VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[BB]

Hi everyone.
This seems a very friendly site.



Let me introduce myself. I'm a London based voice over professional with over thirty years experience. I have recorded countless commercials for UK local radio stations and over fifty radio dramas for the BBC. My work includes narrations, audio books, promos, dubbing, e-learning etc.

I have fairly recently set up my home recording studio and need a pair of studio monitors to complete it. My chain is a Rode NT1-A mike, Centrance microport into my 3 gig ram laptop.

I'm thinking of buying a pair of Tascam VLA4 monitors, but would like to know if I can connect an XLR lead from the monitors with an 1/8", or via a 1/4" adaptor at the other end, into the microport. Would this work do you think?

I'd be grateful for any advice as I've made several expensive mistakes so far and want to avoid another!

Thanks and best wishes to you all

[Bill Campbell]

You could go with something like this. Use the 1/8 headphone
jack on your laptop to RCA "In" on the monitor. You can buy that cable pre-made.

http://www.samash.com/p/Studiophile%20AV40%20Reference%20Active%20Studio%20Monitors%20Pair_-49991289

In your setup I'd look for monitors that have RCA (unbalanced) inputs.
They sound fine.
_________________
www.asapaudio.com

[bobsouer]

What Bill suggested should work for the 1/8" connector on the CEntrance MicPort Pro, too.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
Source Connect, phone patch, pony express

[Bish]

Hi BB, I'm new here as well. They seem like a friendly bunch

At first I wasn't sure of the need to amplify the signal from the MicPort until I realized that it's a bi-directional device that will also serve as a USB audio out. I'm not sure that it will be a good workflow though, because you may be swapping over from headphones to monitors constantly via the output socket on the device itself leading to wear and tear. For the most part, I'd leave the headphones on the MicPort and the monis on the laptop. Either way, the headphone output on the laptop and the MicPort are basically the same so any solution would work for both.

To get the output from my Mac to my M-Audio BX5a units, I use a simple 3.5mm stereo plug to dual RCA breakout (cablesunlimited.com part number AUD-3040) and then two RCA to 1/4" jack converters to go from there to the monitors. The VLA4s you are considering have the combined inputs (XLR and 1/4").

The 1/4" inputs on these monitors are usually wired to accept both balanced or unbalanced inputs, so there's no problem. Using the balanced XLR connectors on the monis would be fine if you were running the feeds directly off a mixing desk equipped with balanced outputs, but as you're using unbalanced sources over a short distance, I wouldn't even consider the XLR connections. There will be no performance difference when driving these from the MicPort or laptop, and you'll avoid the additional expense for the XLR converters etc.

Cheers
Peter
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

[Lance Blair]

These compact XLR to USB converters work great, and they're a handy solution when travelling, but to set up your full time studio, I would highly recommend using a mixer for your monitoring. Any cheap mixer (say a used Mackie or Yamaha) with at least one AUX out will work.

Then you can do the following:
1.) Adjust your headphone levels
2.) Adjust your speaker levels
3.) Adjust the overall sound levels
4.) With the AUX you can have at least a phone patch in your studio which is very handy.

This isn't being techy for tech's sake...having a nice clean workflow will let you focus on your craft: the voiceover!

There are now many mixers that have a USB or Firewire output which are well worth investigating.
_________________
Skype: globalvoiceover
and now, http://lanceblairvo.com the blog is there now too!

[todd ellis]

i would definitely try to steer clear of using the headphone jack for the monitors - it's a weak link structurally. if not using a small usb mixer - you might look at usb monitors ... there are some really inexpensive (and some REALLY expensive) models out there.
_________________
"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[BB]

Thanks for your prompt replies guys. I have taken it all on board and shall put it to good use.
Cheers
Bob

[georgethetech]

I would connect your monitors to the headphone jack on your laptop and leave the headphones plugged into the MicPort. In your software just choose which output you want to use to select between headphones and speakers. Or of that sounds lousy, get a 2nd USB audio output device just for your speakers,
such as the CEntrance USB DAC port (when it becomes available), or the Fubar II.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

[Lizden]

/Threadjack Alert/

FUBAR?

/End Threadjack/
_________________
Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[georgethetech]

The manufacturer is Taiwanese, I don't think they have a clue what the means
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

[Bish]

[georgethetech]

Heh, you know, you are right about that logo! Weird sense of humor they have...
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder