Sage Digital Endec

[Brian Bowers]

Is it my imagination, or is this blue box much more sensitive to monitor input audio levels, compared to the older green box? I guess I will be forced to install there little surge protector on the monitor input sources. We supposedly blew out a DSP chip, because, we think, our levels going in, were a bit too hot.

 

[Kmagrill]

Is it my imagination, or is this blue box much more sensitive to monitor input audio levels, compared to the older green box? I guess I will be forced to install there little surge protector on the monitor input sources. We supposedly blew out a DSP chip, because, we think, our levels going in, were a bit too hot.

I cannot address the Sage box in particular, but no box should ever be designed so that this can happen. When I design a box where an analog input feeds an a/d, I set it up so that the op-amp buffer chip clips just before the a/d input overloads. This is easily controlled very precisely by using a voltage divider in the op-amp's output circuit. By doing this, the A/D can't get hurt. Sometimes, we also hang a zener diode on the A/D input, too. There is no excuse for anything less than lightning blowing up an A/D input. I'd certainly expect Sage to fix this on their dime (or come up with a very good reason why not), if it were me.