Whats a basic Audio Interface to use Studio Monitors as daily speakers?

[ragnarok95]

CD players has XLR as well. But it doesn't really matter whether you use RCA or XLR for most of the time. Cable matters also. So is power source. PC power source sucks big time. Lots of jitter and fluctuations.

lol..you are telling him that cable matters... power source matters...


see la wwenze...you should be more active here.

 

[wacko]

now I know to ignore whose opinion and commentary on audio stuff.

 

[enenyi]

Lol.....But its true. Speaker cables, interconnect cables, power cables all matters alot. Even your mains also matter thats why some pple get an AC filter to clean up the mains before feeding it into your equipment. Doesn't matter for PC but matters alot for audio equipment.

Even room acoustics matters also, there is reflection of sound waves that disrupt your imaging etc.

I used to play audio one but more into budget brands like Marantz, AE, Wharfedale, etc..... highest end is only Dynaudio. No money for Krell...

But previously u just said:

Seriously, I don't think it matters. Cause PC doesn't produce high quality audio.

I am into hifi (modest hobbyist) and I never look into PC for high quality audio. You can hook your amp to your PC and compare it to a dedicate CD player and the difference is huge.

So PC means cannot produce high quality audio?

So how do recording companies produce your CD tracks that you are so familiar with? They mix in front of your high-end hi-fi CD player set, so that it will only sound nice on your specifically-tuned audio equipment, and sound crappy on all other devices including PCs?

 

[wwenze]

lol..you are telling him that cable matters... power source matters...


see la wwenze...you should be more active here.

I retire already, let the new subject matter experts handle. Now I just sit back and watch people contradict themselves within the same paragraph.

 

[t258jgn]

Dear TS,

Just use 3.5mm to RCA cable for your Eris e4.5 speakers.

Not worth using TRS or XLR cables if you connect straight to your PC soundcard or onboard soundcard.
Won't hear difference


Unless you using this

 

[cajun22]

I was originally using a Audioengine 5 which spoiled after 6 years so happen to drop by Sinamex. Ended up getting the Presonus E5 and Focusrite 6i6. Using Canare TRS-XLR cables


I like the fact that the speakers are individually powered with balanced inputs. I also chose the 6i6 due to dual headphone output( individually driven) as well.

https://youtu.be/RveaBygu7fk

As I understand kevlar drivers need to run in for a bit so will be sharing more opinions after the run in period.

But initial impressions are excellent.Clean , clear and crisp comes to mind if I were to describe the sound. Bass is good as well and not muddied.

 

[jedi5diah]

congrats cajun22

please get isolation pads for ur awesome speakers

t258jgn trolling us entry lv yet again lol...

 

[enenyi]

I was originally using a Audioengine 5 which spoiled after 6 years so happen to drop by Sinamex. Ended up getting the Presonus E5 and Focusrite 6i6. Using Canare TRS-XLR cables


I like the fact that the speakers are individually powered with balanced inputs. I also chose the 6i6 due to dual headphone output( individually driven) as well.

https://youtu.be/RveaBygu7fk

As I understand kevlar drivers need to run in for a bit so will be sharing more opinions after the run in period.

But initial impressions are excellent.Clean , clear and crisp comes to mind if I were to describe the sound. Bass is good as well and not muddied.

Fellow Presonus E5 user spotted!

By the way, with your Canare XLR-to-TRS cables, do you get any hissing/crackling sounds? Coz my Presonus E5 seems super sensitive to EMI interference, even with my RCA-to-TRS cables from my U7 to speakers, it can still pick up GPU coil whine and EMI noise caused by my wireless mouse, just that using better shielded cables the crackling sounds are more stifled.

 

[mini_cow]

are there no fellow X7 users here? haha

 

[wwenze]

So is the E5 an upgrade or downgrade from A5?

Fellow Presonus E5 user spotted!

By the way, with your Canare XLR-to-TRS cables, do you get any hissing/crackling sounds? Coz my Presonus E5 seems super sensitive to EMI interference, even with my RCA-to-TRS cables from my U7 to speakers, it can still pick up GPU coil whine and EMI noise caused by my wireless mouse, just that using better shielded cables the crackling sounds are more stifled.

Just. Get. An. SPDIF. DAC. Already. I even have one lying around to lend if you need.

The noise isn't airbone interference and the RCA-TRS cable won't help.

 

[enenyi]

Just. Get. An. SPDIF. DAC. Already. I even have one lying around to lend if you need.

The noise isn't airbone interference and the RCA-TRS cable won't help.

Erm, u mean get a DAC or use SPDIF connection?

My Asus U7 is capable of USB in or SPDIF in. Currently using a USB2.0 A-to-B cable (with iron ferrite chokes on both sides) to connect from PC to the U7. Changing USB cables didn't solve the noise, that's y I'm blaming on the speaker cables. Even brought down the speakers back to Sinamex last year, a month after I purchased them, technician say speakers no problem, must be the speaker cables (I was using 3.5mm-to-dual RCA back then). So I shld try to use SPDIF connnection from PC to soundcard, then retain the RCA-to-TRS cables from soundcard to speakers?

