Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi everyone,

New owner here, very happy with the unit so far!

A couple of questions:

1 - I'm a bit bugged by the unit being powered on all the time since I usually leave my desktop on all the time. Is there a way to "soft" power off the unit or the only way to power off is by removing the USB cable?

2 - The included cable is great quality stuff, but too short - can anyone recommend me a 2-3 meters good quality angled USB cabe? Wish RME made some longer cables, even better if they included one but I'd purchase a longer cable from RME right now if that was possible...

Thanks in advance!

252

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

1. Configure your computer to no longer supply USB buspower in standby and when switched off.

2. Buy a USB3 passive (simple) extension cable, 2 or 3 meter long. These are better quality than USB2 passive extensions.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hello everyone!
Can someone help me understanding what are the main differences between the Babyface and the Babyface Pro?

And is it ok to plug contact mic directly into the main input of both, or do I still need a dedicated preamp for that?

Thank you!

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

What is a contact mic ? Link to Hardware please.

Babyface Pro is the newer and better product and substitutes the older BBF.

Difference you can see here:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/961 … 016-04.pdf

Put togther to the best of my knowledge and belief, but without warranty.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Thank you, I'm trying to understand!

This is what I mean by contact mic:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_microphone
Do you have any experience with this kind of microphone?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Sorry no.

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

A piezo mic is a hi-Z device. You could try an instrument input, that would match better @ 1MOhm than a mic input @5 kOhm.

MB Pro - 2 X FireFace 400, FF800 & DigiFace USB
ADAT gear: Korg, Behri, Fostex, Alesis...

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

I have just purchased a Sytek mpx-4aii preamp that has XLR outputs, and I wish to use the Babyface just for its clean AD conversion. My question is: would I connect the XLR outputs of the Sytek to the RME Babyface Pro with XLR cables into channels 1 and 2 (with the gain on 0 and the PAD turned on as described in the manual) -  OR - would I connect the XLR outputs of the Sytek to the Babyface with XLR-to-phono unbalanced adapter cables into the unbalanced line inputs 3 and 4 of the Babyface? I'm concerned that the first option would still be using the RME preamp on top of the Sytek preamp, but I am also concerned that the second option of unbalanced XLR-to-quarter-inch cables may also not be optimal.

Matthias, can you please clarify the difference between these two connections and which one makes more sense?

Thank you!

259

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

XLR, definitely.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hmm... you don't sound too sure ;-)

Thank you!

261 (edited by m10071978 2016-07-30 16:50:22)

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi dear RME tech guys!

Does Totalmix for iOS have same abilities for routing as Totalmix for PC/Mac?
My needs are:
- electric guitar into Input 3, through BIAS FX on iPad (software guitar processor), into Analog output 1 (goes to FOH MIXER)
- stereo drums track from Auria sequencer (iPad) into stereo headphones output (goes to FOH mixer)
- mono drums track mixed with click into Analog output 2 (goes to headphone amp-splitter)

Is it a real scenario from Babyface Pro's side?
What latency can I get (iPad mini 4, A8 CPU, 2 gigs of RAM)?

Thanks!

262

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

That should be no problem for TM FX on the iPad.
Latency is a bit unclear under iOS (no meaningful numbers in any DAW software...), simply try it.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Just curious, what is the advantage of the chosen "portrait" layout vs a "landscape" layout for this interface? A landscape design of similar size would have provided enough space for most of the connections to go at the back and the headphones at the front without getting in the way of the hand.

Fireface UCX II, BabyFace Pro, Fireface UFX, Fireface 400

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi,

Yesterday I unpacked my new Babyface Pro. I use it with Windows 10, and connect the optical out SPDIF from the Babyface to the optical input of my Denon X4000 receiver. Yesterday, when I started the sound properties dialog from Control panel -> Sound -> Playback, I found an option Babyface ADAT / SPDIF in the list of aue Babyface ADAT/SPDIF option in the list of the  Control panel -> Sound -> Playback, I only see thdio playback devices. I set it as default, and was able to play for instance Spotify like a charm. I also tried to play my soft synths though the optical SPDIF output, which worked like a charm.

