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Routing Audio through Unbalanced Mixer; Sound Quality
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| trancintaiwan |
I couldn't find anything in the FAQ section so I figured I'd make a post.
I recently purchased a Motu Ultralite Mk3 which uses Balanced TRS outs and ins. At the moment, I have my monitors running out of my DJ mixer, but my mixer only has RCA inputs.
So my question is, would the sound clarity be noticeably degraded if I use a TRS to RCA cable running into the mixer and out the monitors or should I simply have a separate pair of TRS cables to connect directly to my monitors when I'm producing?
Any input would be great. I appreciate it! |
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| Looney4Clooney |
soundcard to mixer back to soundcard. Would not be so much worried about the rca adaptors as the ty mixer you are using. This way , you don't have to change cables. You just chose the routing you want for what you are doing.
also, rca is unbalanced so no point using a trs to rca. Stay unbalanced if the device is meant for unbalanced connections. |
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| trancintaiwan |
| quote: | Originally posted by Looney4Clooney
soundcard to mixer back to soundcard. Would not be so much worried about the rca adaptors as the ty mixer you are using. This way , you don't have to change cables. You just chose the routing you want for what you are doing. |
You didn't really answer my question. All I'm asking is whether I should go straight to my reference monitors or not. And if the sound will be affected if it runs through my mixer. Thanks though. |
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| XDR |
I think a lot of it depends on the quality of your mixer.
I happen to also have a MOTU Ultralite and when using it with my new laptop I have a problem trying to get iTunes to use it's digital outputs. I decided to run a cable from my main outputs to a pair of the inputs so I could use Cuemix to then route that input signal to the digital outs.
The cable I'm using is a TRS to RCA cable with a RCA to TRS converter at the end (I've run out of TRS to TRS cables).
When comparing the sound of this re-routed signal with sound going directly to the digital outs I actually don't find the difference to be very noticeable (and this example even has the extra DA and AD conversion).
So while sound obviously will be clearly with a shorter signal path the difference could be very small depending on the quality of your mixer/cables.
If you do want to use your Ultralite and monitors without the mixer I would get a volume control to go in between (unless your monitors have a volume control of their own). The volume knob on the Ultralite is pretty tiny and uncomfortable to use plus I've had it malfunction several times for my headphone out, where the volume suddenly jumped back up to 0dB when I turned it all the way down (my ears don't feel safe using it anymore and I won't trust my monitors with it). |
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| trancintaiwan |
I have an Ecler Nuo-5, so I'm thinking my mixer's sound quality is probably pretty average compared to a studio mixer. I'll probably just keep my DJ setup separate from my production setup.
My monitors do have a volume control and I'll watch out for the faulty headphone knob :). I appreciate the advice XDR |
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| shpanda |
| quote: | [i][b]So my question is, would the sound clarity be noticeably degraded if I use a TRS to RCA cable running into the mixer and out the monitors or should I simply have a separate pair of TRS cables to connect directly to my monitors when I'm producing?
Any input would be great. I appreciate it! |
If you need to ask this... couple of years more work and you might get 2 replies for your brand new 42 sec long crappy try
Edit: looneys replays |
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| Looney4Clooney |
| quote: | Originally posted by trancintaiwan
You didn't really answer my question. All I'm asking is whether I should go straight to my reference monitors or not. And if the sound will be affected if it runs through my mixer. Thanks though. |
i thought it was pretty clear.
You can include your mixer in the chain and have your main outs of the unit to your speakers.
i'm pretty sure motu's routing can handle that.
out : 1/2 main
out : 3/4 mixer
5/6 mixer
in 3/4 (motu) from mixer. |
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| trancintaiwan |
Yea, I know how to route the signal. My question was more about sound quality. I guess it was an obvious answer, but I haven't produced in a while so I'm feeling like a complete noob again.
SHPanda: i'm not quite following what you're getting at, but if you're just gonna be sarcastic, why bother replying? |
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| shpanda |
| quote: | Originally posted by trancintaiwan
Yea, I know how to route the signal. My question was more about sound quality. I guess it was an obvious answer, but I haven't produced in a while so I'm feeling like a complete noob again.
SHPanda: i'm not quite following what you're getting at, but if you're just gonna be sarcastic, why bother replying? |
Sorry just tried to be sarcastic.. but if you already knew the answer so why bother to ask? |
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| trancintaiwan |
| quote: | Originally posted by shpanda
Sorry just tried to be sarcastic.. but if you already knew the answer so why bother to ask? |
To be honest, its cause I wasn't 100% sure. My old co-producer always ran his signal through his DJ mixer and said it was ok. Eventually we purchased a Mackie so the mixer quality was a non-issue. Now I'm in the process of rebuilding my home studio so I wanted to hear some other people's opinions on whether a DJ mixer might affect the audio going through it. Based on XDR & Looney's response it confirmed my suspicions.
As I mentioned, it's been a while (4-5 years) since I've touched music, so I'm just trying to be careful while re-familiarizing myself with the whole process.
edit: i always enjoyed your productions by the way. hope to hear more from you soon. |
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| itsamemario |
| quote: | Originally posted by trancintaiwan
All I'm asking is whether I should go straight to my reference monitors or not. And if the sound will be affected if it runs through my mixer. Thanks though. |
That's what I do. And yes it will.
Edit: And I don't think your dj mixers sound quality would compare well to a standard studio mixer. |
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