Pro-Ject Debut III USB Preamp Advice
Reply #6 – 2012-05-11 03:42:19
No, Andy's saying that the outputs of the internal preamp are clipping the inputs of the internal A/D converter inside the turntable. The RCA outs are the same analog outputs from the preamp - pre-A/D converter - and Andy's concern is that they may be so hot that they would still overdrive the inputs of an external A/D converter. I'm not convinced this would be the case...it would have to be a VERY hot phono pre (which it still may be!). Since all we have to go on here is anecdotal evidence and experimentation, i.e. I'm assuming you don' t have a test record and oscilloscope just lying around , what kind of Mac do you have? You've probably answered this before on the forum (and I may well have asked the question ), but if it's a desktop model - iMac, mini, or Pro - you could try plugging the Pro-Ject's preamp outputs into the line in and seeing what kind of levels you get. While my mini's input is a bit on the sensitive side, it's still a "reasonably" line-level input. Even if you have to pull the input level all the way down in the Sound control panel, if you're still getting clean sound and no clipping, I'd say you'd be good to go with any decent USB/FireWire audio interface - hell, you might just try capturing with your Mac's input! If, however, you still get noticeable clipping, then there's a chance that an external interface might still be overdriven, as well.