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Audiobox v/s Apogee Jam : Solved
I have a question for you guys. I have an Audiobox USB interface that I recently acquired. I've finally got some decent cables that eliminate some of the cross talk I was hearing when recording with it, but... Previously I had an Apogee Jam. In my tests, the signal coming out of the Audibox is nowhere close to the quality of the Apogee Jam. It's not even in the same ballpark. The Apogee Jam is pristine. The Audiobox sounds tinny, for lack of a better word. I can get the same volume from the Audibox, but the quality of the recording is night and day between the two. So...like I'm a second grader...can someone explainify that for me?
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συνεργία synergia...and vodoo. Kinda like when shaggy and scooby start to run from the mummy and arnt really going anywhere or when the Power Rangers use their super mega force to become somthing more than what they were...understand?....yeah me either.
Haha. That's kind of what I thought. I do think the audiobox just might be busted really. I was getting cross talk on my tracks and could clearly hear the metronome when I recorded with it. Got some higher quality cables and corrected that problem, but the signal coming from it is still not nearly as good as the apogee jam. Also,with the jam I'm going straight into the ipad and with the audiobox I'm going through a powered hub and then a lightening connector. There's an extra 10 feet of cable for that to go through so that could be a contributor too. Not sure really. Could just be the scooby doo thing you mentioned.
I suspected that a powered usb hub, not designed with audio in mind, would change a sound. This may vary from hub to hub, but would like to see some comparisons both with and without a powered usb hub in the chain.
Do you have the means to do this? A/B comparison with and without a powered usb hub.
Appogee and their adda converters are nice, and their price reflects that.
I have an audiobox running through a Pluggable hub and it works great. I hated the Jam, due to its cheap construction and lack of monitoring.
Agree about the powered hub theory and got a second one to see if it would make it any better. It really didn't though. I picked these both up from local stores though, so they're just standard usb 2.0 hubs and not specifically for audio. I actually didn't find much on amazon in the way of "audio specific usb hubs" but would gladly get one of those if I thought it would help. I do love the monitor on the audiobox. And when I monitor just the box, it sounds excellent. It's only the output in the app that sounds thin. Until I got better cables it even had some digital noise in it (and the occasional slight bump from the metronome I mentioned earlier). The newer cables definitely improved things, but the output is still not great. Doesn't sound at all like what I'm monitoring.
For all those concerned, iow @WMWM and @MoonWolf, I've done some further testing and I've come to a few conclusions I wanted to bounce off the forum. For starters, I was never able to get the noise floor of the Audiobox to be any better, regardless of what cables or hub I used, there was always a noticeable hum in any recorded audio. Apogee Jam is pristine signal always. So I decided to order a iTrack Solo since I found one new for a decent price. Same thing, though. When I plugged in the iTrack to the iPad and monitor directly, everything sounds ok - just ok, not really awesome, but ok... anyway, when I record, there the hum is again. I finally realized, via a multitude of insane things I tried from standing on one leg to running an extension cord out into the middle of my backyard, I can actually make the hum go away by putting my hand on the back of the iPad. What in the hell is that about? I even came up with a way of running the iTrack off a battery pack to completely eliminate the possibility of the line being dirty. Same thing. And when I touch the back of the iPad, boom, all goes quiet. Anyone ever heard of this?
I think I've just figured it out...possibly. And this is really embarrassing... but... I was standing out in my front yard just now looking at my house and muttering under my breath as I'm prone to do from time to time, and I realized that I have these huge community power lines running through my backyard. It's like a hub for several blocks. I'm guessing that's the problem. I'm going to go cut them down with a chainsaw and test again. Results pending.
But before I cut down the power lines, I am wondering how sane that is since the hum doesn't happen with the Apogee... So confusing. And I'm spending way more time trying to chase ghosts than making music, and that's starting to wear thin. Maybe I don't really need to record two signals at once that bad after all...
Make sure you wear rubber gloves and boots, k?
Your conclusion makes a lot of sense but what doesn't yet make sense is why you don't get the same noise and 'meh' audio quality from the apogee. What is it doing to correct for this that your other gear isn't?
Heh. Simulpost.
i'll bite and take a stab (how violent): could the answer be as simple as the fact that Apogee AD/DA is just fcukin' sweet? The converters on my Duet 2 are on par with the RME converters in my Fireface 800, which are as clear as a bell with no coloration, etc.
Hah, I would presume that the large metal audiobox picks up interference and little plastic Apogee doesn't.
also, does your nose hair get stiff and static-ey when you tune your guitar?
Any decent noisegate will relax your nosehair issues. Or stick a potato peeler in there.. There is no app that trims nosehair - yet. Maybe JLilla could hook us up.
Nah, nose hair seems to be fine. And I'm not getting any extra feedback through the guitar like i have in the past when I've had a little extra juice running up the line. I can place the iPad on my lap, thus grounding it obviously, and it completely resolves the problem...but that's not a sustainable plan obviously. And I agree with the focusrite = metal v apogee = plastic part too. That makes sense. Also, I agree that Apogee is probably a little higher end than the focusrite folks who seem to churn out a new interface every few weeks. Still, I've seen plenty of folks rave about the focusrite hardware too. Pressing onward. Next step is to probably hit the road and get away from this dude and see if it keeps happening.
http://static2.hypable.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/amazing-spider-man-2-villain-electro-poster.jpg?dc6d31
Focusrite's good for me, I think you are talking about PreSonus, no?
I might suggest donning a Faraday suit before you go at that fella with your chainsaw.
ha, yes. Thanks for that correction. I'd just finished reading up on a focusrite in another thread. Starting to think the power lines may be affecting more than me ipad.
The iTrack is Focusrite. The Audiobox is Presonus. Just to clarify.
The one that really messes with me the most is the comparison of the audio when I have the iTrack running off battery and not plugged in anywhere and the Apogee which just works wherever. I get where power lines may affect a little, but I just can't fathom that they're making my iPad seem hot and that the Apogee hardware just somehow grounds it. That just doesn't make any sense to me.
Zoinks! Godzilla!
Just a thought, plug it in (the ipad) and run out of the 3.5, see what you get.
i wasn't going to mention the other possible side-effects ;-)
I have no valuable opinion on the actual problem, but it may be fun to wander around the property (with headphones and battery powered setup) and see if there are "hot spots" with stronger interference.
Riddle solved. It's the power in my house. Not the power lines. I had the battery too close to the power source still when I did the test last night. Tried one last time before cutting down the power lines out back, and took it into a room by itself away from other power sources, hooked it up to the battery, and it's crystal. So if any of you guys see spiderman, tell him I've found the secret lair of Electro.
Oh, and the Audibox is just a pos. It was used and I suspect internal wiring has just gone tits up.
Thanks for talking me through it, guys. Love this forum. Such an awesome resource.
no worries.
this thread reminds me of the time I tried to have a little jam session in the garden on New Year's Eve. All the fireworks around the neighborhood were sending bizarre hums and pops thru my poor iPad.
I have bookmarked this page and instead of trying to explain why I think this forum is by far and away the best of its kind currently on the market (really it is honest take my word for it different good honest funny sometimes also) I will just send folks this link to read.
If they don't get it after that they never will and we don't want them around anyway....