unbalanced/balanced

whgarrett1394

I am hooking up a Rane mx22 xover in my 2.1 channel rig. I don't know which cables to make. I will be sending the audio signal from my adcom preamp to the xover. 2 male to male rca to xlr. Then I need two more cables(female to male; xlr to rca respectively) to connect xover to adcom 535. Finally I need to sum the left/right channels of low end to subwoofer(female to male; xlr to rca respecively). The manual gives a schematic of the right way to make cables but it gives two choices. Don't know which to use. Can someone help please. The inputs/outputs of xover are all balanced, but preamp, amp and subwoofer are not. Thanks. Here is a link to manual. Scroll down to mx22. :biggrin: http://www.rane.com/oldman.html#gpm1_10

jinjuku

You can do the XLR to RCA either way with the MX22. So the question is:

The cable that you are using, is it 1 conductor plus shield or two conductor plus shield? What ever cable you have, follow the diagram.

With that said you should REALLY be using an isolation transformer like the ART DTI. You will need two (you need 3 channels).

jinjuku

BTW you may need to up the output of your pre-amp by 6dB. I didn't read through the MX22 manual, but it doesn't state whether or not that it will do that for cross coupled RCA | XLR cables. I doubt it though.

I know with my Behringer DCX2496 that it will see the cross coupled cable and automatically adjust the gain digitally.

reeltrouble1

I would not use it.

RT1

jinjuku

Another note: If you use the isolation x-former and the correct cables the x-former will impedence match all your inputs/outputs.

What are you current amps and pre amp?

ben62670

I would not use the box either. It is very simple to make the cables that go from balanced to unbalanced, and vise versa. I am running my gear with an active XO and that is how I do it.

jinjuku

reeltrouble1 wrote: »

I would not use it.

RT1

He won't need the isolation x-former if the cable runs are kept short. BUT if there is any hum introduced he may need it.

I have a digital x-over so hum elimination is simply part of it's function. If everything is on the same outlet then most likely the OP will be ok.

whgarrett1394

Thanks for the replies. The manual gives three options for making rca to xlr and one of them uses just a 1-conductor cable. I think I will be attempting to construct the two made of 2-conductor cable. On the rca ends, where does the shield get connected to?:redface:

ben62670

http://www.behringer.com/EN/downloads/pdf/CX2310_P0132_M_ENG.pdf
Page 11
I would not use shielded wire. Also there are XLR to RCA adapters which would allow you to use regular RCA cables.
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?FTR=xlr+to+rca&search_type=main&WebPage_ID=3&searchFilter=xlr+to+rca&x=0&y=0

jinjuku

whgarrett1394 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. The manual gives three options for making rca to xlr and one of them uses just a 1-conductor cable. I think I will be attempting to construct the two made of 2-conductor cable. On the rca ends, where does the shield get connected to?:redface:

You will most likely use the Cross Coupled / Cross Linked RCA to XLR. I didn't read the Rane manual all the way through how ever.

You won't connect the shield at the RCA.

Again what amp and pre are you using? Do you have any soldering skills?

jinjuku

Make sure to pick up extra rca's at the very least if this is your first time learning to use a soldering iron.

You will want to pick up a female RCA jack and use that to hold the male plug while you solder. This will help absorb some of the heat. A hobby clamp will be useful also.

You can get for not a lot of $$ a reasonable soldering station at Parts Express. While it's no Haiko 936 it does a bang up job for ~1/6th the price.

ben62670

I will second that soldering station. I have bought 6 of them and gave some away as gifts.

whgarrett1394

Awesome. Thanks for the tips.....ring, sleeve. Ha ha. Really though, I did an rca cable not that long ago for my HT sub. First time soldering and it was a pain. The female idea seems like a good one as well as the clamp kit. Thanks a bunch. Oh yeah, I have an adcom gtp-450 pre and a gfa-535.

ben62670

whgarrett1394 wrote: »

... Oh yeah, I have an adcom gtp-450 pre and a gfa-535.

I saw that

whgarrett1394

Anyone got advice on where to get my cables from? Should I buy decent xlr cables and then just cut off an end and replace with rca and correct wiring? Or should I buy just the raw cable and make new ends for both?

ben62670

Why not buy the cheap adapters I linked to and use RCA's on both ends?

jinjuku

whgarrett1394 wrote: »

Anyone got advice on where to get my cables from? Should I buy decent xlr cables and then just cut off an end and replace with rca and correct wiring? Or should I buy just the raw cable and make new ends for both?

If you want to go down that road I can recommend the Monoprice 8 millimeter mic cable. It's 16 AWG 2 conductor with woven copper shield (97.5 coverage) plus drain.

You can cut to custom length and terminate. If you want I can toss a ft of it in the mail (PM me) so you can get a look.

I use the Parts Express RCA's with 8.3 mm aperature and Neutrik XLR's. Done a few jobs that way and couldn't be happier with the sound, solid construction, and look of it all.

whgarrett1394

Thanks alot for the information. That would be great if you could do that for me. Do you need postage? Let me know. :biggrin:

ben62670

whgarrett1394 wrote: »

Thanks alot for the information. That would be great if you could do that for me. Do you need postage? Let me know. :biggrin:

Who are you talking to, and do what for you?