Today, when I started my computer, I do not see the options for RME Speakers and RME Analog (3+4). So when I play music on Spotify, I only get the sound from the speakers / Phone outputs, not from optical SPDIF out. Anyone that can help me bring back the ADAT/SPDIF options in the sound properties dialog. Playing softsynths though optical SPDIF/ADAT 1-2 out still works great, I only miss the SPDIF optical out in Control panel -> Sound -> Playback, for system sounds / media players.

More about my setup, Windows 10 Pro, 16GB RAM, Intel quad core i7 3.1 GHz, Babyface connected to an USB3 port.

Other than this, Babyface seems to be a great audio interface with low latency drivers :-)

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi,

I found the answer on my own,

I had to open the RME Fireface USB Settings, and change back the number of WDM devices to more than 2, and choose 44.1kHz sample rate. Then it works again.

Thank you for your good work RME!

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Would like some info on how to register my babyface pro.

KinGLegacY

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

A question that is partly my own curiosity about the technology: unless I am mistaken, the only signal processing that is handled onboard the BFP is eq––reverb and echo are calculated in software when connected to a PC, yes? So why can dynamics not be processed in the same way, from software? Is this an issue of latency? I would certainly welcome a software implementation of dynamics processing so I don't have to route through other software...

268

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Right, this is a problem of latency, which is none with the reverb and echo effect - they have an intentional delay anyway. Additionally you need to send each single channel that you want to process via 'invisible' ASIO channels to the host and back. That will break the whole thing then.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Just bought the Babyface pro.
Reading about it, it is suppose to work with the Fireface 800 with Adat to get 4 more channels! So my question is, how do i get them to work together!
Cant find any good reading about it, and hooking it up with adat does nothing.

So question is, how do i get it to work?

Im on Macbook pro, using reaper. Reaper finds all the 16 channels that u can use with FF800, but no signal in from babyface.

Best regards Greg

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

No one? I google the shit out of it, but i cant find anything more than that it is suppose to work, somehow..

271

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

You will have to check one of the many TotalMix tutorials or read the chapter about Stand Alone mode in the manual. TotalMix lets you route the signals between ADAT and analog within the device.

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Tried looking and fiddling with that. The stand alone mode is mostly about ipad and such. Nothing how to hook it up as more channels through ADAT. Im going nuts here...
Googling as well, but cant find anything at all!
I have the fireface as the master, then hooked the babyface up with the ADAT in/out, but cant find the channels. And of course a separat powersource for the BF pro.. Still no luck!!

273

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi everyone!

Bought a Babyface Pro recently and encountered a strange issue. Previously I had the main outs (TRS 6.3mm) of my Focusrite Scarlett 18i20 connected to the inputs (TRS 6.3mm) on my Yamaha HS8 monitors (active). Volume was being adjusted from the physical monitor out knob on the interface and all faders were set to 0 dB in Scarlett's mixing software. That worked fine and all, but it's not working very well now that I've replaced the Scarlett with a Babyface Pro.

With all faders set to 0 dB in TotalMix FX (no effects are on, everything is default), and the main outs (XLR) from my BabyFace Pro connected to the inputs (XLR input) of my Yamaha HS8, I hear distortion when I play music. I haven't found a solution to this other than to drop the main out fader inside TotalMix FX down to like -20 dB. This is problematic however, because this means I can't use the volume knob on the BabyFace Pro very well. If I accidentally hit a button inside TotalMix FX which recalls default settings, I will blow my ears and monitors since I have to crank the monitors up to compensate for the low fader volume inside TotalMix FX.

Question is: why is music sounding distorted on my Yamaha HS8 when faders are set to 0 dB in TotalMix FX?

