arclight Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 I recently tried hooking up my DVD player to the iFi but im getting some sort of distortion which sounds like the pre-amp stage is possibly being overloaded by the output voltage on my DVD player. The DVD player outputs a standard 2 volts. Is this to much for the iFi ? Are there any other thougts on the matter. It is happening on both of my units as well. When using my computer and iPod the unit works fine. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 24, 2006 Share Posted June 24, 2006 I believe so. The 1/8 stero mini plug I believe is rated up to 5 volts but the thing with the ipod is that the amp is very low and to compensate on the ifi, I believe they set the gain on the preamp on the ifi very high. I get distortion if I put my Xfi card up near 80% as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klipschrules Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 hi guys, a tech newbie here. i read this thread and was wondering if it was related to my problem. i bought the ifi today and hooked it up to my xbox through a mini-plug to x2 female rca adapter. i haven't tested it extensively, but the playback of a diana krall cd was pretty lousy. during piano passages and emphatic voice syllables, the sound will crackle (distortion?). i haven't had problems with any others cds or dvds yet. everything else sounds awesome so far. i tested the diana krall cd with two other dvd players with the same results. when i play the cd with my klipsch gmx 2.1s it sounds fine also. however, when i play the cd on a cd player and run it through the ifi, it sounds great. what is going on and is there anything i can do about it? thanks for any input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 24, 2006 Share Posted July 24, 2006 thats the problem inherit with the dvd players. The signal is to strong. The dvd has a fixed volume but the iPod has a low signal/volume. When you hook up the dvd player or cd player its too loud. I can get the crackle and distortion when i put my soundcard (xfi) above 50% volume. Its the fact that the ifi was not really meant to play that way as it was designed for the ipod with a weak signal output (to maximize battery life) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klipschrules Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 jay, thanks for the response! i am very, very, very disappointed to have to return my ifi system as i can find no solution around this gain problem. if anyone out there has a workaround that isn't too expensive, please let me know! i would love to keep the system. unfortunately, i've tested more dvds and cds and the problem crops up too often to ignore. it really is a beautiful and spectacular setup for the money (costco!). it's been said here before, but in my opinion klipsch failed on this one in a design sense. i don't think most ipod users care too much about superior sound quality and would prefer to buy those dock-type speaker setups with no stereo separation. because the ifi is so attuned to the ipod it makes it impossible to use it for other applications. i was willing to even just keep the satellites for use with a receiver, but then i read that they are missing high pass filters, rendering them unusable with other gear. ideally, the ifi should have had features similar to the gmx 2.1s, with rca inputs for those who want to hook it up to something other than an mp3 player. i am not an engineer, but how much would it have cost to put in an adjustable gain? they could even have used the gain specs on the gmx (i just have to turn the volume up a little more when i hook up my mp3 player). i own the gmx and am only in the market for another setup because i have developed the dreaded crackling speaker problem and the balance between left and right satellites has become skewed. i also was searching for something of higher quality that wasn't prohibitively expensive. i thought that the costco ifi deal was a dream come true. i'm so disappointed it's not going to work out. klipsch should really be commended for the high quality of the components. i was seriously impressed by the build quality and even the care they took with packaging and wrapping the system components, not to mention the sound quality. i've been auditioning a lot of speaker setups lately, all the way up to systems that cost $1k and the ifi beat many of them soundly in terms of build quality and fit and finish. for those of you who only want to use it with an ipod or mp3 player, there is NOTHING out there that will beat the ifi from a price/quality standpoint. truly amazing. for those of you who want to use it as an all-purpose audio system, my advice is don't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 25, 2006 Share Posted July 25, 2006 crap why did you do that.... go back and buy it again.... its a cheap fix..... http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=180-330 comes to mind or even cheaper http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3 I think 6 db or 12 should do the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klipschrules Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 ack, you sure that will do the trick? i'm a tech noob, i read somewhere else on the forums that it was a voltage ouput (dvd players too high) problem, reducing the db is the same thing? the crackling, distortion, clipping or whatever occurs no matter what volume the ifi is set at. thanks for your help jay...i would LOVE to keep the set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 26, 2006 Share Posted July 26, 2006 yes its the voltage output of the line source.... meaning the volume of the device sending into the ifi (i.e. dvd player, xbox, etc) is sending to the ifi at too much voltage or put another way volume. Put the line attenuator and it lowers the volume or voltage going to the ifi and it should stop the static. I would think 6db or more is best as its easier to just raise the volume of the ifi then still have static. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klipschrules Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 thanks jay, i really appreciate your expertise. two final questions! do you think i've done any permanent damage to the ifi amp during the few hours that i've had it? and will the volume regulator affect the sound quality in any way (other than the volume)? for example, will it compress the dynamic range of movie and music? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 Doubtful as I had the imput on to high sometimes. To quickly check, get an ipod or cd player or something like the computer and plug it in an hear if its changed at lower volume of course. If its just for volume it should not. I do not exactly know how the terk works but the line anneuator is just supposed to lower the volume. Steer clear of things that say night mode etc as that means bass suffers. But it should just be a volume regulator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsychedelicBreakfast Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 How will the iFi perform with a Mac. I intend to use it with both, my Mac Mini and my iPod. Will I get distortion from the computer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry1 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 How will the iFi perform with a Mac. I intend to use it with both, my Mac Mini and my iPod. Will I get distortion from the computer?Great! The line input on the back of the sub-woofer is designed for a normal audio output from a PC or Mac. Distortion will be non-existent because of the low voltage level out. Usually you run into distortion problems on desktops from mediocre source material or you are using a third-party sound card that output level is set too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 How will the iFi perform with a Mac. I intend to use it with both, my Mac Mini and my iPod. Will I get distortion from the computer? Note there is a volume control and should be adjusted to not inhibiti distortion or static. I was speaking with items that have an output but no adjustable volume per se. This includes dvd players, xbox and playstations. Think of the idea this way, even though you have a tv did you ever note that when flipping through channels some are louder than others even though the last channel was relatively quiet it blasted on the next? Its because the tv station also has a volume control where they set their station as loud or quiet as they want. This is sorta like the dvd player situation stated above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy W Posted July 27, 2006 Share Posted July 27, 2006 An attenuator cable can be made very easily (and cheap!). -6dB would work in most cases. -12dB would be too much in most cases. Instructions for a -6dB cable: one end: a 3.5mm shielded stereo inline jack other end: a 3.5mm shielded stereo plug in the middle: (1)about a 2 feet of shielded stereo audio cable [you could probably buy this whole thing - an extension cable - and cut a big chunk out of the middle] (2) four 10k resistors - anything between 4.7k and 10k would work, just make sure all four are the same value, 1/8W or 1/4W will be fine, metal film is cool, but carbon film will probably make no difference here (3) heat shrink [or electrical tape for that ultra-cool "kludged-up" look!] (4) aluminum foil (5) solder. NOTE: 3.5mm jack goes on the signal end, 3.5mm plug goes on the amplifier end. (A)cut the cable ( solder a resistor in each signal wire [if you stagger the cuts you will get a less bulky cable when you're all done] © solder a resistor between the amplifier end of the resistor and the shield conductor (D) cover the exposed conductors with electrical tape (E) patch the shield back together and solder it (F) reconstruct the shield by wrapping a strip of aluminum foil (G) tape it up good and you're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy W Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 I suppose of course you could just start with a cable that has 3.5mm male plugs on both ends, but then you would have to mark it to make sure you hooked it up in the right direction, or if using a DVD player you might want a cable with RCA's on the signal end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 28, 2006 Share Posted July 28, 2006 there's a direction???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy W Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Yes, an attenuator cable only works one way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 Oh I thought you meant the 1/8 ministereo jack... I was like hmmm snake oil from andy what???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klipschrules Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 jay, got the 6db line level attenuators today. looks like they solved the problem! thanks again for your help. do you have any idea why the harrison labs attenuators are so much more expensive? are they worth it? the line coming out of my xbox into the ifi is now composed of 4 segments, the xbox cable to the attenuators to rca female-to-female convertors to the rca-minijack convertor. it's ugly, but it seems to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted July 31, 2006 Share Posted July 31, 2006 might be name might be better quality products they use...... Thank god it worked.... If not I woulda felt really bad....... and hey as long as it works who cares what wires look like? Glad everything worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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