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Post subject: Low output on stereo channel of Pro 150
Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 4:00 am
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I've been using Passports professionally since day one when the old grey 150 was born and have had bought 5 systems since so quite simply...I love them.

I thought however it was time to go for a change and so I purchased a Bose Compact and after being thoroughly disappointed I find myself back in the Fender camp again, surely a great testimony to the Passport as the Bose is a very highly regarded piece of gear, but in my humble opinion the Passport has many advantages and in any case is fitted with Bose speakers.

But why oh why is the output from the stereo in mini jack so low? I always thought it was low on the old PD150 but it is even lower on the new Pro-150. I have tried to rectify this by running the iPod output I use as high as possible and I've even tried using commercially available output buffers but it is still way too weedy. An impedance matching gain knob will be really useful here and I may have to get the mod done to overcome this issue....what do Fender have to say about this?

Other then this the PRO is a fantastic unit and an upgrade on the old PD150 largely due to a very usable and high quality digital reverb...the old one was atrocious.

Well done Fender on keeping me in the camp but please look at this volume issue.

Thanks


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Post subject:
Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 7:57 am
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Joined: Tue Feb 09, 2010 1:39 pm
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Location: Scottsdale
Hi there,

thanks for your post. Can I ask what level you have the stereo channel level set to? In general "any" commercially released music on an iPod should be able to drive the Passport into power amp clipping (i.e. full power) with a channel setting of around 3PM and the master volume set to max. As you know the stereo channels are line in channels, but we've tried a lot of iPod's and never had any problems getting full power output using them with a Passport.

Have you tried the 1/4" stereo inputs? Are they OK?

Thanks,
Ken

PS: Thanks for staying loyal to the Passports, I am sure we will work the issues out for you.

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Ken Porter
Director, Audio Electronics R&D
Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
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Post subject:
Posted: Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:02 am
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HI Ken

Thanks for getting back to me so promptly, great forum btw.

I had to have the Stereo input level at max to get any kind of decent volume output from it at all. I am using the same iPods and cables with the same backing tracks as with all my other Passports and the volume on the Pro150 is considerably lower and no where near to clipping point so there is no question that the problem lies with the impedance of the stereo input, and yes I have tried the 1/4" jacks as well.

I intend to get around this problem somewhat reluctantly by using a headphone amplifier between the iPod and the jack input.

Another problem I find with the Pro150 is that the potentiometers are not consistent in their logarithmic quality, that is they don't increase/decrease the volume uniformly but you find that the majority of the available gain is in the last 20% or so of the turn of the potentiometer.

Thanks for your help and I look forward to your feedback.

Andy


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jul 19, 2010 1:50 pm
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Location: Scottsdale
Hi Andy,

Hmm, are you using commercially released tracks with your iPod or tracks that you've recorded as backing tracks? Could you do me a favor and send some to me at techsupportlab@fender.com so that I can investigate this further? Please tell them to forward the email to Ken Porter.

Also, the gain structure in the new Passports are different than in the old ones. The old Passports were noisier and also the majority of gain was in the first 1/4 of the pot movement which made it hard for some people to make proper volume adjustments. The volume action on the new Passport units should be much "smoother", in addition the new Passports have a lot more headroom than the old ones. That being said the majority of gain should not be in the last 20% of the pot.

Please send me some of the tracks you are using so that I can take a look at it.

Thanks,
Ken

_________________
_______________________________________
Ken Porter
Director, Audio Electronics R&D
Research & Development
Fender Musical Instruments Corp.
www.fender.com

Proud to be a Fender band member since 1997
_______________________________________


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Post subject:
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 4:32 am
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Hi Ken

Once again thanks for you quick response.

My backing tracks Ken are the same quality as the original tracks from my studio albums. I have my own recording studio and I produce original compositions to Redbook standard. So the backing tracks I use are of Redbook standard minus the guitar, hence I can assure you the issue doesn't lie with low or poor quality audio tracks and like I said before this has never been too much of a problem before. The problem lies with a lack of gain available on the Pro150 stereo in channel....even I can diagnose that. I merely wanted to bring this to your attention so that this can be addressed before Fender release the next generation of Passports.

I have now overcome this issue by the purchase of a bespoke headphone amp in order to boost the audio output of the iPod to give me a more workable and hotter signal. Problem solved!

Over the years many people have complimented my live sound and I have taken great delight in being able to attribute this to the Passports lively and detailed sound reproduction. I recently tried out the Yamaha Stagepass (fantastic build quality btw) and the Bose L1 but the Passport leaves them for dead. Most of this issues I had with the old Pro150 have been addressed and with the exception of improving the quality of the mini jack ins and obviously the input levels of said inputs Fender have just about got it right this time.

Thanks again

Andy

P.S -I understand what Fender have done with the volume pots and maybe it comes down to personal choice but I prefer to have a more steady, consistent and regular volume adjustment.


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Post subject: Re: Low output on stereo channel of Pro 150
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:06 am
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