RCA to USB cables

[eefeft]

I have a peavey digital power amp with a stereo in/out plugs

i bought this cable http://cgi.ebay.com/USB-Male-A-to-3x-RC ... 1|294%3A50

will this work if i buy 2 of them, one for usb to input, and one for usb to output, so i can use my PA to record with directly into my computer and also to play back audio on my computer?

or do i need something like this for the RCA signal to xfer properly? http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-U-CONTR ... B000J0IIEQ

[steve]

The Behringer should certainly work (I use one, and I'm very happy with it).
I don't know about the other one - it looks like it is designed for video capture, so it may not work for playback. Have you managed to get it working at all?

[eefeft]

well i got the cable in the mail today

doesn't really do much either way, seems i need a program or another device to get the RCA to transfer into USB or for my computer to even acknowledge that the cable is doing something for that matter...

looks like i'm buying the behringer

do you ever experience processor slowdown when using the device a lot? like with multiple inputs and outputs being used?

i've heard using a PCI or PCMCIA slot card is better than USB

[steve]

The Behringer UCA 202 has one pair of inputs and one pair of outputs (stereo)

My computer is a 500MHz Pentium III with 512 MB RAM and Ubuntu 8.10.
I can just about squeeze 10 audio tracks to play simultaneously before it starts glitching, but usually I work with a maximum of about 4 tracks, so it's fine for me. If I need more than 8 tracks, I generally switch to a different machine.

USB devices are CPU dependant, so for best performance it is important to avoid having extra load from other programs.

I've not used PCMCIA, but I do generally prefer PCI cards to USB, though for just getting a stereo signal in and out of the computer, the little Behringers work great and are cheap.

[intalex]

well i got the cable in the mail today
doesn't really do much either way, seems i need a program or another device to get the RCA to transfer into USB or for my computer to even acknowledge that the cable is doing something for that matter...

I got the same cable from ebay and it did absolutely nothing. My laptop didn't even recognise that something was connected on the USB. I thought it's a faulty item, got refunded, and bought the same one from elsewhere - just waiting to receive it, but am probably going to face the same situation, which leaves me to wonder what this cable is actually supposed to be used for... anyone with an idea would be of serious help, as I can't find any information on this cable anywhere even though a lot of people sell it.

My interest is only to have a cheap (and single cable) solution from my set top box to my laptop, and I've seen a slightly similar item on ebay (search by keyword "easycap"), which I will try next if my replacement cable is also non-operational.

[ChristopherN]

I got the UCA 200(same thing minus headphone jack) and it works just fine with every OS I've used it on, that consists of OS X(10.3-10.5), Linux Mint 6 Felicia x64, Windows XP and Vista. Windows itself wouldn't let me use it as audio in or out, but audacity and other audio recording apps have seen it just fine. OS X can see it and you can select it to use for system in or out. But it says "This device has no volume control" and Mint saw the device, had volume control and could be used for system or recording in or out. So you're pretty safe with this thing.

The only problem I have had with it was when I tried recording a live stereo mix off of an Allen Heath ML4000 mixer, this device fed digital noise into the main speakers in the auditorium and monitors.

[steve]

The only problem I have had with it was when I tried recording a live stereo mix off of an Allen Heath ML4000 mixer, this device fed digital noise into the main speakers in the auditorium and monitors.

I've also had the issue of digital noise coming through a Behringer UCA 202, but in my case at least, the noise was not originating from the Behringer, but from the PSU that was connected to the laptop that the Behringer was plugged into.
The level of the noise was considerably lower than when using the laptops internal sound card, but was still unacceptably high. Using a pair of DI boxes between the Behringer output and the mixing desk reduced the noise to an acceptable level.

Mixing desks seem to be particularly susceptible to digital noise, probably because they have a higher frequency response that most domestic audio equipment. Using a DI box will provide a balanced signal for the mixing desk, thus providing a good degree of noise rejection.