Topic: UA5 Owners

[DMBprez]

I recently bought new mics (AT 4041's), and all my recordings are coming out very...weak.  The sensitivity levels have turned about 3/4th's the way up, and I have the output know pretty much all the way up.  I am running line out via the red and white plugs (no clue what they're called, sorry). 

There is just very little UMPH to my recordings recently.  Any ideas?  Should I crank those sensitivity knobs up more?  I know the best way is to experiment, but I don't have many shows at my expense at this point.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

[slightlys]

What are you recording onto from the ua-5?

[slightlys]

If you have the capability it is really easy to boost the levels with normalization in post with software ie. wavelab, sound forge, audition.

[DMBprez]

^^ By that do you mean add gain?  When I add gain, it seems to add enough gain, it adds a good deal of distortion.


I run into a rockboxed iRiver.

[Todd R]

The iRiver can take an optical digital input.  Try recording out of the toslink digital out from the UA5 into the optical in of the iRiver instead of the RCA outs of the UA5.  That should sound much better and solve your distortion problems.

[Big Perm]

The iRiver can take an optical digital input.  Try recording out of the toslink digital out from the UA5 into the optical in of the iRiver instead of the RCA outs of the UA5.  That should sound much better and solve your distortion problems.

yup, is your UA5 modded or stock...doesnt matter really, either way this should drastically improve your situation
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[DMBprez]

I have that one iRiver that doesn't do optical in =(

Can't remember the model, and it's at home (I'm at school).

The UA5 is Pmod

[jbell]

Give it more gain and turn on the safty clip feature on the Iriver.  Do alittle home testing to figure out where you need the gain levels. 

[DMBprez]

By giving it more gain, you mean on the iRiver, yes?

Any ideas how to turn the safety clip on? I'm stupid when it comes to this thing.

Thanks for all the replies.

[vanark]

If you are coming out of the RCA outputs, the output is also controlled by the monitor switch.  You should turn that monitor level knob up all the way.  I find that my levels into an R-09 need to be around 1 o'clock on the sens knobs.

[runonce]

Think of it this way...

Pretend the UA5 is not hooked to anything.  It has a certain level that will be ideal for itself. Use the peak light to get the channels lighting the peak light on only the very loudest passages.

Two ways to think of addressing the recorder...(which is the 320 if remember from the other thread)

1 - Ua5 output at max and  set the levels accordingly on the iriver. (pitfall here is a potential brickwall situation, you'll have to test your gear.)

2 - Set Iriver to unity gain (nothing added or subtracted) and use the Ua5 output to drive the recorder. (which ideally, will be all the way up, provided you have your mic gain set right)

In either scenario - you need to get the level at the mic inputs set first, and work from there...

[vanark]

2 - Set Iriver to unity gain (nothing added or subtracted) and use the Ua5 output to drive the recorder. (which ideally, will be all the way up, provided you have your mic gain set right)

Yes, this is basically how I do it.  Unity on the R-09, monitor output on max, adjust levels on Mics using Sens knobs.

[DMBprez]

If you are coming out of the RCA outputs, the output is also controlled by the monitor switch.  You should turn that monitor level knob up all the way.  I find that my levels into an R-09 need to be around 1 o'clock on the sens knobs.

Thank you, I will try that out!

[DMBprez]

Think of it this way...

Pretend the UA5 is not hooked to anything.  It has a certain level that will be ideal for itself. Use the peak light to get the channels lighting the peak light on only the very loudest passages.

Two ways to think of addressing the recorder...(which is the 320 if remember from the other thread)

1 - Ua5 output at max and  set the levels accordingly on the iriver. (pitfall here is a potential brickwall situation, you'll have to test your gear.)

2 - Set Iriver to unity gain (nothing added or subtracted) and use the Ua5 output to drive the recorder. (which ideally, will be all the way up, provided you have your mic gain set right)

In either scenario - you need to get the level at the mic inputs set first, and work from there...

I have set the iRiver to unity gain, and this is where I run into problems.

[vanark]

If you are coming out of the RCA outputs, the output is also controlled by the monitor switch.  You should turn that monitor level knob up all the way.  I find that my levels into an R-09 need to be around 1 o'clock on the sens knobs.

