Mic Preamp Question
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Posted on Jan 09, 2010 08:22 pm
threeforty
Member Since: Nov 19, 2009
I just bought a new Presonus Studio Channel mic preamp. Since this is my first preamp purchase, I have a few questions. I am running my mic through my new presonus mic preamp, then through my digirack002, then to my computer. Do I need to bypass the mic preamps in my digirack somehow becasue that is the last thing the audio signal is passing through? Or does the digirack preamp automatically get bypassed because I am running through my other preamp. Also, there is mic output and a line output coming out of the Presonus. Is it better to use a line output or a mic output to go from the mic preamp to the digirack? Thanks for the help.
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Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Jan 09, 2010 08:52 pm you'd need to use a "line in" to the digi rack if youre coming from the mic pre.
a line in will bypass any mic pre on the digi. you dont wanna use a mic in as this will use the digi pre's as well.
probably doesnt matter too much whether you use the line out or the XLR out, im pretty sure its just a connection thing there. matter of choice really. XLR or 1/4inch jack. i think im using XLR. Its still just a line out.
you only ever wanna use one mic level in a signal chain and then the rest line level.
i go from my mic pre using the spidf connection then into my interface's spidf (digital in)
If you use the spdif connection youll have to buy a proper digital cable, dont use an RCA or you could fry it.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jan 09, 2010 10:54 pm Agreed, you only want one preamp in your signal path. Sending a preamped line-level signal into another preamp is a recipe for excessive noise. So you want to go from the line output of your preamp into a line input of your Digi.
Also, I don't think that the Studio Channel has a mic-level output. I'm looking at the manual, and assuming that I'm looking at the correct unit, there is only a line output. On the back panel, it has 1/4" and XLR line outputs and 1/4" (line-level) and XLR (microphone-level) inputs. On the front panel, there is only an instrument-level input that bypasses the mic preamp altogether. So it looks like it will accept either an instrument-level, mic-level, or line-level signal and it will output a line-level signal.
I had to look into the S/PDIF cable because I've been curious about this for a while now (sorry to hijack a bit here since the unit in question doesn't appear to have S/PDIF connectivity). Doing some amateur research on Wikipedia, it appears that any RCA cable that provides 75 Ohms of impedance is acceptable for the connection. If it's an optical connection, then a fiberoptic cable is used instead. So I think that you can use any good quality RCA cable for S/PDIF and not be forced to use the overpriced "digital" cables. But check the cable's specs and make sure it's 75 Ohms so it'll conform to the S/PDIF standard.
Dematrixhttp://www.reverbnation.com/2ndgMember
Since: Nov 27, 2007
Jan 09, 2010 11:13 pm i tried an RCA and it dint work for me. it was a really REALLY cruddy one though.
it seems i got sucked in to buying a digi cable then eh?
figures.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jan 09, 2010 11:26 pm Yeah, I'm curious about it still. I've been reading a bit online about RCA cables and I can't say that I've come to any conclusions about their use for S/PDIF connections. While it's certainly not a bad thing to use RCA cables designed with digital signals in mind, I can't seem to find a definitive answer about the lower quality RCA cables. It seems that the RCA spec calls for 75 Ohm impedance, but it also seems that just because a cable says that it's a 75 Ohm cable, that doesn't mean that it truly is. It appears that no RCA cable provides a true 75 Ohm impedance but some come closer than others.
I might have to start another thread on the subject and see what the local pros have to say.
