Emu XL-7 & MP-7 User's Group

Not so much a flaw as a great disappointment, as the manual doesn't
bother to mention it while touting the glory of using the sub-outs to
sum external audio sources to the main outs.  I got all excited at
first, because I thought I would be able to route my e6400 and
Morpheus back in through the sub-out returns and just have one digital
signal path to my computer, rather than having to go through various
extra analog stages (various noisy analog stages, which seem to
involve the sound card itself rather than the mixer I'm going through
to get there).

However... it does make sense from a design stand point.  The summing
to the main is analog (has to be, since the sub-out returns are
analog), after the D/A stage, so rather than doing all the work of
re-digitizing the returns from the sub-outs, they just took the pure
digital signal before it hits the D/A and route that directly to the
SPDIF.

Yes, all digital sub-outs would be another way to go (with digital
returns summed digitally into the SPDIF), but far less useful for
people without a digital in on their FX unit (or wherever the heck
they were routing the sub-outs after they leave the box)

You can please some of the people some of the time, but not all of the
people all of the time... especially when your parent company is more
interested in PC sound cards than in people looking for professional
instruments.


--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, "Bob S." <tttsystems@...> wrote:
>
> Good reason.  In addition, I have several synths that have SPDIF
outputs and since this is a 2 channel format, they let the user pick
which two channels are to be used on that output....no summing other
outs.  You can easily switch to summing all voices to the main output
and routing that to the SPDIF so I don't see this as a flaw at
all....just the way you happen to have set up your system......
> 
> Bob
> El Segundo, CA
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: gutman75 <bgutman@...>
> >Sent: Feb 13, 2007 10:40 AM
> >To: xl7@yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [xl7] Re: XL7 disappointment
> >
> >Probably because that would require the sound to be digitized, and 
> >Command Stations don't have A/D converters (alas! I would *love* to 
> >pass audio through these filters!). I've read somewhere that summing 
> >of returns with main outs on Command Stations is passive, that is, 
> >returns are routed to mains even when the unit is turned off. I 
> >suppose it's not much of a comfort for you, but at least answers 
> >the "why" part...
> >
> >regards,
> >Boris.
> >--- In xl7@yahoogroups.com, Zsolt Szabó <Zsolt.Szabo@> wrote:
> >>
> >> Hello,
> >> 
> >> could somebody explain me why on Earth do not
> >> sum the returns on sub outs in the SPDIF main out ?
> >> The signal is oresent on the main analogue outs
> >> but it is  missing from the SPDIF.
> >> Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhh ...
> >> 
> >> I'm puzzled, it's the first serious flaw I'm encountering
> >> in the XL7, but it is very very disappointing.
> >> 
> >> 
> >> Regards,
> >> 
> >>     Zsolt
> >>
> >
> >
>