4x RCA to HDMI for Quadraphonic Record Player / Quad Demodulator to Use On HDMI Only System

[TuliaNonTroppo]

The way I see it, if your system sounds worse when turning off room correction…then the equipment that utilizes room correction is working as advertised and it was money well spent for your room’s situation.

I am a renter and have never been wealthy. I can fully understand and can relate with the need to work within less-than-ideal parameters. I also am frustrated by posts in this hobby’s various forums where someone says their system sounds good and others still state that the other person is doing it wrong.

 

[par4ken]

To me, another great reason to have a way of converting multi-channel analog audio outputs to HDMI is the fact that the room correction/compensation technology (e.g., Audyssey) in modern receivers do not work for sources connected to the multi-channel analog inputs. So even if you have a Surround Master connected to your receiver through the multi-channel analog inputs, you won't get the benefits of whatever room correction/compensation system your receiver can use for other inputs.

I'm with Sonic! If the room and speakers are properly set up (and it doesn't have to be perfect), then room correction is totally unnecessary.

I've lived with analogue equipment my whole life and find this shift to doing everything digital to be rather amusing. Do it because it can be done whether or not it produces any real benefit. People now get unmatched low quality speakers and try to compensate with room equalisation, time delay etc. The problem is those settings are tuned to your prime listening position and may well produce worse results elsewhere in the room. My system (all my systems) sound fantastic wherever you sit in the room with artificial digital effects! So to each their own!

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I'm with Sonic! If the room and speakers are properly set up (and it doesn't have to be perfect), then room correction is totally unnecessary.

My system (all my systems) sound fantastic wherever you sit in the room with artificial digital effects! So to each their own!

Thanks Ken But I think you mean " without any artificial digital effect".

I'm not so sure digital room correction does fine tune it to a single sweet spot. If you've seen this done usually a microphone will be placed in multiple positions and tests run. So I think it picks out the best compromise for the whole area. Which raises the question to me if there really is an optimum sweet spot to sit in?

I've seen both my son-in-laws bring home new gear, hook up speakers & run the digital correction features first thing. And they've never listened to the system "raw". They just plop speakers down where it looks about right or looks good. No tape measuring. No idea how to best set up for stereo center front phantom imaging. Oh & that's another point I'd suggest esp for folks starting out in surround sound. Set it up & use it as stereo only for a while. fiddle with distance & placement to get good width & solid imaging. Get the front stereo pair correct first & the rest will follow.

Returning to @DudeRocks original post, yes there is need for 4.0/5.1 analog to MCH HDMI. It is the bridge to using a Surround Master & much more to most new equipment. Can't use or buy if ya can't connect! I look extensively about once a year hoping to post I've found this solution. But so far, no dice.

 

[tcassette]

Apparently the comments on this thread have strayed far from the original post. My comment about losing digital room correction capability when connecting analog outputs from quad decoders was just meant to reinforce the OP's contention that having a way to convert those quad analog outputs to HDMI would be a helpful feature for many folks. You can choose not to use digital room correction systems just like you can choose to only source your music from vinyl; however, other people may not share your opinions.

 

[mandrix]

Thanks Ken But I think you mean " without any artificial digital effect".

I'm not so sure digital room correction does fine tune it to a single sweet spot. If you've seen this done usually a microphone will be placed in multiple positions and tests run. So I think it picks out the best compromise for the whole area. Which raises the question to me if there really is an optimum sweet spot to sit in?

I've seen both my son-in-laws bring home new gear, hook up speakers & run the digital correction features first thing. And they've never listened to the system "raw". They just plop speakers down where it looks about right or looks good. No tape measuring. No idea how to best set up for stereo center front phantom imaging. Oh & that's another point I'd suggest esp for folks starting out in surround sound. Set it up & use it as stereo only for a while. fiddle with distance & placement to get good width & solid imaging. Get the front stereo pair correct first & the rest will follow.

Returning to @DudeRocks original post, yes there is need for 4.0/5.1 analog to MCH HDMI. It is the bridge to using a Surround Master & much more to most new equipment. Can't use or buy if ya can't connect! I look extensively about once a year hoping to post I've found this solution. But so far, no dice.

Dirac Live, used with the pc app, lets you select between several scenarios. Tightly focused primary listening position (what I use), broader area, such as a couch, etc.
All of us can't set speakers in optimal locations. If you can, great. That would be in an ideal scenario, and when my audio was in a larger room I was able to do this. But to keep going on about tape measuring, etc. and railing against digital room correction you imply that the rest of us are nitwits that are somehow incapable of working with constraints of the room we have to deal with.
OK, I'm moving on.

