Topic: strange mono routing problem

my system looks like this:

Reaper DAW Master L/R send ---> RME Raydat Ch25/26 ADAT out ---> Alesis HD24 ADAT Ch1/2 in ---> Alesis HD24 Analog Ch1/2 out ---> Coleman Audio M3PH Speaker In 1 L/R


There is a gremlin somewhere in my system that is making the Coleman speaker controller do funny things with its buttons; if the Coleman is in stereo, I can pan Reaper and hear things go back and forth. HOWEVER, when I select mono on the Coleman, if I pay to the left, I hear nothing... if I pan to the right, I get signal.

At first I thought the coleman must be acting up, but I also noticed something strange in that my cue mix headphone amp is giving me similar trouble... I can only a left signal until I hit mono, and then I get a mono signal in both ears!

So the fact that the separate pieces of hardware are acting strange makes me think the software (either Raydat TotalMix or Reaper) is doing something I don't want it to.

Anybody PLEASE HELP!!! Thanks!

Re: strange mono routing problem

here is a graphic of my signal path...  I really think there is a setting in either Reaper or the RME TotalMix that is doing something strange...

[img align=C]http://i43.tinypic.com/2z6s0u1.jpg[/img]

Re: strange mono routing problem

Please check: Do you see stereo signal on the HDSP mixer for these outputs? What about the meters on the Alesis?

Those are separate L/R connections from the Alesis to the Coleman, right? Not sure I understand your AR404 connections here, you use both the AES out and SPDIF out of the card?

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Re: strange mono routing problem

"Those are separate L/R connections from the Alesis to the Coleman, right? Not sure I understand your AR404 connections here, you use both the AES out and SPDIF out of the card?"

Yes, one optical adat cable from raydat into the alesis, two TRS-to-XLR cables from the alesis to the coleman.  I believe the coleman is working correctly because I swapped cables, input channels, etc.

You can disregard the AR404, that's just an old receiver I use with other speakers and my Ipod.  In fact, it's not even connected to the system right now.  Consider the SPDIF and AES as being unused.

One question... In TotalMix, when I highlight a hardware output, the stereo pair of channels is highlighted (like CH25 and CH26, instead of just CH25).  does totalmix always work like this?  I cannot get separate mixes for single hardware channels, only pairs.

Re: strange mono routing problem

drone007 wrote:

One question... In TotalMix, when I highlight a hardware output, the stereo pair of channels is highlighted (like CH25 and CH26, instead of just CH25).  does totalmix always work like this?  I cannot get separate mixes for single hardware channels, only pairs.

Yes. But you can create mono routings easily with the Matrix view.

Can you answer the questions about metering? Otherwise it's difficult to tell where the error occurs.

Regards,
Jeff Petersen
Synthax Inc.

Re: strange mono routing problem

Jeff wrote:
drone007 wrote:

One question... In TotalMix, when I highlight a hardware output, the stereo pair of channels is highlighted (like CH25 and CH26, instead of just CH25).  does totalmix always work like this?  I cannot get separate mixes for single hardware channels, only pairs.

Yes. But you can create mono routings easily with the Matrix view.

Can you answer the questions about metering? Otherwise it's difficult to tell where the error occurs.

I apologize, I didn't directly answer your question.  As far as I know, I was getting two unique signals... The meters on my Alesis were responding for both channels (CH 1 and CH 2 on the alesis, which correspond to CH 25 and CH 26 for Raydat).  However, when I get home in a few hours I will run two very different signals through so that I can tell that they are different (I had just been looking at master program material, so I suppose I could've missed something in terms of the stereo separation). 

And as far as the meters in Totalmix, yes I saw similar signals as I did with the Alesis.  However, I will know better once I get home.  I will send a bassline through Left and the highhat through right or something obvious visually/sonically.

Re: strange mono routing problem

Jeff wrote:

Please check: Do you see stereo signal on the HDSP mixer for these outputs? What about the meters on the Alesis?

Those are separate L/R connections from the Alesis to the Coleman, right? Not sure I understand your AR404 connections here, you use both the AES out and SPDIF out of the card?

OK got a chance to check again... Yes, I see two separate signals on my CH25/CH26 outputs in TotalMix.  For instance, if I play a stereo .mp3 file or if I route two mono tracks in ReaperDAW to left and right.  And on the alesis, I see the same two separate tracks in its meters.