Newb Alert: Inputs into Zoom R8

[alexis]

Hi - I'm looking at the R8 manual and trying to figure out if I'm going to be able to use an external preamp running into the device for recording, desiring to "bypass" the R8's preamps.

The R8 has a 2-position toggle to tell it what kind of instrument is attached:

Position 1) Guitar-Bass (Hi Z)
Position 2) Mic/Line.

The inputs look like they are a combination XLR/line.

What I'm wondering is:

1) Is the output from my preamp on a 1/4 phone plug a "line" signal (vs. a "Hi Z" signal)?

2) I'm guessing it's a Line signal ... if that's the case, how do I know that when I switch the toggle to "Mic/Line" the R8 knows *not* to route the signal running through my 1/4 inch plug through it's preamp section? Is there some sort of internal mechanism that leaves the preamps out of the signal path unless an XLR is inserted?

Thanks much -

[Sam Inglis]

The output from your preamp will be a line input. In common with most cheap interfaces and recorders, the R8's line inputs don't bypass the preamps -- you simply set the channel gain to minimum when a line-level signal is input. In other words mic and line signals pass through the same signal path, and it's up to the user to set the gain appropriately.

[alexis]

The output from your preamp will be a line input. In common with most cheap interfaces and recorders, the R8's line inputs don't bypass the preamps -- you simply set the channel gain to minimum when a line-level signal is input. In other words mic and line signals pass through the same signal path, and it's up to the user to set the gain appropriately.

Thank you Sam for the info!

Big "uggh" though for what I learned. I wasn't envisioning hooking up my nice-ish preamp just to have it adversely colored by a 2nd "lesser" preamp.

I wonder if the change to the line signal is usually noticeable (vs. negligible/not noticeable) when the gain on units such as these is set to minimum (which I assume it should be with a line signal coming in) ...

[Sam Inglis]

In most cases the extra preamp stage shouldn't 'colour' the sound, it will just add a small amount of extra noise, which shouldn't be a problem as long as your gain structure is OK. If the R8 is anything like the R16, it probably doesn't have huge amounts of headroom, but I've made perfectly usable recordings from mixer preamps feeding my R16's analogue inputs.

[Mike Stranks]

In most cases the extra preamp stage shouldn't 'colour' the sound, it will just add a small amount of extra noise, which shouldn't be a problem as long as your gain structure is OK. If the R8 is anything like the R16, it probably doesn't have huge amounts of headroom, but I've made perfectly usable recordings from mixer preamps feeding my R16's analogue inputs.

Me too!

[alexis]

Thank you, Sam!

... which shouldn't be a problem as long as your gain structure is OK ...

Functionally, does that mean have the signal hot enough leaving my preamp that the Zoom trim can be turned as close to "Zero" as possible? (While of course trying to keep audio peak signals around -12 dBFS, as in my DAW)?

[Sam Inglis]

Yes, exactly -- set the gain knobs on the Zoom to their lowest position and use the gain knob on the preamp to set a level. Easy enough if you're recording to a computer, somewhat harder if you're recording stand-alone and have to rely on the Zoom's rather basic metering!

[alexis]

Yes, exactly -- set the gain knobs on the Zoom to their lowest position and use the gain knob on the preamp to set a level. Easy enough if you're recording to a computer, somewhat harder if you're recording stand-alone and have to rely on the Zoom's rather basic metering!

Thank you so much, Sam, extremely helpful.

[Mike Stranks]

Again; 'yes' to all of that - and as Sam has previously said, "Headroom? What headroom?".

As an aside, I've been checking out the Cymatic LR-16. It's 'meters' seem even more basic...

[UltimateOutsider]

Just ran across this thread. The Zoom R8's preamp isn't all that bad. My only complaint about it is it doesn't deliver quite as much gain as other interfaces in its price range. Probably fine for general purposes, but I doubt it's enough to make SM7B owners happy.

If you'd like to hear the R8 in action, I did two sets of recordings with the preamps engaged on the R8 and five other interfaces (Steinberg UR22, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2, Roland Duo-Capture EX, Avid Fast Track Duo, and RME Fireface UFX). I ran the audio from multi-timbral synths through some active DIs that attenuated the signal by 40db, then ran that into the interface for each recording, where I'd use the preamps to boost to the appropriate level.

If you want to blind-listen and see if you can pick out the R8 from the others, there are two sets of recordings:
Yamaha SY85: http://ultimateoutsider.com/interfaces/SY85PreRaw/
Access Virus: http://ultimateoutsider.com/interfaces/VirusPreRaw/

To find out which recording was which, these SoundCloud playlists indicate which interface was used for each recording (just match up the filenames):
Yamaha SY85: https://soundcloud.com/ultimateoutsider/sets/yamaha-sy85-pre...
Access Virus: https://soundcloud.com/ultimateoutsider/sets/access-virus-ti...

There are line-level recordings of all those interfaces (and more) in this folder: http://ultimateoutsider.com/interfaces/

For the money the R8's a pretty amazing little machine.