Routing 2 mics through one XLR cable?

cannabis

cannabis

New member
someone started a thread on this topic

then closed it

i think it's an interesting question

that is, connect 2 mics

to a single xlr cable (with y adapter of course)

then extract each signal separately at the other end



it's pretty straightforward

if using two unbalanced mics

not requiring phantom power



i think it could be easily done too

using half the balanced output from

each of two mics

again no phantom power requirement

of course you'd only get half the power

of the signal from each mic

and the system would be prone to

extraneous noise



the real question is

can it be done

with mics requiring phantom power



have to think about that

(besides wiring up a 7 pin cable

- three conductors only)
 
c7sus said:
Why bother???
Click to expand...
Well, as I explained in the thread I closed because someone basically called me a dumbass for asking the question. I need to do this because I need two mics at the end of my internally wired boom pole, but the boom pole is only big enough to fit one XLR cable. So I was looking for a way to wire two mics up to one mic cable and still come out on the other end with separate signals.
 
You could just make your own cable out of some thinner cable that is used for installations. The cable is much smaller and you should be able to get a pair of them through a boom no problem. After that, just heat shrink them together so that they are one cable. I've done this with a few of my cables that I do for live stereo recordings and it works fine.
 
Would a 2-channel snake cable fit???

How about just running the second cable down the outside????

Or is this an adjustable boom with a reel or something????
 
don't mess with the power going to your mics unless you're really in need of some fancy paper weights. will it work? certainly. will it sound like total shit and potentially wreck your mics? absolutely.
 
I am not sure I understand the point. Would you break it out before it hits the preamp to separate the signals? Or are you summing the two mics to create a single mono signal? The latter would be a bit weird as going to a balanced pre (which most are) is going to flip the polarity of one of the sides.

EDIT: Never mind, saw your post above. So you are breaking out two signals... Might as well give it a shot assuming they are dynamic mics. I assume you realize you are in unbalanaced land which means you lose the benfit of noise cancellation... so you'll want to keep your run relatively short. I would imagine 20ft would be your max. Persoanlly I would just wrap balanced cables around the boom and cable tie them down as I have a thing for balanced lines. Or go the Angusdevil route.
 
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I never liked cabled poles as they tend to be noisier when in full lenght,
esp. ones with coiled cable. My usual rig for documentaries was Shcoepps
MS stereo, so two mics for those situations.
Matti, former boom op.
 
GOODLAND said:
Well, as I explained in the thread I closed because someone basically called me a dumbass for asking the question..
Click to expand...

It's not something I've looked at doing

BUT I just wanted to point out that I read the closed thread & the dude that called you a dumbass calls everybody a dumbass, leading me & probably many others to the conclusion that he himself (assuming it's a he) is the king/queen of dumbassdom
 
c7sus said:
Would a 2-channel snake cable fit???

How about just running the second cable down the outside????

Or is this an adjustable boom with a reel or something????
Click to expand...

I spent a good amount of money on a boom pole that had a slot to port my own XLR through. I think just getting a 2 Ch. Snake would work best. I can easily re-solder the ends once I port the cable through. Snakes tend to have thinner cabling.
 
slidey said:
It's not something I've looked at doing

BUT I just wanted to point out that I read the closed thread & the dude that called you a dumbass calls everybody a dumbass, leading me & probably many others to the conclusion that he himself (assuming it's a he) is the king/queen of dumbassdom
Click to expand...
Yeah, I think his rep. clearly represents his intelligence
 
Actually, the star quad would work... assuming it fits in the boom. Just don't double up the conductors. Not how it was meant to be used, but there are 4 conductors and shield in there and it should be heavier than the snake cable
 
Does anyone know how to run an xlr output to and rca unbalanced input? I'm thinkin about getting the rane ms-1b but i don't know how to connect it to my soundcard. I'd rather not go thru the mixer. I have the 2496 audiophile soundcard.
 
You should be able to pick up an XLR to RCA cable and/or connector at Radio Shack. Just make sure the Rane XLR Output level is the same reference level as your sound cards RCA input (+4dBu/-10dBu, this may be selectable through a hardware switch, or in the software)
 
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