Major volume difference between USB and Analog
 

anyone else experiencing this?
launch virus control - select a sound. Play it via usb and out your sound card. Now, without changing anything else, go to the common menu and change the outs to OUTS 1 L+R. Now play the same sound. On my system it is about 10dBs quieter. Pretty significant. I checked all the settings and everything is the same between when I was sending the sound out the usb cable and the analog outs - the sound volume, pan settings etc.

edit, I should mention that I am using high end monster cables.

It has got a lot to do with what you sound card is and what it is set to, IE my RME Fireface is set to 'Lo Gain' because I have a lot of head room left and less distortion. I could set it at +4 dBu or -10dBV but I might sometimes clip the input or introduce more electronic gain noise. Like when a video camera is in a dark light moment.
Try s/pdif for the best sound.. ie 24bit and no DA AD conversion.

yeah, I kind of figured it was the da/ad conversion - I just never realized how much of an effect it had on the audio (my audio always ran through the converters)

If you have got a really good sound card use analog or s/pdif if not use s/pdif. You have to slave to the TI for sample rate sync though.

Re: Major volume difference between USB and Analog
 

There's no difference on mine, but then I'm not using another soundcard.

grs, I do have s/pdif on my sound card (echo layla 24) and like the concept of keeping everything in the digitial domain, but never really looked at s/pdif before as I have always used the 16 analog ins and outs. Can you get multichannel audio over s/pdif - meaning, using s/pdif, would I see multiple audio in streams coming into cubase?

Re: Major volume difference between USB and Analog
 

Ben, when you say you aren't using another soundcard, are you saying that you are using your TI as your only soundcard? Just curious as to how you buss audio out of your daw(I think you use cubase) and to your monitors if the TI is your only soundcard?

Well, don't laugh, but until we can afford to buy a bigger house, or seriously update this one, I don't have a studio anymore (stolen by babies). This means I'm stuck in the corner of my dining room, with my Polar sat on the top of my PC's corner-shaped desk, with the analog outs of my Polar going into my digital piano, which I am forced to use as my 'monitors'.

I do at least have a nice set of cans though, in the shape of some Sennheiser HD650's. 8)

s/pdif is just a copy of the output 1 LR, same as the headphones.

I'm so glad I didn't give into the pressure when we had our kid. I'd be stuck in a damp Japanese box to make music if I did. Luckily I still have the biggest room, and the kid got the box. :D