So I’m trying to put together a portable set up, sometimes to take out with me but mostly for moving around the house.
Very new to dawless setups and trying to work out how best to connect it all up as I dont think it’s as simple as I first thought.
I have just bought this mixer as a portable cheap option for now, 6 channels and switches for stereo/mono on each channel -
It has stereo output which I would either be connecting to a pair of JBL 305p mk2s, or a JBL Extreme 3 portable speaker.
I’m hoping to initially be able to connect a Digitone, Model:Cycles and MPC One. Although I also have a TD-3, RD-6, Korg NTS-1 and Waldorf Rocket which I may want to run through it additionally at some point.
The issue I’m having is how to connect the gear like the DN which has L/R outputs.
I want to be able to use in stereo, especially the DN for the stereo effects.
I thought a ‘2x 1/4 TS Mono to 1x 1/4 TRS Stereo cable’ would do the job. Like this - 6.35mm TRS Stereo Jack to 6.35mm Mono Tip Ring BIG Jacks Screened Cable 1m
Assumed I could just connect with that and change the channel on the mixer to stereo…
However have seen it suggested that this wouldn’t work and I need to run two TS cables out of the DN into two separate channels of the mixer.
But that only leaves me with 3 channels to use if I’m using 3 bits of kit with L/R outputs.
Have also read about issues of using Y splitter cables and the potential damage they can do to equipment…
I have been using a ‘2x 1/4 mono TS to 1x 1/8 TRS stereo cable’ to connect my MPC One or M:C directly to a JBL Extreme 3 portable speaker with no issues. Thought connecting in this way to the mixer would work the same.
Cable used from MPC/M:C to speaker -
Sorry if any of these queries seem stupid, I’m learning all the time!
Any help would be much appreciated, I’ve been on a cable odyssey the last few weeks and my girlfriend would appreciate me being a bit more present and not thinking about/shopping for/talking to her about cables for a while
You might consider first whether you intend to run any audio through the DN which would allow access to that channel through the DN effects and eliminate at least one mixer destination as it would be summed within the digitone and can be internally panned left and right to follow the DN outputs for an exit strategy.
What is your source on this and what is the potential damage you’re talking about, Is this just conjecture? because it’s not anything I’m familiar with but that doesn’t mean it’s not true.
On hearing it, to me though, this sounds like a fallacy.
The needs of some gear to be split into stereo pairs is different than others, just as an example volcas which use the headphone jack for audio out may not have true stereo but as it is mono divided for headphone output the mono signals are split in an inconvenient way which doesn’t play well with TRS to TRS and requires TRS to dual mono as is the cable you have linked.
I’m not familiar with all the gear you listed but I’d start by making a list of what actually has balanced outputs and can be routed with single TRS cables and what may be using something which requires a splitter or a TS mono cable - Waldorf rocket, for example, has mono VCF input and mono audio out, the headphone out is similar to the split mono of the volca so that it can be distributed left and right. The audio out on the rocket only requires a single TS cable into 1 channel and as along as the mixer has a summing function (yours appears to) then it will split it into the existing L/R channels equally, unless you only want it to appear on right or left in which case you will need to get creative with your cabling because your mixer does not have L/R balance control, only level or stereo/mono options. This is a scenario where one could consider using the DN internal mixer to do L/R pan because the input can be centered, panned evenly left and right, or be panned heavily to one side or the other from the Master page.
Also you may want to do some experimentation with what you actually want in the set up because one noisy device can contaminate the whole thing and rocket tends to be very noisy in my experience however it may not be as bad if your intended power source is multiple power banks, I just don’t know so I can only advise you to figure out which of your devices create how much noise and if you want them to be part of your setup in a worst case scenario.
I don’t know about the audio routing for (audio into) MPC one’s mixer but I assume you can do something similar to DN and unless you are looking for the most basic way to hook this all up, you may have to write down what your goals are sonically and draw up an ideal routing and then make some moves in order to achieve it rather than just assuming there is an optimal single way to do it. I don’t mean that as any criticism, it’s just a box that you don’t need to put yourself in if you want to be objective about the kind of setup you’re after.
One thing to consider is there are some great threads on here where people have already done a lot of mixing of gear in “to go” set ups and you don’t have to take exactly what they do, but just learn from the “abstract”, one such setup is this and he gives some pretty detailed schematics for all his routing so it could at least help you get an idea of how some people are doing things:
I’m sorry if this is not a direct enough answer and just a bigger rabbit hole but it’s unfortunately probably not going to be as simple as A-B-C routing of cables unless some mad genius shows up and proves me incorrect in short order.
I’d start with a piece of paper and an ideal routing, just see if you can use what you have to get there
Some gear might take an issue with a ring-sleeve short, but I wouldn’t expect it from prosumer gear, or anything at all in the last couple decades. But I think the real source of this is with generic Y-splitters that are used with multiple devices. I’m not sure if stereo → mono pair creates a problem (doubt it), but those splitters that split the same signals out into separate connectors are super bad news.
