Forgive me for asking such a basic question:

What are the qualities of a good mixer?

can i use a mixer for both production as well as DJing?(as in using monitors and headphones at the same time)

Is there any sound quality difference between a cheap and an expensive mixer?(ok that was a dumb question but nevertheless )

I am talking about Analog Mixers here btw


Today i got my M-Audiophile 2496(after buying it in a hurry) and was in for a nasty surprise when my headphones(a shitty pair of sens) wouldn't fit in those IN's and OUT's after installing it on my PC.After going through the manual i was still confused about all this female and male RCA's and a few google searches later found out that i need a mixer(rather than all the 1-to-2 cables and all tht mumbo jumbo).

I am too dumb to understand this

How good is behringer xenyx 802/1002? i need something cheap yet efficient.


Please help !!


P.S - I might be getting a pair of near field monitors in the near future. Would i still need a mixer or can i directly connect them to my delta soundcard?


P.S(2) - I might be recording vocals + guitar in the future.

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Were you trying to buy a higher quality soundcard? That's the only thing I can think of if you expected to be able to plug headphones directly into the I/O ports on that thing.

Those outputs seem like they're meant to connect recording hardware directly to any software you might be using, since those RCA/MIDI ports aren't on your average computer -- it's saying you need a mixer because any mixer is going to have an audio port, where you'd connect headphones, but the actual card itself isn't meant for just audio output. It's a recording interface.

Just plug your headphones/monitors into your Delta soundcard or your computer, or however else you already do it. But, don't get a hardware mixer unless you're actually familiar with mixing and know you'd get a good amount of use out of it. All a mixer would do is serve as a middleman for your recording equipment and that card. There are other ways to plug recording equipment directly into the card without feeding it through a mixer first. The mixer on Ableton (which seems like it comes with that card) would basically do the same thing, and for 99.9% of amateur producers a software mixer is usually just as good as hardware.

As far as recording guitar, you could plug your guitar directly into that card using something like this. I'm not familiar with microphones so I don't know what their cable output usually is, so someone else could help you as far as recording vocals, but it's just a matter of finding something compatible with RCA jacks.

I had a big misconception that my latency issues(by loading too many softsynths) will be reduced by buying an audio interface. Boy was i so wrong. My problem didn't get solved but more problems have been created by yours truly.


Thanks kysora,yes i agree i don't need a mixer RIGHT NOW. but after doing more research i found out some people do use a mixer as just a pre for their monitors/headphones...just for powering them.it goes something like this maybe:

Guitar/Vocals on Mic --- > Mixer IN ------ >Sound card IN's ------- ? Sequencer Recording(hopefully with zero latency compensation)

Sound card OUT's -------> Mixer OUT ---------> Headphones/Monitors....

I have ordered for a 1/4 female - 2 RCA Y cable(or was it the other way around??? no idea )....it was very cheap...barely 2$. Lets see how that goes.

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Also how do you reduce latency?


I have a i5 2500k 3.3Ghz Stock without overlocking and 8GB of RAM.

no SSD though, a normal 7200 RPM but i m pretty sure latency has something to do with CPU.

I found no difference at all in the latencies after getting my audio interface, although even a minor improvement would have made me happy.

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Make sure when u go into your DAW's options that you set your audio interface to use the ASIO drivers and if your sound card or interface doesn't have them which nowadays its pretty much standard you could also use http://asio4all.com/ . ASIO drivers are meant to give you lower latency. Again, most sound cards come with them.

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quote:

Originally posted by Lucidity Make sure when u go into your DAW's options that you set your audio interface to use the ASIO drivers and if your sound card or interface doesn't have them which nowadays its pretty much standard you could also use http://asio4all.com/ . ASIO drivers are meant to give you lower latency. Again, most sound cards come with them.

Apart from this. I already do know the basics ....I am not much into tweaking my OS(disabling some unused features etc).

How does over-clocking your processor workout?

P.S - asking your personal opinions. Google search only does so much for me

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FWIW I have an i7, not sure what the speed is but even with a quad-core, multithreading processor and 8 gigs of RAM, my DAW lags a bit when I'm running a full project file. It'll take quite a bit to avoid it completely.

Overclocking can ruin your components if you do it in any capacity that'd actually help latency like that, I wouldn't bother with it unless your DAW is near unusable.

quote:

Originally posted by sylvannas Thanks kysora,yes i agree i don't need a mixer RIGHT NOW. but after doing more research i found out some people do use a mixer as just a pre for their monitors/headphones...just for powering them.it goes something like this maybe: Guitar/Vocals on Mic --- > Mixer IN ------ >Sound card IN's ------- ?

The problem here is that you are going to need some sort of preamp to boost the mic signal or it won't work. Most mixers have mic preamps built into each channel strip, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you need to buy a mixer. A standalone preamp may be sufficient. To start with, answer these questions:

What mic(s) are you using?

