1 Topic by insoul8 (edited by insoul8 2013-03-26 18:57:14)

  • Registered: 2013-03-26
  • Posts: 5

Topic: Fireface 800 / Totalmix levels help

Ok, So I just got this thing and I'm trying to wrap my head around Totalmix. It seems pretty straight forward as far as routing goes and using the submix view is handy, etc. but I'm having some level issues. Currently I have both the input and output gain set to +4 in the settings, and my Adam's which are plugged into output 1/2 are set to 0db (right in the middle) on the front volume knob. I have hardware inputs 1-10 set to 0db and hardware outputs 1/2 set to -10db in Totalmix and those levels sound pretty good for messing about on my hardware equipment. However, when I play something from the computer (mp3, youtube, etc.) the sound is painfully loud! I realize the sounds from the PC run through the "firewire" outputs (middle row in Totalmix) and in order for those to sound reasonable, I need to set them to like -25db which sounds crazy to me. To make matters even more confusing, Logic's playback level (as well as Ableton's) seems ok. Am i missing something? Is there a place to set the computer's output level lower as a whole?

Does it sound right that I would have to turn the level down so much on the firewire outputs in Totalmix? I'm just a bit confused. :-/ Thanks in advance for the help though!

  • vinark
  • DAW Mastermind
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  • Registered: 2009-06-05
  • Posts: 2,665

Re: Fireface 800 / Totalmix levels help

Good practice is to set up a reference level. There are many ways to do it, including test tones, but the fact that mp3 is to loud, tells me everything except that is set to soft. You set levels to the loudest level not arbitrary setting for your inputs.
One easy not so scientific way is to connect a cd player to the analogue ins. Set input levels that peaks are only just below zero. Then set the levels for your speakers for the loudest you need with some headroom for gain on softer sources. If the cd player set up like this is softer then mp3 from pc, then there is really something strange going on.

Vincent, Amsterdam
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  • Registered: 2013-03-26
  • Posts: 5

Re: Fireface 800 / Totalmix levels help

Thanks for the reply! I'll give that a try. Just to be clear, you would set the levels on the speakers themselves instead of in Totalmix, correct? I kind of just thought the speakers should be set to 0db in an ideal world. Thanks again.