The final component of the latest AV refresh arrived today and racked up... An 8ch KJF NC252 amp to go with the 6ch NC502 Cables, cables and more cables...
Terminating 16 XLR cables, AKA 32 XLR connectors, AKA 96 wires was a test of my sanity But the printable heat-shrink was a boon for my sanity, so comes out in the wash.
I'd like to get the speaker cables out of the way ideally, as it would be easier to access everything else if they were. I'm thinking a few cable hooks on the back wall would do so, and then zipping them to the cable tray at the side. The network cables are a bit messy as well, as in moving some things around I've unbundled them all, and there's still a few more changes to come so they'll stay unbundled. But those are more finishing touches... things like a floor are probably more important right now.
I'm looking to buy a pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors for my son for his music production setup. They're active speakers with XLR and TRS phone jack inputs to accept balanced or unbalanced signals. His Pioneer DDJ100 decks have Phono out, XLR out and 1/4" (6.3mm) balanced/unbalanced out. Any reason to use anything other than XLR?? TRS to XLR looks to be a popular choice... This is out of my comfort zone
If XLR to XLR is an option then use that, TRS is normally used to save money when building devices as you don't need to pay for XMP & 6.35mm ports on a unit
XLR and TRS are functionally the same, just a different connector. Use one of these over the phono connector - which one you choose is neither here nor there - I'm using TRS->XLR on my desktop speakers because those are what's there, if given the choice I'd use XLR->XLR though because there's something very satisfying about the click of an XLR connector being inserted.
Thanks @Mister_Tad, that makes perfect sense. I knew that phono was the poor relative here. I'll check what length he needs and order up a set with the speakers. Ahh yes, the 'click' a small bit of joy! The radio station at Uni had XLR on mixer desks and a box full of cables to sort out on an outside broadcast. The one and only setup I had with XLR was my Linn LK1 pre and LK2 Power combo which was a beast. I moved it on fairly quickly for a newer Linn biamped combo.
This is probably well beneath this thread, but you lot know your onions... I'm looking to convert some vinyl to digital - in particular some stuff I've got which was only ever available on vinyl. Don't get me wrong, I love playing the records - but it ain't very convenient. I had a go with using what I've got, which worked - but I reckon I could both make my life easier and improve the quality doing it a different way. At the moment, since the death of my old Hi-Fi stack, the only record player I've got is an ancient Aiwa PX-E850. The turntable wobbles and there's no pre-amp, as far as I'm aware. To use it, owing again to the death of the Hi-Fi stack, I've got it connected to an old Targa DVR which acts as an amp... and then connects to a Panasonic Quintrix *TV* to act as a speaker. It works. To record, I threw a 3.5mm cable betwix the TV's headphone output(!) and the line-in on a Handy H2 I bought years ago for interviews. Set the thing to maximum quality WAV, hit record, hit play, let 'em do their thing, then threw the files into Audacity for processing (hum removal, track splitting and labelling) and export as MP3. It worked, but I don't think a 40-year-old stylus is doing me - or my records - any favours, and it's a bit of a faff. As an alternative, there's this Audio Technica LP60X-USB. As the name implies, it's got a USB output which I'm hoping would show up in Linux as a sound device. Open Audacity, and I can record straight no messing. The thing also acts as an actual record player, too, so I could retire the old Aiwa. It is, however, £145, which is a lot of money to pay for a bit of convenience. The audio quality through my ridiculous deck-DVR-TV-recorder chain isn't that bad, and would probably get better with a nice cheap new stylus - aside from that annoying left-biased background hum, but Audacity can take care of that in post. Thoughts?
I'd be tempted to try using a Behringer U-phono UFO202 instead as a first go. Should reduce the hum etc, then it's just a stylus change & maybe a new belt. I'm pretty sure they work well with Linux as I've seen them used on DIY Pi Sonos input streamers. If it's a bit naff then you're only £20 down
Having actually bothered to find a manual scan... it turns out it *has* a pre-amp. If you take the rubber mat off the turntable and rotate it a bit so there's a hole at the back, it reveals an ON/OFF switch for it. So, in theory, all I need to do is make sure that's switched on and pick up a 3.5mm-to-dual-RCA cable - then it'll plug straight into my Handy, bypassing the DVR and the TV which are probably responsible for the hum. That and a new stylus, and I should be golden. Well, that's saved me about £125! EDIT: I've also solved - "solved" - the wobble by giving the turntable a pretty hefty push down. Probably not perfectly flat still, but it's better. Good enough!
That's real, proper, old skool hi-fi where a nudge and a knock, the occasional bash, gets it working right again. And yes, if it's got a phono stage, it takes a lot of the bother out - without one, much daisy chaining ensues, actually does your DVR even have a phono stage in it ?
It's entirely possible it does not, and what I thought was the DVR doing the amplification was the turntable - having checked the pre-amp switch myself, it's already turned on!
I'd double check the only available on vinyl stuff isn't available somewhere digitally already. Youtube has a lot of very obscure stuff that isn't on streaming services.
Audio quality from YouTube's terrible, though - I've a cloth ear, and even I can tell. Plus, I'm talking super-obscure stuff like a Mario Bros. LP, or the Bitmap Brothers Odyssey - which only exists in vinyl form for Weird Legal Reasons. In-game music on one side, and the studio versions on t'other. It's pretty neat! EDIT: No, Odyssey is just in-game music, I forgot: it's Sensible Software's EP that's got the studio versions on the flip side.
Just listen to mainstream tripe through Beats headphones, you won't need to worry about quality... BTW, I would hate that too!