53 GMT -6
I'm not in to different a position with using a Ghost (it's a major drawback imo of this otherwise good console). I kept all my cables balanced since 90% of my gear is as well as my patchbays. No real noise problems or low levels as far as I can tell. nahh, no worries man, a whole lot of consoles are unbalanced inside, which usually isn't a problem as everything is pretty well shielded, if you hear no noise, there is no noise, you'll almost surely hear hiss from the internal electronics over any sort of noise being picked up from the unbalanced signal |
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Post by porkyman on Dec 12, 2015 2:17:22 GMT -6
mixer is xlr with only pin 1 and 2. nothing on 3. motu is all trs. power amp is ts. i got a couple trs to mono ts adapters for the power amp im gonna try.... im more worried about the mixer because im eventually going to run a master chain of 2 1073's, vca, pultec clones and anamod ats-1 post mixer. plus patchbays. from what i can gather on the internet, once you go unbalanced in the chain it will stay unbalanced through out. is that right? what do you think about using guitar di's.
p.s. why would they make 16 balanced inputs and have unbalanced outs. im trying to comprehend the logic. thanks.
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Post by rocinante on Dec 13, 2015 2:53:54 GMT -6
Wouldnt the 1073s balance it again? Or the pultecs (if fitted with output transformers)?
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Post by rocinante on Dec 13, 2015 2:56:22 GMT -6
Are a lot of you guys running preamps post mixer? I've done it for coloring (i sometimes bypass the mixer completely too) but never as a permanent part of my set up.
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Post by svart on Dec 13, 2015 13:22:11 GMT -6
mixer is xlr with only pin 1 and 2. nothing on 3. motu is all trs. power amp is ts. i got a couple trs to mono ts adapters for the power amp im gonna try.... im more worried about the mixer because im eventually going to run a master chain of 2 1073's, vca, pultec clones and anamod ats-1 post mixer. plus patchbays. from what i can gather on the internet, once you go unbalanced in the chain it will stay unbalanced through out. is that right? what do you think about using guitar di's. p.s. why would they make 16 balanced inputs and have unbalanced outs. im trying to comprehend the logic. thanks. No, that's incorrect. You can balance or unbalance any device at will, or go single-ended or differential at will, as long as the equipment is hooked up correctly. I think what others might have said is that once you go single-ended, the noise of that connection might rise to the point of negating having a fully differential system. AKA, the noisiest connection is now what dictates the noise floor of the rest of the signal chain. However, that's usually overstatement on the part of folks wanting to seem important on the internet! As long as your cables are short and you don't have any serious RF or grounding issues in your studio, then you shouldn't worry too much. If you end up having ground noise or RF ingress, then you have larger problems then what a differential connection is supposed to remedy. Since 1073's have transformers on the input and output, what I mentioned in my first post will apply. You'll need to ground the unused input pin for it to work at all. The output is isolated from the input and you can run the output of the 1073 as balanced/differential with no problems. I use guitar DI all the time, but for the purpose of reamping if needed. I almost never use DI as the main tracks for guitar. Bass, however, I'll use the DI if it sounds good, but usually in parallel with the bass amp track to give it a little more attack and clarity. |
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Post by formatcyes on Dec 13, 2015 13:54:42 GMT -6
There are very few "balanced" circuits once you plug your balanced cable in it turns into unbalance inside the equipment.. so there are balanced to unbalanced to balanced steps thru your signal chain anyways.
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Post by porkyman on Dec 13, 2015 19:35:52 GMT -6
thanks guys. svart by guitar di's i meant using them to balance the signal between the mixer and the 1073's. just gonna ground the unused input like you said. if i have any problems ill check back in. thanks for the help. |
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