 

[vjdave]

Are you talking about doing this?

Yes, this uses a PC with a 4 channel USB sound interface, but the software used in the PC does real time routing of the analog audio from 4 channels to specific HDMI audio channels.

 

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

Are you talking about doing this?

Yes, this uses a PC with a 4 channel USB sound interface, but the software used in the PC does real time routing of the analog audio from 4 channels to specific HDMI audio channels.

Very cool! I wonder if this could benefit from good DI boxes before the interface?

 

[DudeRocks]

Are you talking about doing this?

Yes, this uses a PC with a 4 channel USB sound interface, but the software used in the PC does real time routing of the analog audio from 4 channels to specific HDMI audio channels.

That Behringer looks a hell of a lot easier to include on a home audio rack in the living room than the Korg888 LOL! I'm looking over the software from that video now. https://equalizerapo.com/#usage
Awesome find dude!!!

 

[jimfisheye]

The Behringer/Midas UMC-1820 has 10 analog outputs + an ADAT port. $300. Cheapest way to get that many channels of professional balanced line level output. You can expand the outputs via the ADAT output to get up to 12 - 18 channels for 7.1.4 Atmos listening or more.

This is pro level audio gear and the cheapest way known to anyone to get this channel count. If you are also recording and need inputs, the preamps are Midas design. Lots of bang for the buck!

10 channels of DAC, 8 Midas mic pres, and an ADAT port for $300. Driver is class compliant on Mac. Plug and play. They do make a driver for Windows.

The built-in cuemix mixer for recording/overdubbing duties is crude and simple. The headphone output and again, the internal routing and cuemix abilities with it are crude and simple. All stuff you have to pay extra for. Easily dismissed if you aren't using those features and are only interested in the 10 channels of DAC output.

I know... "b-word" product and a bunch of snarky comments. This is B-word/Midas and it's a newer product line. And it's a lot of bang for the buck!

 

[DudeRocks]

The Behringer/Midas UMC-1820 has 10 analog outputs + an ADAT port. $300. Cheapest way to get that many channels of professional balanced line level output. You can expand the outputs via the ADAT output to get up to 12 - 18 channels for 7.1.4 Atmos listening or more.

This is pro level audio gear and the cheapest way known to anyone to get this channel count. If you are also recording and need inputs, the preamps are Midas design. Lots of bang for the buck!

10 channels of DAC, 8 Midas mic pres, and an ADAT port for $300. Driver is class compliant on Mac. Plug and play. They do make a driver for Windows.

The built-in cuemix mixer for recording/overdubbing duties is crude and simple. The headphone output and again, the internal routing and cuemix abilities with it are crude and simple. All stuff you have to pay extra for. Easily dismissed if you aren't using those features and are only interested in the 10 channels of DAC output.

I know... "b-word" product and a bunch of snarky comments. This is B-word/Midas and it's a newer product line. And it's a lot of bang for the buck!

Those inputs, what are those specifically called? I'll need to find an RCA adapter or do those need the speaker line from the receiver going to the inputs? Currently just need to run 4 RCA out from a Lafayette LR-5000.

 

[fredblue]

Those inputs, what are those specifically called? I'll need to find an RCA adapter or do those need the speaker line from the receiver going to the inputs? Currently just need to run 4 RCA out from a Lafayette LR-5000.

you can either use 4 x 1/4" (6.35mm) TS Mono Jack to RCA Phono Socket adaptors and simply connect your 4 x RCAs from the Lafayette to the socket adaptors and then into the interface.

edit: oops! or obtain a loom of 4 phono cables terminated with 1/4" (or 6.35mm) TS Mono Jacks at one end and RCA/Phono Sockets at the other end

ps. please do not connect any of this to the speaker terminals of your Lafayette, hook up to the RCA outputs only

 

[DudeRocks]

you can either use 4 x 1/4" (6.35mm) TS Mono Jack to RCA Phono Socket adaptors and simply connect your 4 x RCAs from the Lafayette to the socket adaptors and then into the interface.

View attachment 95980

edit: oops! or obtain a loom of 4 phono cables terminated with 1/4" (or 6.35mm) TS Mono Jacks at one end and RCA/Phono Sockets at the other end

View attachment 95981
ps. please do not connect any of this to the speaker terminals of your Lafayette, hook up to the RCA outputs only

or

 

[key_wiz]

View attachment 95982

or View attachment 95983

Those front inputs are a combination XLR-1/4”mono jack. You can plug an RCA Jack into them using any RCA-to-1/4” adapter

The inserts you probably don’t want to use. They will input a signal in between the initial input and the output. Generally used for inserting effects devices or EQs into the signal.

