What are all of the possible inputs from a soundboard/mixer?

[Edward Calabig]

I'm trying to find all of the connections from a soundboard/mixer to be able to take the sound feed on my H6. I currently have an RCA to 1/4" cable and a 1/4" to XLR. Does anyone know what all of the possibilities are?

Also, is there a difference between 1/4" or XLR inputs on the H6?

[Edward Carlson]

I usually have a box of audio adapters that can do just about everything.

Dual XLR to 1/8" stereo
Dual XLR to 1/8" mono
XLR to 1/8" stereo
XLR to 1/8" mono
Dual XLR to 1/4" TRS
Dual XLR to 1/4" TS
XLR to 1/4" TRS
XLR to 1/4" TS
XLR to dual RCA
XLR to single RCA (x2)
1/4" to RCA
1/8" stereo to dual RCA
1/8" mono to dual RCA
1/8" stereo to 1/8" mono
1/8" stereo to 1/4" TRS

etc, etc.

Best to get lots of adapters so you can build anything to anything. I once built a BNC to XLR back to BNC to get a video input. It worked, but not well if I remember.

[Dave Partington]

The outputs I come across most are:

1/4" mono (typically a group send)
1/4" stereo (typically headphones out)
1/8" (3.5mm) stereo (headphones out)
Single or Dual Phono (also called RCA) mono/stereo
XLR (either mono or dual for stereo)

If you have those covered coming in to your cable then anything to take from your cabe to the H6 is up to you.

[Peter Riding]

All of the possibilities are discussed in this recent thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...xlr-input.html

The most common by far that I find - that is when the DJ actually understands your request, is willing to allow it, and has spare sockets - is phono out from the board. So you need phono out red and white on the board end and a suitable XLR / 3.5mm on your end. Be prepared to also simply mount an audio recorder close to a speaker either as a fall back or as a backup source because you really cannot rely on the board output being suitable, desirable though it is when available.

Pete

[Robert Benda]

Originally Posted by Peter Riding

All of the possibilities are discussed in this recent thread:

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/all-thin...xlr-input.html

The most common by far that I find - that is when the DJ actually understands your request, is willing to allow it, and has spare sockets - is phono out from the board. So you need phono out red and white on the board end and a suitable XLR / 3.5mm on your end. Be prepared to also simply mount an audio recorder close to a speaker either as a fall back or as a backup source because you really cannot rely on the board output being suitable, desirable though it is when available.

Pete

Pete, you're correct, 100%. All professional DJ mixers have a 'record' 'house' or 'booth' output, so other than if he's recording his own output, there isn't a good reason for any DJ to refuse.

*some mixers allow the microphone output to be turned off to the 'record' output - so be sure to check the mic levels, not just music.*

In a pinch, use a headphone jack. All DJ mixers usually won't get the microphones through that, but usually a nice mixer like at a church will. I've done before.

[Colin McDonald]

Originally Posted by Edward Calabig

Also, is there a difference between 1/4" or XLR inputs on the H6?

The specs in the user manual don't mention a difference (see screenshot), but if you had to take an unbalanced signal to inputs 1-4 (or the L/R inputs if you have the optional XLR plugin module) you would want to use the TRS inputs as these are quite happy to take an unbalanced input from a TS lead, or a (correctly) unbalanced TRS lead. I wouldn't like to unbalance an XLR input as it has the risk of messing up the phantom power supply if it were to be left on.

I've been taking +4dB signals from various mixers using the TRS inputs, works fine using the 20dB pad and keeping the gain lowish (2-3) on the H6.

[Edward Calabig]

Is there a preference which connection is used on the soundboard? Which one provides the best audio or is that dependent on the mixer?

[Edward Carlson]

As long as the signal output matches your input settings (mic or line) and there's no clipping at either end, pretty much each output will be as good as the other. If you have to run a long cable, balanced output is preferred to unbalanced (XLR would be better than RCA in this case.)

[Tim Lewis]

Another handy output to remember is the USB. A lot of digital desks like the Behringer X32 have a usb interface that can take a memory stick. If you get a particularly friendly operator, they may be able to give you a recording of the audio straight from the desk on a USB Stick, or a copy of the file, if they need the recording for themselves.

