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Author Topic: Setting up your PC for Recording  (Read 296593 times)

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #175 on: October 20, 2007, 04:40:30 PM »
@faceless - most inexpensive laptops come with low rpm drives (4200 rpm). The fact that it is also 20 gigs means that you will fill it up rather quickly since audio files can take up a lot of space - approx 10 Mbytes per minute of 44.1 khz stereo. I highly recommend getting a larger capacity external drive, preferably firewire if your laptop has that port.

You can get by with the Behringer or the M-Audio if all you are concerned with is recording audio. I've read the specs of the M-Audio and it allows hardware monitoring, but it doesn't seem to allow DSP processing so you can't directly record a clean signal (while monitoring with effects) for later processing. Either you record your guitar wet with distortion, or you teach yourself how to record with a clean tone. One thing you should not do is to record with reverb and other time-based fx like delay; this can muddy up a mix very easily.

Good luck!
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline faceless

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #176 on: October 20, 2007, 05:04:02 PM »
thanks sir kit!

that's an awesome fast reply! :evil:
N4 | ME2 | MC58 | R8

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #177 on: October 20, 2007, 06:00:13 PM »
You're welcome, faceless.

I forgot to mention the reasons for an external drive. For one thing, slow internal drives usually mean low track counts. Most internal laptop drives are either 4200 or 5400 rpm, good for several tracks of audio, bad if you intend to push your system to something like 20 plus tracks. I highly recommend getting a 7200 rpm external drive. Make sure it is either firewire or USB2, usb 1.1 is too slow for audio. An alternative is to also replace your laptop's internal drive.

IMO, it is better to have an externally powered external drive rather than one that gets it's power from the FW or USB bus. Laptops have an unnerving way of saving power. You might even have to save up for some battery backup (a la APC) just in case the power goes out during a write. One of the things we want to avoid is data corruption and possible damage to the hard disk.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline faceless

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #178 on: October 20, 2007, 11:09:00 PM »
oh thats's great! :evil:

i got an extra 80gb seagate@ 7200 rpm. however, are the external casing sold by cdr king OR COMPUTER SHOPS ok? ung mga naka usb, i can't remember if its usb 2.0 na pero i guess its powered by xternal source pa.

btw sir regarding latency sa previous post ko, what does it mean? i read stuff like "suffering from latency and all."..will the behringer suffer from latency? tama ba?

tnx again and more power!!!!
N4 | ME2 | MC58 | R8

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #179 on: October 20, 2007, 11:37:37 PM »
Cdr-king is great for cheap products, but some of their items have a nasty habit of breaking exactly a day after the warranty expires. OTOH, I have one of their optical mouse (mice?) that's already 6 months old and still going strong. YMMV. This is your data you're talking about; try to get something with known reliability, and backup your data often. DVD-R's are cheap nowadays.

As for latency, that is the roundabout time it takes for audio to go into a soundcard, get processed by the software and cpu, then make it's way out of the soundcard for you to hear what you are recording (often called monitoring). This is directly related to your computer's processor, it's operating system, and the efficiency of your soundcard and it's drivers. Lower latency times place a higher load on your cpu; go low enough and your pc might throw in the towel and give up. A very good soundcard with very good drivers will likely give you very low latencies although there are always limits. ALL soundcards suffer from some form of latency, it's the nature of the beast. The trick is finding the right soundcard that is both affordable and efficient, and has what you need in terms of inputs and outputs. Behringer is somewhat new to the soundcard business and from what I've been reading about their UCA, the latency is somewhat high.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire


Offline in_the_tent

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #180 on: October 22, 2007, 08:37:43 AM »
Hi guys. I'm not sure kung naitanong na ito sa mga thread dito. I've read the thread before pero baka di ko lang naintindihan kung meron mang info regarding this. I hope you'll be patient answering my questions. Please give some "IDIOT PROOF" answers oki? hehe.
i have a mixer (not a USB/Firewire) ang a PC at home. i think 1/8" ang input ng PC. (Please correct me if I'm wrong..) Ang out naman ng mixer ay 1/4". How do I connect my mixer to the PC?

mixer out(stereo) -
RCA-1/8" cable (with RCA-1/4" adapters) -
PC 1/8" input

tama ba ang connection na nasa isip ko? or do i need a gadget pa (interface ba yun?) to connect?

thanks for your extremely patient advice. :-D
"The Lord is my Song.."

