presonus tube pre and audiophile 2496

yeah ive got it working 2day nice one thanx again

thats great guys cheers

You are right, Pablo. The best choice is single mono jack to single RCA, as I said in my first post. The reason I say XLR can work as well is because of the design of the XLR standard. It can carry balanced AND unbalanced signals, and balanced signals will become unbalanced because one of the conductors are connected to ground. It's up to you... Cheers

and the output of your preamp is mono too. You have two possibilities for the output of your preamp: Mono unbalanced, via a 1/4" mono jack or mono balanced, via an XLR connector. But, being unbalanced the input connector of the audio card, it doesn't make sense for me to use it, although David and Quentin could have another view. I think you need a mono jack to single RCA. The jack for the output of the preamp and the RCA for either of the inputs of the audiocard. A more flexible configuration is a 1/4" mono jack to 1/4" mono jack cable and a RCA-male-to-JACK-female adapter. It is the same thing but I think it is better in the sense that you can use the jack-jack cable for other uses. Then use the software applications (I recommend you get familiar with Envy 24 and Jackctl as a minimum) and, of course you have to use the outputs of your audio card to get the sound.

thanx for that guys its easy to find xlr to rca cable but why is it better to use other configuration o and do i need 2 rca to single 1/4" jack or single rca to 1/4" jack sorry abou that guys but i m not very good with all the cable things lol thanx again

You could have a mono output on only one of the inputs, either L or R, and then by connectin that input in Jack Control to the left AND right inputs of the destination, you can "simulate" a double connection. Ain't GNU cool! Cheers, Quentin

I dont recommend you to connect from XLR to RCA, is better if you use a 1/4" mono to rca. And yes you should only use one of the RCA inputs of yor audio card. If you have any doubts concerning why not to mix rca and xlr or why to use just one of your inputs or about cables/conectors just ask i gladly explain it to you.

the XLR is a mono output from the preamp. It is balanced, what means that it is suitable for using with an axial cable with a shield and two inner wires. But it is mono, not stereo. I have a preamp (not like yours but) with the same input /output connections and a m-audio audio card with RCA inputs and RCA outputs. I connect the instrument or micro to the preamp, mono signal (balanced or unbalanced). I connect the output of the preamp to one RCA input of the audio card, via a mono cable with mono unbalanced 1/4" jacks on both ends plus a RCA-male-to-JACK-female coupling for the audio card side. The output of the audio card is a different thing because you normally will have a stereo amplifier with two loudspeakers (left and right). Depending on the input of the amplifier you can use a cable consisting in two RCA connectors on one end and a 1/4" stereo jack on the other. Or you may need a cable with a pair of RCA connectors on both sides. I think you can buy these cables and couplings in music or electronic stores. Cheers Pablo

Your presonus preamp has a mono unbalanced and balanced outputs. The best way to interface the two (because RCA is unbalanced by design) is to get a 1/4" jack to RCA adapter cable. You could also use a XLR to RCA cable if it is easier to find. Plugging it that way will force the balanced output unbalanced, but it was designed to be able to work like that = Roady proof! You can get the cable you need here... http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_sssnake_spr2030.htm You will have to decide which input on the card you'll use (either left or right RCA in, and then patch the signals right on Qjack Control. Let us know when you get it going! Cheers,