cable question

[fastforward]

is there much signal lost by splitting the output of a highend pre???

I made a up a cable with 2 balanced jack leads (about a meter long) going into one XLR connector.
The XLR is connected to the output of a Focusrite ISA430 then one of the jacks goes into my convertor and the other into a small mixer so easily control volume, add reverb etc to the cans when recording.

Is this a good or bad idea?? Is there a better way to do this??

[dementedchord]

yeah its a bad idea... suggest you check into a transformer type splitter box

[Rick Sutton]

As long as all your gear is grounded to the same ground source you should have no problems with what you have done. This is no different than using the mults in a patchbay. If it sounds good, you're good to go.
There are situations where gear with a low input impedence makes this type of connection more problematic, but with 99% of modern gear it is not a problem.

[fastforward]

As long as all your gear is grounded to the same ground source you should have no problems with what you have done. This is no different than using the mults in a patchbay. If it sounds good, you're good to go.
There are situations where gear with a low input impedence makes this type of connection more problematic, but with 99% of modern gear it is not a problem.

Thanks for that Rick, I've tested the output with the spilt cable and a straight through, the waveforms were identical and I heard no difference. But I just wanted to be sure.

yeah its a bad idea... suggest you check into a transformer type splitter box

dementedchord, if i send the signal into a transformer based spilter box won't it colour the sound????? I'm sure really good ones will be transparent but is it worth spending big buck on soumething that will change the output even if it's very slight??

[Rick Sutton]

Originally Posted by fastforward

if i send the signal into a transformer based spilter box won't it colour the sound????? I'm sure really good ones will be transparent but is it worth spending big buck on soumething that will change the output even if it's very slight??

The transformer split is excellent for the situations where there is a ground potential between the items you are connecting (which usually shows as a hum or buzz). The transformer can have the ground connection "lifted" and still transmit audio. Any coloration in a good transformer is slight and is a small price to pay for hum/buzz elimination. When I'm on a remote recording I take transformer splitters with me in case I run into these types of problems. In the control room most splits can be done the way you are doing it.