Stage 3 Impedance

Everything about the Nord Stage series; features, specifications, how to operate, and questions about technical issues.
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FatPapa
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Stage 3 Impedance

Post by FatPapa »

I cannot find any information on the impedance of the NS3 outputs. Nord makes no reference in the manual or online. The reason I ask is I have distortion when using Arturia AudioFuse Rev2, mostly with Pianos. I've sent an email to Arturia asking for a solution and they are asking about the impedance. I'm trying to find the optimal signal flow. Currently the NS3 is going out 1 and 2 into the AF. I have tried using the 4 available inputs 1/2 and 3/4. The AF speaker outs go to powered KRK V6 monitors. Does anyone know what the impedance of the NS3 is?
Thanks
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DJKeys
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Re: Stage 3 Impedance

Post by DJKeys »

Most modern gear with unbalanced outs have an output impedance of 100 to 300 ohms. However, the actual number is less important than the way your system is gain-staged. Since piano sounds have the highest dynamic range, it is likely that you are hitting some peaks that overdrive the inputs of the interface.

Do you hear the distortion when using headphones connected to the Nord?
Do you hear the distortion when using headphones connected to the Audiofuse?
Can you provide a recording of the distortion?
Can you provide more details of the level settings for each device including the speakers?


-dj
Last edited by DJKeys on 23 Jul 2021, 22:42, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: Stage 3 Impedance

Post by cgrafx »

The impedance of the Nord will not make any difference in your configuration and has nothing at all to do with your specific issue.

The stage outputs are line level signal. Make sure your Arturia is set to "Line In" NOT "Instrument" and your input gain should be set to keep the nord signal under -10db. Depending on how fast and buffered the input meters are you may not ever see peaks that are overdriving the input stage of the Arturia.

If your trying to get any appreciable volume (particularly if the speakers are not within a few feet of your head), you are asking a lot out of the KRKs. You are simply not going to push a lot of air with a smaller pair of nearfield speakers.

If you are already doing what I have suggested, then there may be something else going on.
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FatPapa
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Re: Stage 3 Impedance

Post by FatPapa »

I think I found my problem.. I replaced my output cables with two new ones and that seem to of helped considerably. I'm finding the AudioFuse to have a pretty hot output, so after some more adjustment, I now have it more in the ballpark.
Thanks for your replies and help.
Jon
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