I had one which was sold as something you’d use to share a walkman with someone. It came with a warning that basically admitted the product shouldn’t exist and said to keep the volume low. Indeed, if you connected one set of headphones the signal was reasonable, and if you connected two it was much louder, in both pairs. That poor opamp was doing quadruple duty. Now imagine you had that connecting up your Elektron gear.
Anyway, I’m using one (sometimes two) of the balanced pair → stereo cables with my DN and I’m not having problems. I keep it on and connected like this for extended periods of time.
So far as that goes, any theoretical complaints would be towards using mono splitter cables to merge a bunch of signals. But it’s not particularly risky, especially with line level gear.
Thank you for purchasing Applied Research and
Technology’s SPLITMIX4. The SPLITMix4 is a fully
passive hybrid mixer that offers a wide variety of
configurations. Mix 4 stereo input channels down to 1
stereo output, split a stereo input signal to distribute 4
stereo output channels, or combine the configurations
for a wide range of applications. You can even configure
the SPLITMIx4 as 4 stereo input channels through 4
independent level attenuators to 4 stereo output
channels.
Independent stereo level controls are provided on each
channel. All ¼-inch connections are stereo TRS (Tip,
Ring, Sleeve) and all channel connections have
intelligent switching to allow for a wide variety of
configurations. Plugging into a mix input channel
removes it from the splitter bus, and plugging into a
splitter output channel removes it from the mix bus.
Stereo or mono operation is determined by the type of
¼-inch plug and cabling that you use.
The fully passive design of the SPLITMix4 has no active
circuitry to add noise or distortion, and virtually any
signal level can be handled. The Level attenuators cover
a wide range and offer over 90dB of attenuation and
channel isolation. The SPLITMix4 is designed primarily
as a line level device with medium input and output
impedances. Low impedance microphones, speakers,
headphones, and high impedance instrument pickups
need an additional amplifier, but any other audio
equipment should work well with the SPLITMix4.
What would you like for me to measure?
(In good fun, since “fairly confident” isn’t the same as “I have the measurements in front of me” and I’m a stubborn git.)
So far as I can see the main complaints about splits/merges and input circuit protections involve accidental phantom power driving something way beyond expected impedance.
Obviously there’ll be greater potential for distortion on the receiving end since cheaper passives may not have attenuators on the split/merge device.
I have a lot of cheap gear mixed in with expensive gear. It all works fine. Most of the time, the people writing the copy on these generic product ads aren’t even thinking as deep as to trickily word the text to deceive the buyer, with Amazon you’re lucky if things are even spelled correctly.
However, there are times where products don’t deliver what’s promised. I read a review of a USB 3.0 hub once that a person did a speed test and determined that the input was a usb 3.0 hub and all the outlets were split off that so it was essentially a USB 2.0 hub.
Anything we don’t have facts on is just conjecture, but to date I’ve never friend any gear by using cheap stuff.
I’d love to help this guy with his problem so he can spend time with his loved ones, but I think the fact is we just can’t make generalized answers about his set up at this time, but there is information in the search button which may help, yeah?
Well thanks for the replies everyone… They were helpful, thought provoking, confusing and entertaining although I’m still none the wiser regarding my cabling issues…
That Y splitter comment certainly instigated some lively discourse.
I think my best bet is to buy a selection of cables and see what works. My girlfriend will I’m sure be pleased to hear about all my cable routing experiments.
The splitter thing is less complex than the discussion around it. In your case you want to put balanced pairs onto one unbalanced stereo connector. That’s the same as a balanced → mono connection x2, and the “splitter” part is really just a form factor thing and not the opamp-cooking danger the other splitters can be.
I don’t think anyone in this thread suspects there would be a problem with that. I don’t, and I have experience with the problems the other kind of splitters can have.
Edit: since the bad advice which spawned the tangent got memory-holed, I have removed my related posts in the interest of topicality.
Thanks for the detailed response! Definitely a lot to think about there and a very good point made about sonic goals and thinking about how to put gear together to achieve that.
Will definitely have a search through some other topics to see other peoples processes in similar situations.
My initial aim is just to have the DN, M:C and MPC running through the mixer to the portable speaker for quick jams around the house, and I think I was really just asking “will this cable work?” and I probably just need to buy it and find out.
You’re good to go, don’t worry. Only issue I see is that these affordable micro mixers tend to have a lot of noise, so you may quickly choose to upgrade. If that’s the case, then go ahead and buy more inputs than you need, buy once cry once.
Thanks for the reply! Undoubtedly will be looking to upgrade at some point soon, just wanted something cheap while I learn the gear I’ve recently bought (I also use my dj mixer when in the room where decks are).
Once I’m further down the road I’ll have a clearer idea about what I want to do and what equipment I need to do that.
