Controling recording level with Audiophile 2496
Leonid Makarovsky
to use SoundForge to record from vinyl. Connected RCA of my receiver to the
input of Audiophile 2496. Started to record, but the volume on vinyl was
a little high. SoundForge meters showed me 0.0dB and then the sound was
clipped when it went beyond it. I tried to use Delta control panel to reduce
the volume of input (H/W in 1/2) only to find out that it only affects the
output (H/W out 1/2) and it doesn't affect the actual recording level.
Neither did I find the controls for recording level in SoundForge or Goldwave.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
--Leonid
Ben Bradley
>Does anyone know how to control recording level with Audiophile 2496? I tried
>to use SoundForge to record from vinyl. Connected RCA of my receiver to the
>input of Audiophile 2496. Started to record, but the volume on vinyl was
>a little high. SoundForge meters showed me 0.0dB and then the sound was
>clipped when it went beyond it. I tried to use Delta control panel to reduce
>the volume of input (H/W in 1/2) only to find out that it only affects the
>output (H/W out 1/2) and it doesn't affect the actual recording level.
That's true, you can 'mix' the inputs into the output (you can go
to the patchbay and choose Monitor Mixer for out 1/2, that's what I
do), but the actual level into the A/D is fixed...
>Neither did I find the controls for recording level in SoundForge or Goldwave.
>
>Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
There is a three-way level "switch" in the Hardware panel that goes
between -10dBV, "consumer" [some in-between level], and +4dBu. If it's
at -10 or "con", go to the next higher level. If it still clips at the
+4 setting, you need to put an attentuator (a simple two-resistor
thing will do) between your receiver and the 2496.
>--Leonid
>
Leonid Makarovsky
: There is a three-way level "switch" in the Hardware panel that goes
: between -10dBV, "consumer" [some in-between level], and +4dBu. If it's
: at -10 or "con", go to the next higher level. If it still clips at the
: +4 setting, you need to put an attentuator (a simple two-resistor
What OS? I'm on Win98SE and I'm using the latest drivers. However, there's only
consumer and -10db and they are only for outputs.
--Leonid
Ben Bradley
Maybe that's only for my Delta 66 card (that I've used on 98SE and
[don't tell...] WinME). I've also got a 2496, but haven't used it
lately, and don't remember what features are different. Probably an
attentuator is the only way to go.
>--Leonid
Mike Rivers
> Does anyone know how to control recording level with Audiophile 2496?
You probalby have to use the Windows volume control panel. Open the
Control Panel, select Sounds and Audio Devices, click the Audio tab,
then click the Volume button under Sound Recording.
--
I'm really Mike Rivers - (mri...@d-and-d.com)
Leonid Makarovsky
: attentuator is the only way to go.
Ok, I have this toy:
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/sony_a1es_review.htm
I can use it as attentuator. It has monitoring capability. Changing Rec Level
affects the output volume level. The question is:
do I need to make sure the the recording level does NOT exceed 0.0db on
this cassette deck? Or can I go up to +2? If it doesn't exceed 0.0db, then
the recording level on SoundForge will be about -4db which is really low.
If I go +2 on tape deck, then the SoundForge will be about -2db.
Thanks.
--Leonid
Leonid Makarovsky
: You probalby have to use the Windows volume control panel. Open the
: Control Panel, select Sounds and Audio Devices, click the Audio tab,
: then click the Volume button under Sound Recording.
It's not so simple. Delta cards have their own monitor mixers which are
different from the standard Windows mixer (volume control panel).
--Leonid
Laurence Payne
Send it less signal. Not sure if there's a -10dB/+4DB switch on that
card. I suspect not. There is on the bigger M-Audio cards, it's a
physical switch on the rack box.
Lacking that, there's nothing between the input socket and the a/d
convertor. You need to adjust your source level externally. I'm
afraid a direct connection from hi-fi gear often causes trouble.
Arny Krueger
news:b8erh0$mt8$1...@news3.bu.edu
Right. The AP 2496 lacks support for professional +4 levels. That's one
reason why I recommend the Echo Mia for audio production work, instead.
Arny Krueger
Right, and this is true of most competitive audio production cards as well.