Thank you, I will try that out!

Now that I think about it, I think it is the phones knob, not the monitor knob.  One will be the answer to your issue.

[DMBprez]

I have tried turning up the output knob (phones) and it is still weak.  Do you this using the following will help?

From the user manual:

9. Input monitor volume
This adjusts the volume at which the input signal from Input jacks 1/2, Input jacks
3/4, and the Digital input connector will be output to the Headphone jack and
Master output jacks. When this is turned all the way to the right, the volume will be
the same as the volume of the recorded signal.

[kirk97132]

Turn that monitor knob all the way down and your headphones knob all the way up.  connect mics, turn phantom power.  turn off monitor SW.  Adjust levels till the peak light comes on once in a while.  that's it.  There is also a great UA-5 write up in manual section of TS that you should read if you haven't.

If you cannot get the peak lights to come on then I would make sure you don't have the pads on, check the mic bodies.  As long as you have anywhere near the loudness that live music has you should be able to get the peak lights to come on.  One other option is to check around for an SVU meter.  They are discontinued but can still be found.  Or maybe an ISO in the YS would do it.  You can calibrate the meter and then have a way to visually check signal that you are outputting.  It will also connect to a either the 1/4" or RCA outputs.   

You will hear a lot of people who will state that you shouldn't use the line outs due to the A/D to D/A conversion that happens.  And in theory I guess it is true.  But in reality I cold not tell a difference on listening to the digi output VS the analog output.  I run a busman UA-5. And Chris does to work on that signal path too so maybe that explains it? 

[DMBprez]

Thanks for your reply, Kirk.

I also forgot to add, when I was taping, my peak lights WERE coming on once in a while on the UA5, which made me believe everything was okay.  But then the recordings were teh suck.


I want those to be coming on once in a while, yes?


Also, I see the UA5 manual in there, but no write up.  Any ideas where that might be?

Thanks again for your help.

[Brian Skalinder]

Because you're running through both the UA5's ADC and the iRiver's ADC, you need to set your levels twice:  once for the UA5, and again for the iRiver.  If you clip at either ADC stage, it will have a negative impact.  If you're too low at either stage, it will have a negative impact.

As others have said, set your UA5 levels using the "Peak" light on the UA5.  If memory serves, it lights up at -3 dBFS.  If it flashes only occasionally, you're in good shape for setting levels for the UA5. (Make sure phantom is turned ON, of course.)

The next step, then, is to set levels for the iRiver.  First, confirm you're running Line In.  You'll control levels through two mechanisms:  <1> the Output knob (above the Phones jack) on the UA5, and <2> the gain settings on the iRiver.  Ideally, you want the iRiver as close to unity gain as possible, controlling the levels on the iRiver using the UA5's Output knob.  But if that doesn't provide good enough levels on the iRiver, you'll want to add gain using the iRiver, too.

If your levels are still too low, as others have said:  check to confirm the pads on your mics are OFF, and you may even have to run Mic In (though that seems unlikely).  But for loud music, that really ought not be necessary.

[kirk97132]

Sorry it was i the "pres" section:
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=14389.0

If you had lights coming on the I'd say that your signal chain was set up correctly.  Peak lights blinking every so often.  Levels set on recorder with all the other buttons  and knobs set as we talked about is all you can do.  After that it is a function of the mics and the band.  If the "distortion" is happening on both channels then I guess it could be something bad in the UA-5.  What were you recording?  Turning your stereo up loud IS NOT a substitute for a PA system.  Unless you have some sick playback set up.  A loud stereo is only a way to check and make sure things turn on and work.  After that, I don't know what to tell you.  Doubtful that you got a pair of bad mics.  Doubtful that both channels would have the same issue in the UA-5 if something went bad.  I'm basing that on my own experiences where an OP-amp went bad and only affected one channel.  and highly doubtful that two cables went bad.  Last link in chain is the recorder and if you are overloading the inputs that would have distortion.  But I don't know anything about the I-rivers.  so maybe someone else can chime in, Kirk