 

[cajun22]

jedi5diah- it actually comes with basic pads for the base so I will use that for the time being

enenyi- I do not get any hissing or crackling sound, even tough my signal cables and power cables are all messy behind the speakers. I believe there is a difference between the XLR and the RCA. I read that apart from able to run longer distance, it is also less susceptible to RF or EMI interference.

wwenze- I don't think the E5 can be compared to the Audioengine 5 as they are different price point and targeted at different target audience.( $385 vs $620)( recording /monitoring folks vs AV consumers) But as far as I am concerned, it sounds better so far ( in part due to the Focusrite as I was previouly using a 8 year old Nuforce DAC.)

 

[wwenze]

Erm, u mean get a DAC or use SPDIF connection?

My Asus U7 is capable of USB in or SPDIF in. Currently using a USB2.0 A-to-B cable (with iron ferrite chokes on both sides) to connect from PC to the U7. Changing USB cables didn't solve the noise, that's y I'm blaming on the speaker cables. Even brought down the speakers back to Sinamex last year, a month after I purchased them, technician say speakers no problem, must be the speaker cables (I was using 3.5mm-to-dual RCA back then). So I shld try to use SPDIF connnection from PC to soundcard, then retain the RCA-to-TRS cables from soundcard to speakers?

Use SPDIF connection, stay electrically isolated from the computer.

I don't think U7 has SPDIF in. And even if it has, you would still need the U7 to be connected to the computer for power and software settings. That's why a so-called DAC which can work on its own is needed in this case.

 

[enenyi]

Use SPDIF connection, stay electrically isolated from the computer.

I don't think U7 has SPDIF in. And even if it has, you would still need the U7 to be connected to the computer for power and software settings. That's why a so-called DAC which can work on its own is needed in this case.

Okay got it.

Seriously, u just poisoned me to start looking at DACs and audio interfaces with SPDIF...i was satisfied with my U7...until now...

 

[mypillowtalks]

I believe one of the reasons the sales person asked you to buy an interface could be due to its output signal level .

As usually professional audio equipment takes in input signal level that is slightly higher than home equipments, the audio interface now acts like a "preamp" to bring your current soundcard's output signal level to a level acceptable by the monitors.

Also, i think for some amplifiers or monitors there is an option to choose thr input level, usually is +4dB or -10db

Furthermore, the 3.5mm out from our computer is unbalanced. Unbalanced signal has two components: signal and ground. Balanced has 3 components: signal, inverted signal w waveform 180degree out of phase, and shield.
Thus, the interface also helped to convert the signal into balanced for retransmission to other sub modules in ur audio system chain

At the receiving end(such as amplifier), the balanced signal (sent by xlr , trs etc) is reconstructed by inverting the inverted signal so that it becomes in phase w the original signal , and both of them are then summed together. Thus, the desired signal is now of higher amplitude than the noise signal.

The shield of balanced cable helps to absorb stray signals such as those created by electromagnetic radiation, when current pass thru a wire, a magnetic field is induced , and neighboring wires will the induced field. So in this case the shield of the balanced cable will pick it up and lessen the probability of the noise contaminating the signal

Another method will be to get 3.5mm to rca or to xlr, it will be fine if the distance isnt too long.

In my opinion, 3.5mm to xlr is still not a proper balanced cable as the shield is shorted to ground during the soldering process. Recall that signal in a balanced cable has 3 components: original, inverted original, shield. But the converted cables doesn't invert the signal.



Sent from Tefal Delice OF-2731 Smart-WiFi Convection Oven using GAGT

 

[sglords]

@cajun222
Same size speaker can do comparison but price point may be in different league.

@enenyi
U try don't share the same usb row on your mb that Dac is using

 

[Blimeyomega]

Ok.. so in short (correct me if I'm wrong), for (better) sound quality, an interface or DAC would def be better than my PCI soundcard. In terms of output, TRS over RCA would be preferred? Do these various interface or DAC have their own sound signature or difference as well?

To comment on whether I could tell the diff between "good" and "perfect/even better" sound for the sake of arguing if I need an interface/DAC, tbh i cant say that I can distinctively point out the difference without paying much attention. Perhaps this is because I have never extensively listened to a professional set up before and might change when I do.

However, it does drive me nuts when I cant hear some of the underlying instruments or softer layers. I think for now (may change if i get poisoned ><), my ears are satisfied with clarity. I attend alot of music gigs in my free time and tend to find the sound quite distorted and muffled even at big fests like laneway.

Am I headed in the wrong direction? Lol..

 

[cajun22]

excellent explanation mypillowtalk..

sglords, in that case, I believe the presonus sounds better than the audio engine in my particular setup for the songs I listen to..

The bass for Audioengine is louder but more muddy than the presonus. The mids for the presonus sounds cleaner as well, however need to feed higher bit rate mp3. I notice the lower bit rate ones sounds a bit wierd..

 

[jedi5diah]

Use SPDIF connection, stay electrically isolated from the computer.

I don't think U7 has SPDIF in. And even if it has, you would still need the U7 to be connected to the computer for power and software settings. That's why a so-called DAC which can work on its own is needed in this case.

i had same problem but this little bear saves the day!

cheapest alt.

other models are audioquest jitterbug or ifi purifier but i have not tested them.

 

[wwenze]

hifimediy.com/usb-isolator

USB isolator usually limited to 12mbps and has limited output current