Pulsar analog output is much quieter

[pulsarll]

Greeting
I have a 2x pulsar2 everything works fine except for one pulsar whose analog output is much quieter than the other.
Has anyone already had such a problem?

[valis]

Are they both the same output type? Ie, "Classic IO" versus XLR...

I can't recall if thi's is dependant on the daughterboard (which one would presume needs to be switched between your i/o types) or if that's up to the mainboard attached, etc. I do recall something to this effect, so hopefully Gary or others will chime in with remembrances.

[garyb]

the RCA product(classic20) is consumer level -20
the XLR product is +4 pro level.

the cable whips are not interchangeable.

[pulsarll]

When I bought them both were RCA, I made the XLR cables myself.
Is it possible to do something to make the signal stronger on analog output ?

[garyb]

since the card originally had rca, it does not have the balancing op amps. there's no point to putting an xlr cable on the card. it's not the same thing, and it won't really work correctly. the idea is to connect to the proper connector, if possible, if not, you will have to raise the level of the output from the card to match the level that the other device is expecting, or lower the level going into the card, since balanced signals tend to be hotter, by convention. you aren't balancing the output by changing the connector, and you might do more harm than good.

[pulsarll]

Both my card originally had RCA .Would anything change if the outputs were not balanced? That's not a problem to do.

[Berny Shoes]

Maybe an rca to xlr converter would be useful

https://artproaudio.com/product/cleanbo ... converter/

[valis]

Let's back up a sec. A line level shifter or passive DI box would work well for this (active too, but one might debate coloring the signal in this case), but otherwise GaryB is correct that it will not change the level to just use the same internals and change the external connector. However...

pulsarII when you say "I made the XLR cables myself" did you modify the cable whip that comes out of the card or did you add an additional RCA>XLR adapter, etc?

[pulsarll]

I did't add an additional RCA>XLR adapter,I made the XLR cables new.
And I certainly did everything well because I did it 2 times. One Pulsar works ok and the other is quieter.
Garyb wrote that there are two Pulsar models one with + 4db output and the other -20db output.
My question is can anything be done without additional devices?

[valis]

Cables new? RCA to xlr? I'm trying to ascertain whether you modified the original cable loom or have the RCA>XLR conversion done in addition to it. The answer to your question is no, though in my first response I was alluding to the fact that I think some have done daughterboard swaps to swap i/o modules as well. I don't recall whether this is really enough to accomplish this, and GaryB didn't response accordingly either so...

Anyway let's start with whether or not your original cable whip is intact or not, and we can look at options from there if that interests you. There's many options this route from using DI boxes to small mixers and more, so what is useful here depends on what your i/o needs are and what other devices you have to connect to.

If not, then a used card with the correct i/o is probably your best option. If you have PCI slots for it and a decent motherboard, you gain additional DSP and i/o (this is my setup, XLR on one Scope card, RCA on the older Pulsar2). The resulting system would have combined keys.

[Bud Weiser]

Garyb wrote that there are two Pulsar models one with + 4db output and the other -20db output.
My question is can anything be done without additional devices?

No.
He said there are 2 different output-plates existing,- "Classic20"and the professional balanced XLR model.
The cards are the same,- but breakout cable whips are not exchangable because Classic20 is missing the "balancing" chip.

AND,- he said,- WHEN you added a cable, cinch connector on one end and XLR on the other,- that doesn´t make a balanced connection at all.
Same when you removed the chinch connector on the whip and added a XLR connector.
Instead you only have the desired connector on 1 end, but still unbalanced -10dB signal level instead of balanced +4dB ... a difference of 14dB !

Line level shifter might be what you need.
The ART mentioned above is one of these,- Ebtech is another one https://www.thomann.de/gb/morley_ebtech ... ifter2.htm
I´m using a 8-ch. Fostex 5030 (out of production) for such purposes and have a custom made 2-in/2-out transformer based davice for bi-directional use.

I´m aware that doesn´t explain output level differences of your card´s identical output plates unless we´re able to have a loh on what you soldered.
Remote diagnostics were difficult always ...

What´s up w/ w/ your ADAT connections ? Different levels too ?

In case your analog outs on one of the cards is really damaged and repair is too much hassle,- using ADAT w/ some cost efficient AD/DA (p.ex. Behringer ADa 8200) might be cheaper and less hassle than repair and offers more channels in addition.
I myself, I rarely used the unbalanced consumer level cinch I/Os or the PCI card w/ "Classic20§ plate.
ADAT is the way ...



Bud