Offline maplesyrup

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #181 on: October 31, 2007, 06:40:40 PM »
MGA KAPATID... BAGO LANG AKO SA LARANGAN NG DIGITAL RECORDING... KONTI LAMANG ANG NALALAMAN KO PATUNGKOL SA GANYANG MGA BAGAY! NAGBABALAK RIN AKO MAGTAYO BALANG ARAW NG AKING SARILING STUDIO..ANG KATANUNGAN KO PO AY GANITO... EHEM... ETO NA... ANONG MAGANDANG SET UP SA PERSONAL NA KOMPUTER KUNG ETO ANG AKING MGA NAPUPUSUANG GAMIT

1.PRESONUS FIREPOD
2.BEHRINGER ADA8000 UTRAGAIN PRO
3.BEHRINGER POWERPLAY PRO-8
4.ALESIS M1 MONITOR
5.AUDIX FUSION DRUM MICS
6.MXL990/991
7.SHURE SM57
8.SHURE SM58
at marami pang iba..





pasensya na kung masyadong tagalog ang aking pananalita.. alam kong puro maka engles ang mga tao dito..MULI.. pasensya napo! pinoy lang! sanay ma2lungan nyo ako! paki typ narin kung ano yung mga specs ng pc! cause u know! este... (tagalog nga pala!) " alam nyo na!

P.S macoy wag kana sumagot! alam kona sasagot mo! hahahaha! :-D
ehemmm..... sikretong malufit.. sabog ang lapay mo girl! - wag kana! pweh!

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #182 on: November 02, 2007, 10:27:48 PM »
ive read reviews on DAWs

adobe audition is not one of them...

why!?!?!

its always, cubase, sonar, etc...
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #183 on: November 02, 2007, 10:38:37 PM »
@maplesyrup - do you have plans to record more than 8 simultaneous tracks? I don't think the firepod can accomodate the ADA8000 since it does not have adat capability. You need the Firestudio for 18 inputs (8 analog, 8 ADAT, 2 spdif) but research a bit on it's drivers and software compatibility. One of the biggest irritants with the Firepod is the lack of a software mixer, unlike it's little brother, the Firebox.

@tam_guitar - it's because Audition is audio only. I think one of the pre-requisites of being a full-fledged DAW is that it should also have midi capability.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline stilljey

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #184 on: November 03, 2007, 05:35:47 AM »
sir kit the emu1212m comes with package includes 1010 pci card & 0202 i/o daugther card.  yung 0202 parang hindi naman sya pci (sa photo), so paano ang connection nya sa 1010. nag aaspire kasi ako to have one.

« Last Edit: November 03, 2007, 05:47:46 AM by stilljey »

Offline maplesyrup

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #185 on: November 03, 2007, 08:39:21 AM »
MALI PA NA TYP KO... "FIRESTUDIO" PALA DAPAT.
SIR KITC ANO MASASABI MO SA FIRESTUDIO? OKS PABA DAGDAGAN NG ADA8000 YUN.. MUKHANG OK NAMAN NA ATA UNG 18 INPUTS SA RECORDING...
MEDYO NAGUGULUHAN KASI AKO DYAN SA (8 analog, 8 ADAT, 2 spdif)
PAKI EXPLAIN SIR...
PASENSYA NA KASI TALAGANG BAGO PALANG AKO NAG AARAL NG RECORDING,ALAM KO LANG UMUPO SA STUDIO AT PUMALO! EHEHEHE!


 :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

PS. NATAPAKAN KO ATA UNG TANONG NI "in_the_tent" PAKI SAGOT NA LANG YUNG SA KANYA MUNA! PASENSYA NA.. BAKA BAWAL KASI MAGTANONG DITO PAG DIPA NASASAGOT YUNG TANONG NUNG NAUNA! PASENSYA NA ULIT!
ehemmm..... sikretong malufit.. sabog ang lapay mo girl! - wag kana! pweh!

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #186 on: November 03, 2007, 09:39:37 AM »
@stilljey - the 1212m comes with 2 cards: the main card is the 1010 which has the DSP and digital I/O; it is the pci card among the 2. The daughtercard, called the 0202, contains the 1/4" TRS balanced I/O... it is the analog I/O card, and it does not require connection to a free pci slot, only a free backplane slot in the pc case. The 0202 is connected via ribbon cable to the 1010 card.

@maplesyrup - maganda ang Firestudio on paper, pero I haven't been reading a lot of favorable reviews. According to some users, the Firestudio drivers are a bit quirky; my educated guess points to the firewire chipsets on some motherboards, YMMV. The Firestudio has ADAT ports allowing you to add the ADA8000, giving you a total of 16 analog I/O. ADAT and spdif are digital audio protocols; ADAT allows for 8 channels of audio on a single lightpipe (fiberoptic cable), while spdif is a 2-channel stereo protocol that can use optical (fiberoptic) or electrical (75-ohm coax) connections. Try to learn the specs of the gear you want to acquire. Mahirap na bibili ka ng gamit pero di mo alam kung tama para sa pangangailangan mo ang features niya.  :|

HTH!
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline maplesyrup

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #187 on: November 03, 2007, 05:53:15 PM »
salamat sir sa paliwanag... tlagang inaalam ko muna ung mga bibilihin ko! thats why i ask muna..mahirap kasi talaga magkamali! hindi rin kasi biro yung mga presyo nyan dito! kaya dapat magingat din sa pagbili! anywayz.. thanks again!
ehemmm..... sikretong malufit.. sabog ang lapay mo girl! - wag kana! pweh!

