Hi
got my Aeros the other day and am playing around with it this am and have a question.
Using the DI out (XLR to 1/4") and going into the 1/4" mono input of the Aeros, my input volume is very low despite having the amps volume at a decent level.
If I bypass the amp and just plug direct from my pedal board to the aeros, the volume is fine.
Any ideas why it would be so low going from the direct/XLR of my amp?
Is the cable you’re using an XLR to 1/4" TRS or XLR to 1/4" TS? To my knowledge (may be incorrect on this) the Areos has ‘unbalanced’ 1/4" inputs which may not provide a proper connection to a ‘balanced’ TRS plug and could possibly account for a low signal(?) If there are specs on the Areos inputs I couldn’t readily find them.
What amp are you using and are the DI outputs specced at ‘line’ level?
Cable looks like an XLR to TS.
Bass amp is a Demeter Bass 400D.
http://www.demeteramps.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=98
There is a toggle switch on the back that allows you to choose between " flat " and " EQ ". I just went back and played around some more and when the toggle is set to flat, I get a decent input signal, but not when it’s set to EQ.
I would think the input levels would be the same/similar regardless of where the toggle is at…weird.
This sounds like an impedance issue, let’s see if I understand:
(I’m gonna refer to impedance as “Z”)
You have a high Z signal running through a DI box (which regularly converts high Z balanced outs to balanced low Z outs) and turning it into a high impedance signal again in the cable (XLR to TS) only, without proper conversion (a re-amp box).
This makes the signal first get “louder” due to lower resistance(which the DI box takes care of mostly) then it gets “quieter” again as it is becoming a High Z (high resistance) unbalanced cable. The re-amp box would deal with this level change needed but since there is none, it enters your Aeros quieter. What you need is to send the Amp return signal(hiZ) from the DI to the Aeros, or just go directly into the Aeros, because it seems to have both passive and active 1/4" inputs which will act as a DI.
It would help to understand more about your set up and why you need the DI!
Hi Brennan…Setup is as follows:
Bass into pedal board
Pedal board out to the Demeter Bass 400
DI of Demeter Bass 400 out to right input (jack on back of device) of Aeros
Beat Buddy audio out to left input (jack on back on device) of Aeros
Audio (aux) out of Aeros to a California blonde amp as a monitor
Im using the demeter head mainly because thats hooked up to a bergantino 2x12 and thats what I really want to hear my bass out of…
An XLR to TS cable will usually introduce about a 6dB loss in signal as only half of a balanced connection is used versus connecting with a TRS to a balanced input. The specs I found state it is ‘Line level’, but doesn’t cite an actual level in dB. The DI out of the amp, while not in the specs that I could find should typically be low impedance so as to not get loaded down by any normal device it terminates to and I would assume should have an issue driving the Areos input. Difficult to know how the ‘flat’ and ‘EQ’ circuit is configured in the amp. If all the EQ settings were zeroed out so no boost or cut you might think either setting of the switch should be the same, but would depend how they accomplished ‘flat’ if it bypasses the gain stage of the EQ altogether.
The link to Demeter came up blank page (not sure if my browser blocked it), so I couldn’t get anything there such as a manual which might have a block diagram of the amp. I was wondering if the DI out is the same as the 1/4" preamp output and if you had tried that. The preamp out should be after the tube preamp, which I’m assuming is the coloration your trying to get(?)
!
Is there any reason you don’t configure like this:
Bass>Pedalboard> Aeros> Demeter Bass 400> Bergantino
and separately connect the BB to the Blonde amp?