Does it have anything to do with impedance matching between the BabyFace Pro and the active Yamaha HS8 speakers? I'm thinking since I'm using XLR cables now instead of TRS 6.3mm as I did prevously. I read the output impedance of the BabyFace Pro is like 300 Ohms and the input impedance of the Yamaha HS8 is 10k Ohms. I'm not very good at this impedance thing so I'm not sure if that's the problem.

274

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

The BF Pro sends out +19 dBu, which is a far too high level for your monitors. You should get a passive -20 dB attenuator (simple resistors) to use with XLR so the output level matches the input sensitivity.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

275

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Thank you for replying!

I did more testing today and it seems the distortion only happens when using XLR cables from BabyFace Pro to Yamaha HS8. I tried an XLR to 6.3 mm jack (unbalanced) and I couldn't hear any distortion.

Do you know if XLR inputs usually are more sensitive in active monitors? In the manual of my Yamaha HS8, it doesn't say anything about any difference between XLR and 6.3 mm jack inputs.

I might get a passive volume knob even though the issue seems to be resolved by buying a couple of good XLR to 6.3 mm jack speaker cables. It's a convenient way to quickly turn down volume smile

276 (edited by miscend 2016-09-30 22:34:06)

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

I don't understand why you would have the main output fader set at 0db by default unless you were using a monitor controller in your signal path. On my system I have the main output set at -45 by default. That is loud enough for listening.

277

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Well, I was thinking so that if somehow the mix settings would get reset in Totalmix and let's say the fader jumps back up to 0dB, then it would most certainly damage the monitors and probably my ears as well. Having the fader set to -45 dB, then compensating by cranking up the monitors gives you an enormous amount of overhead which you would never need. Plus, by cranking up the monitors you amplify any hiss/noise coming from the signal chain or from the monitors themselves.

278

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

All correct. -45 dB for daily work is a high mismatch of levels that calls for trouble and might even mean reduced audio performance.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

279

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi again Matthias,

I got 2 pairs of nice Sommer cables with Neutrik contacts now: 1 pair of XLR to XLR and 1 pair of XLR to tele. It doesn't matter which ones I use from my BabyFace Pro to my Yamaha HS8 - the sound is still quite heavily distorted when keeping the faders in TotalMix at 0dB. What's particularly interesting is that if I use a no-name low-budget XLR to tele unbalanced(!) cable, I get no audible distortion.

Quite frankly, I'm out of ideas. At least I can rule out the cables since I bought 2 pairs of high quality Sommer cables with neutrik contacts. I don't know if there is a fault with my Babyface or my Yamaha monitors. I'm going to try to find the time next week to test the Babyface at a friend's place. He uses Behringer active speakers.

Meanwhile if you have a hunch about what is going on, please let me know. Thank you.

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi! Im a new proud owner of The babyface pro and i have a question about the Instrument ins.  i have an ibanez with passive humbuckers. Is it normal to have max peaks of -3db with gain set in  0 on the ins3? and sometimes clipping when strumming hard the guitar? am i doing something wrong? maybe i have to press a button to set the gain lower or something. ( im using +4dbu because with -10dbv its higher the volume)

sorry for my bad english.

Thanks!

281

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

That's normal. You have a quite high output level on your guitar.  But -3 is no problem, and small peaks do not always mean audible distortion. If you want to have more headroom carefully reduce the volume a tiny bit directly at the guitar.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi Matthias!
An odd thing happened today with my BF pro.
My system is Macbook Pro (2013, Haswell) with El Capitan and Logic 10.2.4.
I started recording my voice from a mic like many times before, it was OK with mic sound level and tone in earphones, but the recorded sound was VERY quiet and without lower frequencies. Other inputs and mics gave same result.
Then I switched the BF pro to CC mode and back to PC mode. No change.
Then I switched it again to CC mode and plugged into my iPad. No problems, fine quality of recorded voice in Garage band.
I switched it from CC to PC mode and plugged back into Macbook Pro. The problem disappeared.