Offline stilljey

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #188 on: November 03, 2007, 06:11:23 PM »
The 0202 is connected via ribbon cable to the 1010 card.

thanks sir, Im using S6PE at heto yung plano kong bilhin , Emu 1212M PCI 24-Bit/192kHz Balanced Interface (Windows) Mastering-grade 24-bit, 192kHz converters. Compatible ba sila at ma eedit ang midi?
« Last Edit: November 03, 2007, 06:15:22 PM by stilljey »

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #189 on: November 03, 2007, 06:24:45 PM »
@maplesyrup - do you have plans to record more than 8 simultaneous tracks? I don't think the firepod can accomodate the ADA8000 since it does not have adat capability. You need the Firestudio for 18 inputs (8 analog, 8 ADAT, 2 spdif) but research a bit on it's drivers and software compatibility. One of the biggest irritants with the Firepod is the lack of a software mixer, unlike it's little brother, the Firebox.

@tam_guitar - it's because Audition is audio only. I think one of the pre-requisites of being a full-fledged DAW is that it should also have midi capability.

but sir KitC,

i think that Audition is a powerful audio program...i think its unfair for adobe to be left behind.

hehe...

anyways. i have never tried to use cubase, sonar...etc.

can u pls give me a review on this softwares...if u dnt mind sir.
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #190 on: November 03, 2007, 10:59:36 PM »
thanks sir, Im using S6PE at heto yung plano kong bilhin , Emu 1212M PCI 24-Bit/192kHz Balanced Interface (Windows) Mastering-grade 24-bit, 192kHz converters. Compatible ba sila at ma eedit ang midi?

Well, I'm using the 1212's big brother, the 1820m and I swear by it. Let's just say that my soundstage opened up greatly when I moved to the Emu. You might have a better alternative in the 1212 since you are not tied to the 1820m's preamps, which though good, have exhibited some strange quirks.

The problem though is that Emu's parent company, Creative, is apparently in the middle of a financial crisis. While the Emu is a very good mid-level card, there are concerns about the company's longevity given Creative's financial woes. I suggest a wait-and-see approach or maybe try alternatives, like Echo's Audiofire, Presonus' Inspire, Edirol's UA and FA interfaces, or even Digidesign's Mbox2 mini, which are quite close in terms of price. That said, you won't find similar converters for the 1212's price, however.

@tam_guitar - while technically a DAW is supposed to mean Digital Audio Workstation so that means Audition falls within the confines of that definition, some others have decided to raise the bar on the definition by including the capability to process midi. If there's one thing you cannot do in Audition, it's edit a midi track. Sure you can import a midi file, but the most you can do is assign the track to a port but you cannot play softsynths or even edit out a note. As of Audition 2.0, I haven't seen any facility to manipulate midi data, which is the reason Audition sometimes isn't included in comparison with Cubase, Sonar and the like. Even FL and Ableton Live are more considered as DAW software because of their midi and audio capabilities.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #191 on: November 03, 2007, 11:39:56 PM »
Well, I'm using the 1212's big brother, the 1820m and I swear by it. Let's just say that my soundstage opened up greatly when I moved to the Emu. You might have a better alternative in the 1212 since you are not tied to the 1820m's preamps, which though good, have exhibited some strange quirks.

The problem though is that Emu's parent company, Creative, is apparently in the middle of a financial crisis. While the Emu is a very good mid-level card, there are concerns about the company's longevity given Creative's financial woes. I suggest a wait-and-see approach or maybe try alternatives, like Echo's Audiofire, Presonus' Inspire, Edirol's UA and FA interfaces, or even Digidesign's Mbox2 mini, which are quite close in terms of price. That said, you won't find similar converters for the 1212's price, however.

@tam_guitar - while technically a DAW is supposed to mean Digital Audio Workstation so that means Audition falls within the confines of that definition, some others have decided to raise the bar on the definition by including the capability to process midi. If there's one thing you cannot do in Audition, it's edit a midi track. Sure you can import a midi file, but the most you can do is assign the track to a port but you cannot play softsynths or even edit out a note. As of Audition 2.0, I haven't seen any facility to manipulate midi data, which is the reason Audition sometimes isn't included in comparison with Cubase, Sonar and the like. Even FL and Ableton Live are more considered as DAW software because of their midi and audio capabilities.

