+4/0/-10

Hello everyone... it's been awhile since I've posted and I apologize.

The direct output of my Allen & Heath D:16 operates at nominal 0dbu line level.  It is going to my M-Audio Delta 1010 that operates at +4.  What is the harm in running a 0 dbu line level signal into a +4 and is there a fix?  Thank you so much.

No, there isn't an easy fix, and it hardly seems worth it anyway. Your nominal 0dBu running into a +4dBu soundcard sounds like quite a good compromise. Running a -10dBv output into it wouldn't be, but considering that this 0dBu is only a nominal output value, I wouldn't worry - this is probably the right way around for a slight level mismatch, because you lower the chances of maxing out the card input stage by mistake!

Somewhere in the forum there is a revised explanation of what all of this actually means. The only thing that surprises me slightly is that 0dBu is a pretty non-standard operating level - and I can't find anything on the Allen & Heath site about any mixer just called D:16. What series is it?

Sorry about the typo.  It is an Allen & Heath WZ 16:2DX MixWizard Series.  Thank you so much for your response.  The tech guy at A&H didn't have a clue what I was talking about (didn't know what -10/0/+4 was).  I feel better now.

The tech guy at A&H didn't have a clue what I was talking about (didn't know what -10/0/+4 was).

Why do they let the work experience schoolkids loose on the phones?    

And I now see what you mean - these are the direct outputs from the inset points - which come right after the mic pre and before the EQ section, and are unbalanced only. There should be sufficient signal from these to drive a +4dBu soundcard without any problems, I would have thought. The only thing that you might find is that to get right up anywhere near 0dB on the meters, you might have to advance the channel gain further than usual, and this will use up some of the mic pre headroom, but there ought to be enough there to cope with most things you'd normally encounter, I would have thought.

The tech guy at A&H didn't have a clue what I was talking about (didn't know what -10/0/+4 was).

Why do they let the work experience schoolkids loose on the phones?    

And I now see what you mean - these are the direct outputs from the inset points - which come right after the mic pre and before the EQ section, and are unbalanced only.

No, these are after the eq (post fader).  There is a way to bypass the EQ but the fix is internal (you have to jump something).  Here, I'll type exactly what it says in the manual.

"The channel direct output taps the signal off post-fader (pre-fader if the internal link option is changed) for connection to external processing or recording equipment.  This is ideal for multitrack recording during a live performance.  Here each channel can be recorded on a seperate track for mixdown later.  The output is impedance balanced on TRS jack.  This means that you get the benefit of interference immunity when connecting to outboard equipment with balanced inputs.  You can, of course, also connect to unbalanced equipment.  The signal operates at nominal 0dbu line level."

No, these are after the eq (post fader).  There is a way to bypass the EQ but the fix is internal (you have to jump something).  Here, I'll type exactly what it says in the manual.

"The channel direct output taps the signal off post-fader (pre-fader if the internal link option is changed) for connection to external processing or recording equipment.  This is ideal for multitrack recording during a live performance.  Here each channel can be recorded on a seperate track for mixdown later.  The output is impedance balanced on TRS jack.  This means that you get the benefit of interference immunity when connecting to outboard equipment with balanced inputs.  You can, of course, also connect to unbalanced equipment.  The signal operates at nominal 0dbu line level."

Ah. I only read the spec, not the manual! Normally when it says TRS on a channel output, it refers to the insert point, but this is obviously different. Shouldn't make any difference, though - unless the faders have 0dB set lower than full extension. If they do, then you'll probably find that there's enough make-up gain at that point to fully mod the soundcard input just by shoving them up a little further - otherwise you'll be back to increasing the gain to achieve the same thing.

Right on, man.  Thanks.

And hey, by the way, according to my ears, there was never a problem.  Thought I'd throw that in since you're pretty big on that.