Any idea, what was it?
What must I do not to repeat this situation?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hey All, maybe I'm just the dumb, but if this question is answered definitively online then I can't find it. I read the manual, even used a CTRL+F to see if external preamp was mentioned anywhere... nothing.

I have an external pre-amp (UAD Solo 610). What is the proper method for running this into the Babyface Pro?

Currently I've been going in via the line input 3 on the side, but I've heard a few different people say that you should be going in via the XLR input and padding it? I didn't notice where the input pad was in totalmix but i'm sure it probably can't be that hard to find.

Just wondering, from the source, what is the best way to use my Solo 610 with the Babyface Pro?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Thanks for replying Matthias. I have one questions. i was trying the pad on the unit and i realised when i engage it the unit itself makes a low click noise. not on my speakers. just on the unit. Is it normal for the unit to do thar when i engage or disengage the pad?

285

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Yes, that is an internal relais that reacts mechanically.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

286

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

In post 279, I said I was going to test my BabyFace Pro at a friend's place, and today I did. We couldn't connect the BabyFace directly to his active monitors while running all faders at 0 dB in TotalMix because it was simply too loud (even with -6dB trim on the monitor inputs). So we hooked the Babyface up to his Mackie Big Knob and then increases the faders to 0dB in TotalMix and decreased the volume to the monitors from the Big Knob. It worked very well - no distortion at 0dB fader settings in TotalMix, just the way it's supposed to be.

I recently got my Palmer Monicon passive volume attenuator and hooked it up just now and it's also working well with the Babyface. I now run all faders in TotalMix at 0dB and adjust the monitor volume from the passive knob rather than the digital knob on the Babyface.

I'm happy with this setup!

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

posting again...

Hey All, maybe I'm just the dumb, but if this question is answered definitively online then I can't find it. I read the manual, even used a CTRL+F to see if external preamp was mentioned anywhere... nothing.
I have an external pre-amp (UAD Solo 610). What is the proper method for running this into the Babyface Pro?
Currently I've been going in via the line input 3 on the side, but I've heard a few different people say that you should be going in via the XLR input and padding it? I didn't notice where the input pad was in totalmix but i'm sure it probably can't be that hard to find.
Just wondering, from the source, what is the best way to use my Solo 610 with the Babyface Pro?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Look at post 258 and 259 in this thread!

Vincent, Amsterdam
https://soundcloud.com/thesecretworld
Babyface pro fs, HDSP9652+ADI-8AE, HDSP9632

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi

I dont want to hear what i'm recording from the headphones while i'm recording with the BF pro. How can I adjust this?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

use submix mode, its the easier one
click on the phones output channel in TM
then all the gain adjustments you make then are related to this output
should be easy then to identify for you, that you wanna hear how loud and what not, mute, etc

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

First post here, just got my shiny brand-new BF Pro. Very nice device, loving it so far. Nice one RME!

My set-up is a laptop in the middle, a mouse on the right (I'm right-handed) and now the BF Pro on the left. I think this is by far the most common set-up as there are more righties than lefties.

I know connector location, on any product, is never going to please anyone, and the BF Pro packs a lot in a very compact and thin box. I realise RME put a lot of though into designing the BF Pro and compromises had to be made when it came to deciding where the various connectors would go.

I can only tell my experience as I set it up on my desk. I've bought the BF Pro for use when I travel, some times in a hotel room which may have severely limited desk space. What I've found is that the headphone and instrument jacks on the right, while they are easier to see than if they were on the left, when the connectors are plugged in I need to move the BF Pro away from my laptop to make space for the plugs. I use Neutrik plugs which are quite long, and the cables also need a bit more space to prevent sharp bends. To pull out a plug more space is needed to manoeuvre, and the BF Pro must be moved each time. I'm could be completely wrong but is it possible that the most used connectors (apart from the mandatory USB jack) are the headphone and instrument jacks, and the least used connectors the ADAT and MIDI? It seems to me the connectors are the wrong way round. If the headphone and instrument jacks had been on the left, I think it would have been more practical.