Sir KitC,

therefore...i will use AUDITION for audio editing and mastering, and FL STUDIO for MIDI editing...and drums...hehe

yah think itll work!?
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #192 on: November 03, 2007, 11:47:50 PM »
Sir KitC,

therefore...i will use AUDITION for audio editing and mastering, and FL STUDIO for MIDI editing...and drums...hehe

yah think itll work!?

Well, yeh... if you like moving continually between 2 programs. One of the reasons why I prefer Cubase and Sonar... no need to shift to another program when I have to edit audio and midi at the same time. One thing I do, however, is use an audio editing program like Wavelab to do my 'mastering'; these kinds of programs excel at this thing, and Audition (formerly CoolEdit) was and is an audio editing program at it's core.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #193 on: November 04, 2007, 12:02:16 AM »
oic

i understand now.

until i download sonar or cubase...il stick with FL STUDIO and AUDITION

btw, my soundcard is just a CREATIVE VALUE "something" card...


BTW

sir KITC,

i have the PSP VINTAGE WARMER plugin...its a compressor right!? u like!? i dont...i dnt knw y. :lol:
« Last Edit: November 04, 2007, 01:18:03 AM by tam_guitar »
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #194 on: November 04, 2007, 01:30:30 AM »
Download Sonar or Cubase?  :?

Careful... you know how we are about piracy here considering that a lot of us are registered users of the software we use. Instead of Sonar and Cubase, I suggest getting Reaper instead. It's uncrippled, unexpiring shareware, and it doesn't need a crack in order to operate. You can even run it off a thumbdrive since it is only a few megs, but it has capabilities that approach most major daw software.

Don't worry about the Value card... I had one a long time ago and it was quite sufficient for learning about recording and for doing demos; I learned how to make soundfonts (and subsequently sampling) on the darned thing. Plus, it's practically guaranteed to work with most games (semipro and pro soundcards can be less tolerant of gaming).
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #195 on: November 04, 2007, 03:08:05 AM »
piracy = bad

copy that!
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline stilljey

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #196 on: November 04, 2007, 05:23:04 AM »
Well, I'm using the 1212's big brother, the 1820m and I swear by it. Let's just say that my soundstage opened up greatly when I moved to the Emu. You might have a better alternative in the 1212 since you are not tied to the 1820m's preamps, which though good, have exhibited some strange quirks.

The problem though is that Emu's parent company, Creative, is apparently in the middle of a financial crisis. While the Emu is a very good mid-level card, there are concerns about the company's longevity given Creative's financial woes. I suggest a wait-and-see approach or maybe try alternatives, like Echo's Audiofire, Presonus' Inspire, Edirol's UA and FA interfaces, or even Digidesign's Mbox2 mini, which are quite close in terms of price. That said, you won't find similar converters for the 1212's price, however.
Ok Thanks sir, have a good day!

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #197 on: November 04, 2007, 08:45:02 PM »
sir,

i purchase today a Sony MDR-V150 monitor headphone...it sucks!!! i hate it. maganda pa ung headphone na CDRKING

P1,400 ung price...

i wanna return it!!! do u think they will accept!?!?! AUTOMATIC CENTER

do u have any experience similar to this!?

bad comments:

muddy. too much mid. almost no high. espesyali kapag full band na!!! to much bass....its eating the whole audio! and the BOX SAYS "MONITOR HEADPHONE"

geez!!!
« Last Edit: November 04, 2007, 08:55:38 PM by tam_guitar »
There is no tone. There is only music.

Offline KitC

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #198 on: November 04, 2007, 08:55:19 PM »
I used to have the V600... that one really rocked. You might not be used to monitor headphones. For one thing, monitor-type headphones are not supposed to have hyped frequencies, often have a flat response. What you look for is accuracy in the reproduction of sounds and notes. Stereo imaging is always exaggerated when wearing headphones so do not use cans when making panning and reverb/fx decisions, you need monitor speakers for that.
Sonar 4.04PE/5.2PE/7.02PE/8.31 PE, Project 5 v2.5.1, EmulatorX 1.5, Cubase SL2, Ableton Live 7.14,  Intel Q6600 MSI P43 Neo 4Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR2-800, Emu 1820m, Yamaha DSP Factory, Terratec DMX 6fire

Offline tam_guitar

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Re: Setting up your PC for Recording
« Reply #199 on: November 04, 2007, 08:59:32 PM »
ganun po ba ang monitor headphones!?!?!

tsk tsk...nganget talaga to eh...

btw, when using headphones as monitors...

ung master volume lagi 0db!? or higher...kasi basag to kapag malakas na...

ung windows mixer, todo lahat sir!?







i tested the SONY MONITOR HEADPHONE...at 15000Hz wala na ako marinig at 30Hz lang ang rinig...

is that ok!?

sabi sa specs frequency response ay 16-22,000Hz

 :?
« Last Edit: November 04, 2007, 09:06:18 PM by tam_guitar »
There is no tone. There is only music.