12 Oct
2004
12 Oct
'04
6:01 p.m.
Hi Erik,
Usually audio equipment is setup to output/receive at two possible
levels -10dBu or +4dBV, Semi-pro equipment and home equipment usually
work at -10, which comes up as very low when the receiver is setup for
+4. But I would guess the soundblaster card is setup to work at -10 as
well (I'd be surprised if it isn't).
Maybe there's some software fader somewhere else in the chain?
Maybe you need to turn the volume of the amp/tuner all the way up?
You shouldn't need a preamp, because the amp/tuner thingy should do that
job.
Connecting to the speaker output wouldn't be good since speakers expect
a very high signal, so I would think it wouldn't work...
Andres
Erik Steffl wrote:
I am trying to record from a receiver (not sure if
that's the right
name, it's the amp/tuner, the thingy that all other components like CD
player, tape deck, video etc. connect to) and it seems like the levels
are too low (the soundcard is soundblaster live platinum, using alsa
drivers that come with kernel 2.6.5).
the receiver has two stereo audio outputs - one is marked as tape deck
recording and the other one as VCR output but both seem to be about the
same (and there doesn't seem to be a way to change them). I connect them
to the RCA connectors on the front panel (live drive) but even if I set
the mixer to 100% (on line in) the levels are too low. On vu-meter the
levels only go to about 25-30% (max) while the 'normal' audio is
somewhere between 50-75%.
I believe both the receiver and soundcard work OK (I can record from
receiver to tape deck, I can record to soundcard from other sources) so
I guess there's mismatch between the signal from receiver and what
soundcard expects. Is there anything I can do? do I need some pre-amp or
something? Seems crazy but does it make any sense to try to record from
speaker outputs? Is there any way to change what soundblaster expects on
input?
TIA
erik