sambeber Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 Hi everyone! Recently bought studio monitors to substitute for headphones and I am getting a surprising amount of clipping at quite low volume levels. I am routing straight from HX to the monitors via TRS-XLR, with the helix also hooked up to my DAW to act as an interface. In the DAW messing around with the stock presets, they sit at a very normal volume (maybe around -15dB?), nowhere near digital clipping. But then as I output to the monitors (which are set at unity), going anywhere past 2:00 on the volume knob induces clipping in the monitor. It's not loud at all but very audible clipping. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 It just sounds like you’re clipping the monitors’ inputs. Have you tried setting the Stomps outputs to instrument level opposed to line level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambeber Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 I haven't, everything I read said keep it at line level. The Adams are set on the back for +4dBu, wouldn't that be expecting a line level? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmalle Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 The Helix is able to deliver about +19dBu in line level mode before distorting the DA converters. If you have a preset that puts out -15dBFS and you crank the volume knob you get +16dBu at the output. I'd guesstimate that the patch is +10dBu with the volume knob at 2 o'clock which is twice the level of +4dBu and might well be the max headroom of the Adams input stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambeber Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 Thank you! So if I keep it under 4dBu, say volume knob around noon, I guess I just shouldn't expect very loud playback from the monitors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundog Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 "It's not loud at all but very audible clipping." Is a clipping LED lighting up on the monitor, or do you just "hear" the clipping? If an LED is lighting, it's odd that its not audibly loud unless there is something weird in the signal (current, sub frequencies, very high frequency noise, etc). Try #1) use a blank preset in Helix (no blocks, just clean guitar); #2 try a different XLR cable; #3 test using a different speaker or monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schmalle Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 1 hour ago, sambeber said: Thank you! So if I keep it under 4dBu, say volume knob around noon, I guess I just shouldn't expect very loud playback from the monitors? According to ADAM audio these speakers deliver a max SPL >110dB @1m per pair - that's fairly loud. My ADAM A5x pair is pretty loud, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicLaw Posted March 31, 2021 Share Posted March 31, 2021 What firmware version is running in your HX Stomp? And, have you disconnected the Stomp from the USB cable to see if the clipping persists when not connected to your computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambeber Posted March 31, 2021 Author Share Posted March 31, 2021 The clipping was only heard, I don’t think Adam's have an LED indicator. My Stomp firmware is running 3.0.1. Coming back to the speakers this aft, at about 1:00 it's honestly pretty loud. It's my first experience with studio monitors not in professional environment so I guess I was expecting too much volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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