Hi guys,

Yesterday I finally got my Fireface 800 and as suspected it sounds awesome compared to my old Echo Mia.

But to the point- I would like to connect the output of my GR NV to the Fireface input, but I would like to do it via XLR plugs to stay balanced. Now the XLR plugs on the Fireface come with RME Amps and I am not shure if I can ommit them totally just by turning the gain pot all the way to the left. Can I ? Or maybe I should connect it via standard TRS (only the one coming out from GR is unbalanced). Or maybe some kind of a adapter- XLR to TRS? Can anybody clear this up for me please. Especially that I feel like an idiot having bought such an expensive equipment and not even knowing what balanced and unbalanced is... heh

Cheers

Marty

p.S Oh- and one more thing - there are three different reference outputs of Fireface- +4, -10 and Lo gain- I am absolutely confused with it. Could You explain to my what the difference is? RME manuall is not too clear on this subject...

Looks like you're gonna go in the line inputs on the back of the Fireface. That way you're gonna bypass the mic preamps. You can select -10 or +4 on the unit.

The GRNV will give you either. The -10 output from the NV (according to the manual)

"...is derived ahead of the output transformer, so it has a bit less of the 'iron' characteristic. You might try this output if you are going for a very clean signal. This output won't put out enough to drive a +4 dBu input to full level, though, so it won't always be useable."

The line inputs on the back of the Fireface are TRS, meaning that they're balanced inputs. In my experience, without 100 feet of cable, it won't matter whether or not you use a balanced input or not. Some may disagree on this. Personally, I'd prefer the post-tranny output from the GR, but the cool thing is that the Fireface will accept either output fromt the preamp.

What you're gonna need is an XLR -> TRS cable. If you're halfway decent at soldering, you can whip one up in five minutes.

Sounds like fun!

Edit: The GR NV manual also says that the 'loading' button on the front panel will activate a termination resistor. Anyone know what the value of this is?

604 ohms

600 ohms?

I bet you have an early copy of the manual.. it's updated on the website with a brief description of what to expect with loading in and out.

http://www.greatriverelectronics.com...GuideWeb04.pdf

Edit: Well, 604 it is.

Thanks fore help- so as I understand - I should go from GR NV XLR Out to Fireface TRS line on the back of the unit? This way I wont loose any quality or anything right ? As for soldering I am completely ******** in this matter . You think they sell those regularly?

Peace

Marty

Yeah, they are commonly available off the shelf at places like GC.

They should be Pin 2 Hot, which means XLR pin 2 is wired to the tip of the TRS connector, and pin 3 is connected to the ring.

Some places sell Pin 3 Hot types, which will also work, but the polarity is inverted.

For absolute polarity, stick with Pin 2 Hot.

Hey Dan,
I am currently running my ME-1NV through a Rosetta 200 into my Mbox, but I was wondering if going line in to my Mbox (or any other interface for that matter) will result in a 'colored' sound. I haven't tried it with the GR, but I do recall my LA-610 sounding much worse through the Mbox than through the Rosetta...is this simply due to the quality of the clocking/converters?

-Chris

I honestly don't know. I'm a total Luddite when it comes to all those different
A-D's.



Maybe some wiring issues?

I don't know that I'd expect night and day differences.

Maybe the converters in the Mbox are different, but I used the converters in my 002 for a while then got a Rosetta 800 and it was, if not night and day, at least night and late afternoon.

More noticeable now that I have better monitors. But even in my car, mixes sound quite a bit better.