Still, it's a great piece of kit, and while these are just some small pet peeves of mine, I just wanted to voice my suggestions here and hopefully someone will reply telling me why I'm totally wrong smile

Here's my take on this:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/98636804/Forums/RME/2016-11-01-004610%20Babyface%20cables.png

... and how I would like it:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/98636804/Forums/RME/2016-11-01-004656%20Babyface%20cables%20ideal.png

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Can I plug a mike that's miking up a guitar amp into line input 3 or 4 of the bf pro? Anything I need to worry about?
Thanks

293

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

That should work because the signal will be quite hot.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi, I have a question about gain structure. The diference of the maximum output level of an interface and its nominal level gives us the headroom to record a signal. For example, if the maximum output level of an equipment is +22dBu (which is the same as the maximum level that can be represented in a DAW in 0dBFS) and its operational level is +4dBu, there is 18dB of headroom. The signal (RMS) should be recorded at -18dBFS (the equivalent of the nominal level in dBFS) and the peaks have a lot of headroom to go up. Is that reasoning correct?

The specs of Babyface Pro show (for DA, Line Out 1-2):
Output level @ 0 dBFS: Balanced +19 dBu, unbalanced +13 dBu

If I suppose the nominal level of Babyface Pro is +4dBu, then should I use the higher level of +19dBu as maximum output level and the interface has 15dB of headroom?

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Erkan wrote:

Well, I was thinking so that if somehow the mix settings would get reset in Totalmix and let's say the fader jumps back up to 0dB, then it would most certainly damage the monitors and probably my ears as well. Having the fader set to -45 dB, then compensating by cranking up the monitors gives you an enormous amount of overhead which you would never need. Plus, by cranking up the monitors you amplify any hiss/noise coming from the signal chain or from the monitors themselves.

Interesting. I have KRKs. They ship with the volume input control set at +6dB by default. The manual recommends you to leave them at the default setting. That's why I use the audio interface as a level control.

The input sensitivity is adjusted with the rear panel mounted System Gain control (counterclockwise reduces sensitivity). Adjustment range is from -30dB to +6dB. Factory preset gain is +6dB, which should suffice for most conditions. Normally, adjustments would only be made if you were using your monitor in a surround system and needed to balance levels or if your monitor send is too hot and not adjustable.

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hi Matthias! Quick question. Is it normal to hear a noise like something is loose inside the unit. Its all working but when i move the unit i hear some metal crackling noise  and i wanted to know if it its normal.


Thanks!

297

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

No, that's not normal.

Regards
Matthias Carstens
RME

298 (edited by ciprian.rosu 2016-11-23 16:46:12)

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Hello all. So I got my pretty precious babyface pro and I have a question. I want to record some sounds from my Elektron Analog four but I dont want to use the overbridge/daw.  What line inputs should I use, 3/4 or XLR 1/2 ?  Or it doesn't matter which. Thanks.

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

According to this webpage: https://www.elektron.se/products/analog-four/
2 × 1/4″ impedance balanced main out jacks

So you have balanced outs.

Now look into your manual .. !

AD, Microphone/Line 1-2

   Input: XLR, electronically balanced

   Input impedance balanced: 2 kOhm, 5.2 kOhm with PAD

   Input impedance unbalanced: 1 kOhm, 2.6 kOhm with PAD

AD, Line/Instrument In 3-4
As Microphone/Line 1-2, but:

   Input: 6.3 mm TS jack, unbalanced

So .. which input is balanced ?

Line 1-2 ..  Congrats ! wink

BR Ramses - UFX III, 12Mic, XTC, ADI-2 Pro FS R BE, RayDAT, X10SRi-F, E5-1680v4, Win10Pro22H2, Cub13

300 (edited by ciprian.rosu 2016-11-23 22:44:19)

Re: The official Babyface Pro Thread

Thanks Ramses. I got lost in all this excitement. I guess I should have dug deeper. Cheers ! wink