 

[fredblue]

View attachment 95982

or View attachment 95983

edit: actually scrub that, in the YouTube clip they are using the front inputs like this;

 

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

you can either use 4 x 1/4" (6.35mm) TS Mono Jack to RCA Phono Socket adaptors and simply connect your 4 x RCAs from the Lafayette to the socket adaptors and then into the interface.

View attachment 95980

edit: oops! or obtain a loom of 4 phono cables terminated with 1/4" (or 6.35mm) TS Mono Jacks at one end and RCA/Phono Sockets at the other end

View attachment 95981
ps. please do not connect any of this to the speaker terminals of your Lafayette, hook up to the RCA outputs only

Not to get too picky about this, but those mic preamp inputs aren’t really designed to accept consumer line level signals (-10db) that you would get out of rca outputs. They have the wrong impedance. Yes, it will work ok, but it’s not going to be hifi - there will be slight distortion in the highs and lows and a greater noise floor. The inputs are meant to accept either mic level, guitar (hi-z), or pro line level (+4db). To get your 4 rca channels up to that level and impedance, you would use DI boxes that output mic or pro line level. Radial Engineering makes the gold standard ones, and some are designed particularly to convert consumer line level to mic or pro line level, but any cheap passive DI boxes before those mic pres should help a ton. Total could be under $100 for 4 lines of DI plus cables.

Start with the rca to 1/4 adapters others suggest. Monoprice has them for 99 cents.

Then in to 2 stereo DI boxes for 4 DI lines total. This would be the absolute cheapest I found. Home

Then get the four cheapest xlr cables you can find to go from DI boxes to interface. Length doesn’t matter, and neither does shielding because your signals are now balanced. Should be able to find them $3 each.

$66 plus shipping…

 

[JediJoker]

Not to get too picky about this, but those mic preamp inputs aren’t really designed to accept consumer line level signals (-10db) that you would get out of rca outputs. They have the wrong impedance. Yes, it will work ok, but it’s not going to be hifi - there will be slight distortion in the highs and lows and a greater noise floor. The inputs are meant to accept either mic level, guitar (hi-z), or pro line level (+4db). To get your 4 rca channels up to that level and impedance, you would use DI boxes that output mic or pro line level. Radial Engineering makes the gold standard ones, and some are designed particularly to convert consumer line level to mic or pro line level, but any cheap passive DI boxes before those mic pres should help a ton. Total could be under $100 for 4 lines of DI plus cables.

2 of these would be the absolute cheapest I found. Home

Or, use an interface that has four line inputs with selectable level and select -10dBV rather than +4dBU, then set to unity gain.

 

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

Or, use an interface that has four line inputs with selectable level and select -10dBV rather than +4dBU, then set to unity gain.

That would be simpler, but this is not standard and you would need one with minimum 4 mic pres. Not sure what that interface would cost.

 

[JediJoker]

That would be simpler, but this is not standard and you would need one with minimum 4 mic pres. Not sure what that interface would cost.

No need for mic pres if the interface has line inputs that can accept -10dBV. That's my point.

 

[fredblue]

Not to get too picky about this, but those mic preamp inputs aren’t really designed to accept consumer line level signals (-10db) that you would get out of rca outputs. They have the wrong impedance. Yes, it will work ok, but it’s not going to be hifi - there will be slight distortion in the highs and lows and a greater noise floor. The inputs are meant to accept either mic level, guitar (hi-z), or pro line level (+4db). To get your 4 rca channels up to that level and impedance, you would use DI boxes that output mic or pro line level. Radial Engineering makes the gold standard ones, and some are designed particularly to convert consumer line level to mic or pro line level, but any cheap passive DI boxes before those mic pres should help a ton. Total could be under $100 for 4 lines of DI plus cables.

Start with the rca to 1/4 adapters others suggest. Monoprice has them for 99 cents.

Then in to 2 stereo DI boxes for 4 DI lines total. This would be the absolute cheapest I found. Home

Then get the four cheapest xlr cables you can find to go from DI boxes to interface. Length doesn’t matter, and neither does shielding because your signals are now balanced. Should be able to find them $3 each.

$66 plus shipping…

fwiw i ditched Behringer some time ago and have been using a MOTU UltraLite interface the last few years for various Multichannel applications, including 4-channel Quad transfers and haven't looked back

 

[ClassicalSurroundFan]

No need for mic pres if the interface has line inputs that can accept -10dBV. That's my point.

Mic pres or line inputs, I still think a -10db switch on an interface with four inputs is a bit of an oddity that may be costly, but if you find one, let us know!