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PA - Microphone.cable Basics

The document discusses different types of audio equipment used in a PA system including microphones, DI boxes, and cable types. It covers microphone levels and patterns as well as passive vs. active DI boxes. Speaker, power, signal, and data cable types are also outlined.

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felixcastaner
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26 views2 pages

PA - Microphone.cable Basics

The document discusses different types of audio equipment used in a PA system including microphones, DI boxes, and cable types. It covers microphone levels and patterns as well as passive vs. active DI boxes. Speaker, power, signal, and data cable types are also outlined.

Uploaded by

felixcastaner
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PA basics

Mic > mixer >amplifier> speaker

Levels

Mic level -40

Instrument level -20

Line level +4

Speaker level. Generally, beyond scale, measured post speaker.

Micprphones

Condenser mics

-Requires phantom power 48v

-Different capsule makeup to dynamic mics

-Very sensitive/ suffer from wind and handling noise

-More high frequency detail

Dynamic mics

-shure beta 58 vocal #1

-robust/ cheaper

-shure beta 57 instrument #1

Mic patterns

- Most common is cardioid


- Directional
- Hyper cardioid
- Super cardioid
- Very subtle differences between the 2
- Omnidirectional gets rid of the proximity effect
- Picks up sound from all directions

DI box

- 2 types passive and active


- Most instruments use ¼ inch jack plug (trs) Di boxes change the shape of the connector
- DI boxes also convert instrument level or line level back to mic level and unbalanced to
balanced audio
- Passive DI box has a transformer inside which imparts a certain amount of resistance to the
signal coming in, converting it to mic level
- An active DI box has a circuit board inside which operates on 48v power. It has a very small
amp inside.
- Active does the same job as passive
- Rule of thumb is that you need an active DI for passive instruments (acoustic guitars etc.)
and vise versa

Cable types

Power cables
- 240v and extensions
- IEC also known as jug plug
- IEC also comes in 2 pin sometimes known as figure 8
- Some IEC or power cables have “piggy back” power extenders allowing access to the socket
behind it whilst also powering another device
- Power boards

Speaker cable
- Speakon
- Speakon comes in 3 kinds NL 4 is the most common, NL 2 is the same size and looks the
same but will only have 2 pins. NL 8 is much bigger and has 8 pins
- EP connector
- EP are a round metal connector with a number of pins ranging from 4 up to 10
- EP is potentially very dangerous due to exposed metal and pins
-
Signal cable
- XLR cable
- TRS cable (tip, ring, sleeve)
- TRS comes in 2 sizes ¼ inch and 1/8 inch also known as mini jack.
- TS cable
- TS cable is also known as guitar lead, instrument lead

Data
- USB
- Ethernet
- Fibre
- MADI

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