[Jeff Harper]

I have had very mixed results using DJ boards, but I never pass up the opportunity to hook up. I also run a an extra recorder as backup placed strategically in the room.

Last wedding the music was perfect, but the DJ mic was extremely hot, so all vocals were distorted and useless. Don't know why.

At a different reception the band's sound guy hooked up my Zoom and all I got was the bass guitar.

Auto gain on the Zoom can really backfire when the gain is high on the mixer and render useless audio. But when I have used manual levels the volume will change, giving me an unpredicatble sometimes useless feed. I have found I must use manual gain levels and monitor the signal constantly and adjust as I go.

It seems 90% of DJ boards will have a stereo phono plug (RCA plugs) output. My Zoom H1s have have a 1/8" stereo output jack.

So I have a cable with a 1/8" plug on one end of a cord and two mono RCA (phono plugs) on the other. If your cable is at least 18" or more, you should be covered for most situations.

The idea of using a headphone jack is great, never thought of that. I will get another cable with a 1/4" plug and another with an 1/8" to cover those situations where it might be useful.

We should keep in mind the headphone levels can be adjustable on some boards so if the DJ or sound guy changes it or has it at an inappropriate level we could be in trouble.

[Robert Benda]

Originally Posted by Jeff Harper

I have had very mixed results using DJ boards, but I never pass up the opportunity to hook up. I also run a an extra recorder as backup placed strategically in the room.

Last wedding the music was perfect, but the DJ mic was extremely hot, so all vocals were distorted and useless. Don't know why.

Possible reasons:
Person using the microphone used it wrong, as in, holding it against their mouth, wrapping the top of it with their hand, or generally just talking way too loud into it.
DJ had it turned up too loud on either the receiver or mixing board
Or, of course, the recorder was set too high

Or there is always a chance he was using a real cheap microphone and it wasn't actually receiving the full spectrum of audio.

99% of mixing boards will be covered by either an RCA output or an XLR. I haven't seen a 1/4" output but suppose its possible. I really don't know if there is even a board that doesn't have an output specifically for recording or monitoring. The headphone output is great for installations where you really just can't reach the back of the board for some reason.

OR, if the DJ is using powered speakers, you could use the XLR or 1/4" output that would usually be used to go to another speaker. Just don't try that with a passive speaker because the signal has already been through the amp and it won't end well for you. (if you don't know, basically, if the speaker has a power cord, you're good. If it doesn't, don't plug into it)

[Jeff Harper]

@ Robert, the problem was with the DJ mic level, but it doesn't matter since these things are out of our control. The point is you can't depend on the feed to work out, or I should say I can't. I do the best I can with it but I assume it will not work out and always go for backup. When it does work out it's a bonus.

BTW for 1/4" I was thinking for a headphone jack, but maybe they don't use 1/4" for headphones these days. All of my mixers (in the old days) had 1/4" jacks for headphones. I bet now with the consumer grade stuff they likely use 1/8" jacks on the mixers.

[Robert Benda]

Usually pro mixers have 1/4" outputs, but every pair of modestly priced headphones I buy come with an adaptor for 3.5mm.

I get what you mean about out of our control. Though, as an MC, I'll always coach speakers on how to use the microphone properly, and also pre-test the levels with the videographer if possible.

When we're filming, usually our problem is later, when the dance starts and the volume suddenly becomes 50% louder and the DJ or band is practically yelling into the mic and don't use a compressor.

[Jeff Harper]

Yeah, this guy yelled into the mic so loud it was almost inaudible, really bad, but what can you do.

You're right it gets tricky later on when the volume rises. The auto gain on my Zoom H1 works fine for awhile, but then as it gets really loud it seems to go into shock after a while and lowers input level really low to useless. It's really weird. So I go manual levels now and keep tabs on it.

[Edward Calabig]

Thanks for the information everyone.

Yeah I'm not too concerned if the soundboard feed is garbage or peaks since it's only one of my sources of audio and I'm using the Zoom H6's -12 db backup recording feature.