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How careful should I be with DC-coupled interfaces and studio monitors?

GrandbearGrandbear
in Other

I have a DC-coupled audio interface and I spend most of my time in Drambo and other modular environments. I was wondering what precautions should I take, if any, to avoid damaging my studio monitors with DC signals that I could inadvertently create while experimenting.

Comments

  • GravitasGravitas

    I have a DC-coupled audio interface and so far I've had
    no problems with cv signals going out to the studio monitors
    saying that if you're not sure, turn the volume down.

  • CaelumAudioCaelumAudio

    Some of the best audio interfaces (in my opinion) are DC-coupled. That being said, it is possible to damage speakers with extended amounts of DC being sent; they can overheat the voice coil due to the increased current and/or can cause the speaker to rest at an offset position. I'm not sure how long this would take as it probably depends a lot on the speaker but so long as you're not sending constant DC through I would hope its fine - I did it with mine a lot in testing Flux Pro (in hindsight maybe I would have avoided this but I haven't seen any negative results yet...)

    David

  • GrandbearGrandbear

    @Gravitas @CaelumAudio thank you! This is helpful, my concern is around very occasional and short moments in which, while shuffling modules, I may inadvertently connect DC-biased signals (usually CV) to the main audio outs. If it's generally a matter of continuous load/offset resting position then I think I'm safe.

  • GravitasGravitas

    @Grandbear said:
    @Gravitas @CaelumAudio thank you! This is helpful, my concern is around very occasional and short moments in which, while shuffling modules, I may inadvertently connect DC-biased signals (usually CV) to the main audio outs. If it's generally a matter of continuous load/offset resting position then I think I'm safe.

    No problem.

    @CaelumAudio
    Thanks for that also.
    Good to know.

  • NeonSiliconNeonSilicon

    Are your monitors powered? It's not very likely that your monitors or amp for your monitors is DC coupled through the entire signal path. As @CaelumAudio said, you don't want a constant DC offset hitting your speakers, but it is most likely that your monitors' preamp inputs and/or outputs will have caps to remove any DC offset before they hit the output of the power amps. If you happen to have a tube based amp it may even use output transformers that'll remove the DC offset.

    You could end up losing some headroom in the preamp if it is DC coupled on the inputs and that may cause some distortion.

    You can see any significant DC offset in the speaker cones of your speakers too.

  • rs2000rs2000
    edited May 2022

    The problem is not so much permanent DC offset because, as @NeonSilicon said, audio inputs are usually blocking DC.
    "Blocking" is nothing else than a very low frequency high pass though and connecting a DC source to the active monitor inputs will nonetheless inevitably let a strong short pulse go through when connecting, potentially leading to max woofer excursion for a short moment, and you don't want that.
    In the worst case it can cause damage to your speaker chassis.

    The simplest precaution to avoid damage or speaker wear is to keep the monitor speaker volume setting low enough while patching.

  • NeonSiliconNeonSilicon

    @rs2000 said:
    The problem is not so much permanent DC offset because, as @NeonSilicon said, audio inputs are usually blocking DC.
    "Blocking" is nothing else than a very low frequency high pass though and connecting a DC source to the active monitor inputs will nonetheless inevitably let a strong short pulse go through when connecting, potentially leading to max woofer excursion for a short moment, and you don't want that.
    In the worst case it can cause damage to your speaker chassis.

    Good point. Transients can be bad too. But, those might even get through your AC coupled outputs. So, don't do that with an AC coupled converter either.

  • rs2000rs2000

    @NeonSilicon said:

    @rs2000 said:
    The problem is not so much permanent DC offset because, as @NeonSilicon said, audio inputs are usually blocking DC.
    "Blocking" is nothing else than a very low frequency high pass though and connecting a DC source to the active monitor inputs will nonetheless inevitably let a strong short pulse go through when connecting, potentially leading to max woofer excursion for a short moment, and you don't want that.
    In the worst case it can cause damage to your speaker chassis.

    Good point. Transients can be bad too. But, those might even get through your AC coupled outputs. So, don't do that with an AC coupled converter either.

    Definitely. 👍🏼

  • GrandbearGrandbear

    @NeonSilicon @rs2000 thanks for the additional details and advice, these are powered monitors. I'm already pretty cautious mostly for my own ears when switching audio sources, etc., but I hadn't thought of this particular scenario before

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