Volume knob on active monitors vs. Gain on interface

Discussion in 'Soundgear' started by Cav Emp, Aug 14, 2015.

  1. Cav Emp

    Cav Emp Audiosexual

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    Basically my question is: does cranking the gain/volume knob on active monitors affect the sound at all? I mean the whole premise the preamp market is that amplification is normally imperfect and affects tone, transient response, etc. right?

    So if I leave my monitors' built-in volume knob at, say, 8 or 9, could that potentially produce less transparency than keeping the speakers low and always having to crank the interface gain?

    I'm probably just splitting hairs here and it doesn't make a difference.
     
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  3. nadirtozenith

    nadirtozenith Rock Star

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    Best Answer
    hello, Caveat Emptor,

    it is not one rule to follow, but hardware components have their most optimal setting, usually somewhere between the two third, the three quarter, of the possible maximum.

    set the master level in your host program to the default zero point, experiment with the speaker input at this setting, use the output knob on your audio interface to define the level driving your speakers.

    if this setting is very far from the optimal described above, try to balance the two, but with the weighting on the speaker input optimum, if, for example, your setting requires ninety degrees of correction, use thirty on the speaker, sixty on the audio interface.

    the target is to have one setting with your usual auditing level at the optimum setting of the speaker input, then you have more control possibility on your audio interface output, in case something goes agley.

    matching these requires some time, but worth to do.

    if it is not enough clear, will try to explain better, or with the example done here.

    all the best for all of us, plus pray do include perfect matching between our audio components... :bow:
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2015
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  4. jaymo99

    jaymo99 Platinum Record

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    I found this video pretty helpful

     
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  5. fraifikmushi

    fraifikmushi Guest

    Imho it's more important to level your mixer/interface properly because if you keep your mixer low and turn the speakers up you will raise the noise floor considerably in volume.
    Plus, if I cranked up the volume on the speakers to two thirds, the bearable levels in my studio would be within the monitor fader range from 0-1 instead of 0-10.
     
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  6. Cav Emp

    Cav Emp Audiosexual

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    @nadirtozenith this is just the kind of answer I was hoping for. Thank you! I often see you rating others' posts, but rarely see you post yourself. It's great to hear from you.

    @jaymo99 it may be my wonky work computer, but I don't see a video there. I'll have to check it out when I get home; thanks for your reply

    @fraifikmushi agreed about the noise floor. That was a big part of my reason for posting this - constant white/pink noise from the speakers. It's very very low but clearly audible if you're sitting right in front of them and listening for it.
     
  7. nadirtozenith

    nadirtozenith Rock Star

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    hello, Caveat Emptor,
    thank you for your kind words. :hug:

    quite possibly this is just because my reading speed is way above my dabbling typing ability. :replace_me:

    if the noise floor coming from your speakers is something to stumble into, of course you need to lower the input gain on them, thus concentrating your control range even more on your audio interface. :yes:

    experiment with everything, you will find the most appropriate balance. :yes:

    from all that there is, wish you the best... :bow:
     
  8. Baxter

    Baxter Audiosexual

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    You want your amp to work at its optimum amplification/gain, yet have optimum signal out from your audio interface. Sometimes a balance (or compensation) is needed to get good results, as nadirtozenith have already stated.
    Basically you want good strong hot coffee (not weak and luke-warm), and then drink average amounts of it (not drinking too much).

    If you are talking about the differences in frequency curve at different loudness ("Everything sounds good loud" saying), the Fletcher-Munson curve will explain alot (about human hearing at different dBSPL).

    [​IMG]

    Also, use good balanced cables (if you aren't already, that is).
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2015
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  9. Cav Emp

    Cav Emp Audiosexual

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    Hey @Baxter ! Nice to see you around these parts. Your remark about balanced cables just raised another question that has nagged at me for some time. While I do have some fairly fancy (by my standards, anyway) balanced cables connecting my monitors to my interface, my mic setup I've always been unsure about. Of course from mic to preamp is balanced. Then from preamp to interface is unbalanced, as I hope to bypass my interface's preamp and just use it for conversion. Am I doing it right?

    Interesting side note: I just realized how closely the Fletcher-Munson curve resembles the frequency response of my Shure SM7B
    [​IMG]

    I wonder if that has anything to do with why it is so widely regarded as a good-sounding mic.
     
  10. MNDSTRM

    MNDSTRM Platinum Record

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    Check your interface's manual, the general convention with combo xlr/trs jacks is xlr goes through preamp, trs bypasses it.
     
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  11. rhythmatist

    rhythmatist Audiosexual

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    For live audio, proper gain staging at each step will help you avoid feedback. Feedback is not caused by volume, but by gain. Same is true for speaker damage. Too much power won't kill your speaker, square waves created by clipping with too little power will. Love my dbx DriveRack. For powered monitors or power amps driving passive speakers, I run the amps as high as they will go with no hiss or hum, which is wide open on a good power amp.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2015
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