Even if there are input level controls, they are implemented digitally, and
won't address analog-domain clipping. If a pro card has settings for +4
and -10, whether hardware or software, they are typically analog domain and
will help head off clipping at the input. However, as you correctly observe,
the AP 2496 lacks a +4 setting. The remaining solution is attenuation in the
analog domain, whether via an output level control on the device being
recorded, or a separate attenuator.
Mike Rivers
> It's not so simple. Delta cards have their own monitor mixers which are
> different from the standard Windows mixer (volume control panel).
Maybe I got lost here. I thought he was trying to control the record
volume, not the monitor level of what he was recording.
Leonid Makarovsky
Thanks to all who responded. Anyway, still another question (which was
probably previously overlooked):
I have this toy:
http://emedia.leeward.hawaii.edu/frary/sony_a1es_review.htm
I can use it as attentuator. It has monitoring capability such as it
accepts RCA in and has RCA out. But RCA out is not pass-through. It's
controlled by Rec Level. Changing Rec Level affects the output volume level.
The question is:
do I need to make sure the the recording level does NOT exceed 0.0db on
*this cassette deck*? Or can I go up to +2? If it doesn't exceed 0.0db, then
the recording level on SoundForge will be about -4db which is really low.
If I go +2 on tape deck, then the SoundForge will be about -2db. Will going
beyond 0.0db on the *cassette deck* result in distorted output?
Thanks.
--Leonid
Ben Bradley
Yes, that should work just fine. The metering on the cassette deck
is set differently, and it points out one of the differences between
analog and digital. In analog, 0dB or "0VU" is an approximate, "don't
go too far past this or you'll get distortion" mark. It is even set
differently on different recorders. On digital equipment the 0dBFS
mark is "don't dare hit this or you WILL get distortion." Any cassette
deck should be able to pass through a signal that moves its meters up
to +3 without distorting, and probably even more. So you don't have to
worry about the cassette recorder's metering says.
For the cleanest signal through the deck, set the cassette deck's
monitoring to input (this is the only way a signal will go through if
you're not also recording to a cassette).
As far as the actual level to the soundcard, peaks at -4dBFS aren't
that bad, even if you're going to burn this directly to CDR. I
generally record LP's at a low level to be sure peaks won't clip
(though a very large pop might, but I'll clean that up anyway), and
then after processing/declicking I 'normalize' [gain change only, no
compression/limiting, as some tend to interpret 'normalize'], then
make a CDR.
But you can do whatever sounds good to you...
>Thanks.
>
>--Leonid
Leonid Makarovsky
: Yes, that should work just fine. The metering on the cassette deck
: is set differently, and it points out one of the differences between
: analog and digital. In analog, 0dB or "0VU" is an approximate, "don't
: go too far past this or you'll get distortion" mark. It is even set
Actually on my cassette deck it's +6 delimiter that indicates that I shouldn't
go beyond this point. Frankly this +6db corresponds to 0db on Audiophile
2496.
: As far as the actual level to the soundcard, peaks at -4dBFS aren't
: that bad, even if you're going to burn this directly to CDR. I
: generally record LP's at a low level to be sure peaks won't clip
: (though a very large pop might, but I'll clean that up anyway), and
: then after processing/declicking I 'normalize' [gain change only, no
: compression/limiting, as some tend to interpret 'normalize'], then
: make a CDR.
: But you can do whatever sounds good to you...
I made so that the peak level was -.07dB on Audiophile. I recorded in 24 bits.
BTW, if I normalize this recorded WAV file to 0db, will it introduce some sort
of distortions?
Thanks, Ben.
--Leonid
Scott Dorsey
>Ben Bradley <ben_nospa...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>: Yes, that should work just fine. The metering on the cassette deck
>: is set differently, and it points out one of the differences between
>: analog and digital. In analog, 0dB or "0VU" is an approximate, "don't
>: go too far past this or you'll get distortion" mark. It is even set
>
>Actually on my cassette deck it's +6 delimiter that indicates that I shouldn't
>go beyond this point. Frankly this +6db corresponds to 0db on Audiophile
>2496.
No, it doesn't. The meter on the workstation shows you peak signals. The
meter on the cassette deck shows you average levels. You can't compare the
two because they are measuring different things.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."