Are you running the guitar directly into your interface, or recording it with a mic (e.g., placed in front of an amp if it's electric, or in front of an acoustic guitar)?

How many microphones will you be using simultaneously? In other words, will you be recording one part at a time, or do you see yourself mic'ing your vocals and guitar simultaneously?

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quote:

Originally posted by sylvannas What are the qualities of a good mixer? How good is behringer xenyx 802/1002? i need something cheap yet efficient.

I'll just give you my thoughts on this as well, since I have owned and used many hardware mixers in my lifetime. The Behringer stuff is decent - I used several of their processors (e.g., compressors, gates, EQs) back in my band/live audio tech days. And, I've owned my Behringer headphone amp for years and would likely buy the exact same one if/when it ever dies. Some of the units can be a bit noisy, though, which doesn't bode well for recording purposes. However, from what I've heard about the Xenyx line (never used one), it's negligible. A lot of people will tell you to avoid them, though. That said, I'd suggest spending a little more and getting a better brand name *if* it is going to be in your recorded signal path (i.e., as you are considering here).

If you decide to go with a small-format mixer, I'd definitely suggest one of the Soundcraft Notepads over the Behringer for two primary reasons: (1) Soundcraft quality is top-notch, even in their bargain units, and (2) Soundcraft mic preamps are excellent, even in their bargain units. You could get the Notepad 102 for a little less than the Xenyx 802. The only difference in terms of features that I can see is that the Xenyx has built-in FX. Those are probably fine for just messing around, but you are most likely going to turn them off when you record anyway, record your live parts dry, and do your audio processing and FX after-the-fact in your DAW. If you decide that built-in FX are a high priority for you (they definitely are useful if you're jamming and singing), then I'd suggest looking at the Soundcraft 124FX.

Had you asked before you bought your M-Audio interface, I probably would have suggested just getting a better soundcard that already has a built-in mic preamp or two. But, now that you have the M-Audio, a compact mixer might be a good solution (depending on how you answer the questions I posed above).

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I haven't read much but I've seen some things I wholeheartedly disagree with. Dear topicstarter: 1. buying the rca to 1/4 inch converter is a great buy. I worked with the same thing on the same audiophile 2496 (so no usb) for a long time. Tnhis soundcard is pretty much the best one ever produced by m-audio in terms of price / performance. Don't buy a mixer as long as you don't need one. 100$ mixers might be fun but it colours the sound quite heavily. You might as well plug year headphone back into your onboard soundcard. 2. The drivers for the m-audio audiophile 2496 are rock solid and work just fine on a latency of 256 samples (5ms). Do not install asio4all when using this card it's a waste of time and effort putting another driver layer on top that performs less than the factory drivers. 3 if you do want a mixer, please don't link the soundcard output to your speakers through the mixer. Use the volume control in the config panel that comes with the m-audio drivers. Routing the output sound through low budget mixers will reduce listening accuracy. Sorry for the shitty post, phone won't allow me to start new lines on this forum for some reason. 4. Oh and if you max out your pc so often you might want to try the less is more approach. i still haven't maxed out my 4-5yr old quad core. You don't really need that much processing power for your average EDM production

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quote:

If less is more think about how much more more would be. -Frasier

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller Don't buy a mixer as long as you don't need one. 100$ mixers might be fun but it colours the sound quite heavily. You might as well plug year headphone back into your onboard soundcard

For the headphones, yes. But, he is still going to need a preamp for his mic(s), so whether that's a mixer or a standalone preamp, they will each color the sound of the mic(s) somewhat differently depending on brand, model, etc. But, considering what he's probably working with and his admittedly little experience in this field, a tiny bit of color in his mics is the least of his worries and I doubt that he has the god-like gearslutz golden ears to hear (or care about) the difference anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Storyteller 3 if you do want a mixer, please don't link the soundcard output to your speakers through the mixer. Use the volume control in the config panel that comes with the m-audio drivers. Routing the output sound through low budget mixers will reduce listening accuracy.

Totally agree.

So basically, what we're saying is that you will need some sort of front-end device (mixer or preamp) for your microphones to get sound INTO your DAW, but don't use that same unit to monitor the sound coming OUT of your DAW.

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Thanks for all the replies.

I am looking at shure sm58/samson r21....depending on budget availability.But no immediate plans of buying either.

After reading your replies...i feel the 1/4 - rca jack is good enough for me. The near fields i might buy in 2-3 months(i guess i have to create another thread for this ) will anyway have rca cables. So i guess ill save enough money to buy a good mixer+mic combo.

And ya i have actually traced back my latency problems to a free-vst plugin i was using.It was blowing the cpu apart

God i have to save a lot now.....planning to buy komplete 8 by june !!!

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