Best unbalanced to balanced boxes

[Dirty Halo]

For example, getting my DBX 161 from unbalanced to balanced, what doyou guiys feel are the best products to integrate into my Pro Tools HD rig and/or put in-line as insert, keeping it as transparent as possible to keep the integrity of teh compressors at work?

ANy links and/or specific product names would be great!

-andrews

DITY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

[Farview]

Unless you are having problems with rf getting into your unbalanced connections, or you have a very long run, I would just leave it unbalanced.

[feyshay]

How 'bout a Radial JDI. Passive direct--transformers.

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by Farview

Unless you are having problems with rf getting into your unbalanced connections, or you have a very long run, I would just leave it unbalanced.

I fully agree. If your cable runs are fairly short and if your equipment is powered by the same phase and power line, just connect the unbalanced source into the balanced input and enjoy! Less active electronics in the chain.

BK

[xj32]

What Bob said, as always simple is better.

PV

[stellar]

Originally Posted by bob katz

I fully agree. If your cable runs are fairly short and if your equipment is powered by the same phase and power line, just connect the unbalanced source into the balanced input and enjoy! Less active electronics in the chain.

BK

ok. sure. I am also looking for a solution to this because the outputs of my unbalanced tape machine can't seem to drive nicer outboard gear like my chandler LTD-2 compressor. the threshold has to be set ridiculously low and then the output gain ridiculously high. its not exactly the best gain staging scenario so I end up not using it on mixdown (what a waste!!). a nice box to be able to balance the signal (and up it to +4) would be very nice.

[kurt]

There are some old 8 ch. Fostex & Tascam boxes. -10 to +4 & viceversa.

[Dirty Halo]

Originally Posted by stellar

ok. sure. I am also looking for a solution to this because the outputs of my unbalanced tape machine can't seem to drive nicer outboard gear like my chandler LTD-2 compressor. the threshold has to be set ridiculously low and then the output gain ridiculously high. its not exactly the best gain staging scenario so I end up not using it on mixdown (what a waste!!). a nice box to be able to balance the signal (and up it to +4) would be very nice.

yeah, it's not just an unbalanced to blanced connector, but the gain stage or lack-thereof.

For example, I'm trying to drive a few DBX 161 (which are, by all acoounts 160VU) and need to make that swithc with as much transparency as possible.

THEN, I also have this old Fiarchild Compunder (yes, it was connsumer, but has similair 670 guts) and it DOES need to be driven.

LASTLY, why did they make the Vulture Culture UNbalanced? Weird.

Anyone using that in their mostly blanced set-up?

Thanks...loads of questions here.

-Andrews

DIRTY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

[bob katz]

Originally Posted by stellar

ok. sure. I am also looking for a solution to this because the outputs of my unbalanced tape machine can't seem to drive nicer outboard gear like my chandler LTD-2 compressor. the threshold has to be set ridiculously low and then the output gain ridiculously high. its not exactly the best gain staging scenario so I end up not using it on mixdown (what a waste!!). a nice box to be able to balance the signal (and up it to +4) would be very nice.

Well, if the level is too low and the threshold can't be adequately set, then you will have to buy an unbalanced to balanced box. But ironically, the reason you'll want to buy it will be because it has an amplifier in it, not for the balancing per se.

A purist line amplifier from a company like Millennia Media or Benchmark would be the "best" you can buy, actually. A lot of the dedicated bal to unbal boxes are made on the cheap for radio stations, but some of them could be terrific, I'm just a bit more prejudiced towards the "high end" gear. Hey, that's what they call this forum :-).

That said, I have an old audio and designs balanced to unbalanced (bidirectional) stereo converter with RCAs and XLRs on it... haven't used it for years, but if it still works, you can make me an offer. British construction with 5532's. I wouldn't push it past about +20 dBu peak balanced for the best sound but it clips around +26 dBu.

There are gain trim pots for each direction IIRC but you apparently only need the booster stage.

BK

[Snatchman]

I've had luck with the" Ebtech Line-Level Converter/Shifter"..!.. ..Sound good to my hears.....
Oh yeah, and it's passive!

[stellar]

I'll let dirty halo get dibs. I'm still re-thinking my entire process anyway. I should have mentioned another problem is with preamp output going into the unbalanced recorder...I think I am operating below optimal output. I've been contemplating the ebtech box and also just upgrading my machine.

[theom]

I have had good luck with the aphex 124 and the
ati mm100, booth are stereo active-10unbal to +4 bal bi-directional. rca to xlr.
Booth have tons of headroom. the aphex has a swithable 600 ohm term bypass switch on the front panel.

You could buy some transformers and roll your own.
you could even leave it unbal and just get the proper tranny to do the level change.
Jensen has great email tech support and diagrams on theur site.

[mykla]

check these out:

www.gainesaudio.com

www.sigt.com/Synth_Driver_Main.shtml

[obostic]

These work great for what you want:


http://jensentransformers.com/iso_aud.html

[Sarusan]

I use the Aphex "bump-box" for many other applications but here I'd go with the Jensens that Ozzie suggested.

Steven

[hociman]

Henry Engineering makes a box, around $200, without gain pots but is quite effective. Rolls makes a box, around $64, that has gain pots and is smaller in size, but uses a wall-wart power supply. The Aphex is rackmountable, which can be good or bad depending on your existing rack situation.

[Bob Olhsson]

Check out: http://www.jensentransformers.com/dm2xx.html