How important is it to balance my speaker connections?

[Beauchampy]

Well, heres my current monitoring chain..

(B) = balanced

Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Mackie HR824s (B)

Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Samson Servo (B) ->
Yamaha NS10s

I wan't a better way of switching between speakers rather than patching
so I was looking at something like the Behringer MON800 or the Samson
C-control.

The Mon800 has no balanced outputs. The C-control has one set. The
Mon800 is about half the price of the C-control.

The legnth of the cabling isnt more than a couple of metres or so,
possibly less.

Ideally I'd like to keep the connections balanced like they are now..
although this isnt really going to happen within my budget (call it
£100).. Can't really afford anything like the presonus central station.

So, is it really going to make much difference having non-balanced
signals going to my monitors over a short distance?

Any comments or solutions greatly appreciated.

Regards

Beauchampy

[Ty Ford]

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 11:43:06 -0500, Beauchampy wrote
(in article >):

> Well, heres my current monitoring chain..
>
> (B) = balanced
>
> Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Mackie HR824s (B)
>
> Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Samson Servo (B) ->
> Yamaha NS10s
>
> I wan't a better way of switching between speakers rather than patching
> so I was looking at something like the Behringer MON800 or the Samson
> C-control.
>
> The Mon800 has no balanced outputs. The C-control has one set. The
> Mon800 is about half the price of the C-control.
>
> The legnth of the cabling isnt more than a couple of metres or so,
> possibly less.
>
> Ideally I'd like to keep the connections balanced like they are now..
> although this isnt really going to happen within my budget (call it
> £100).. Can't really afford anything like the presonus central station.
>
> So, is it really going to make much difference having non-balanced
> signals going to my monitors over a short distance?
>
> Any comments or solutions greatly appreciated.
>
> Regards
>
> Beauchampy

Hi B,

I have an 002. I found that there can be low level buzz in my rig if I
unbalance and go to my unbalanced patchbay ..from there to the monitor amp
input. Not really intrusive, but enough so I might miss the low level pickup
buzz in the electric bass that I'm trying to record.

Going balanced from the 002 monitor outs to the monitor amp input eliminates
the buzz.

I think if you don't hear a buzz, you're OK.

Regards,

Ty

--Audio Equipment Reviews Audio Production Services
Acting and Voiceover Demos http://www.tyford.com
Guitar player?:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RZJ9MptZmU

[Mike Rivers]

Beauchampy wrote:

> I wan't a better way of switching between speakers rather than patching
> so I was looking at something like the Behringer MON800 or the Samson
> C-control.

> The Mon800 has no balanced outputs. The C-control has one set. The
> Mon800 is about half the price of the C-control.

> So, is it really going to make much difference having non-balanced
> signals going to my monitors over a short distance?

The only way to tell is to try. There are enough differences in
grounding and shielding as well as noise environments that it's
imporssible to reliably predict if you'll have more noise with an
unbalanced connection than with a balanced one. But the only
difference, if any, will be noise (which includes hum).

You can just substitute an unbalanced cable rather than buy a switch
in order to do a test. Or you can buy a metal box, some TRS
connectors, and a 4 pole, double throw switch and build your own
switch box. Don't drill a hole in your best guitar picking finger when
cutting the holes in the box.

If your next question is "Is there a schematic on a web site
somewhere?" then you'd better buy a pre-made switch box.

[Ed Anson]

Mike Rivers wrote:
> The only way to tell is to try. There are enough differences in
> grounding and shielding as well as noise environments that it's
> imporssible to reliably predict if you'll have more noise with an
> unbalanced connection than with a balanced one. But the only
> difference, if any, will be noise (which includes hum).

Unfortunately, trying doesn't always provide a definitive answer. I have
noticed that an unbalanced mic level feed can be very quiet or very
noisy, in the same place but at different times. I've been burned by
this often enough that I always go balanced when at all possible.

[Mike Rivers]

Ed Anson wrote:

> Unfortunately, trying doesn't always provide a definitive answer. I have
> noticed that an unbalanced mic level feed can be very quiet or very
> noisy, in the same place but at different times.

Something has to be different. But we're talking about line level
signals here, and the problems he's likely to have will more likely be
with ground differentials rather than shielding effectiveness. So a
test would be a fairly reliable predictor.

> I've been burned by
> this often enough that I always go balanced when at all possible.

Yeah, but you're not the one with the problem in this case. I never
advise anyone to do any more work than they have to. I don't, which is
probably why I'm fat and old.

[[email protected]]

I have the Samson C Control and I'm very pleased with the features and
performance. I think they are selling for $100.00 new and I believe
it will be worth your while. I haven't experienced any buzzing or
obvious loss of sound quality with the Samson. Hope this is helpful.

Leonard

On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:43:06 +0000, Beauchampy
> wrote:

>Well, heres my current monitoring chain..
>
>(B) = balanced
>
>Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Mackie HR824s (B)
>
>Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Samson Servo (B) ->
>Yamaha NS10s
>
>I wan't a better way of switching between speakers rather than patching
>so I was looking at something like the Behringer MON800 or the Samson
>C-control.
>
>The Mon800 has no balanced outputs. The C-control has one set. The
>Mon800 is about half the price of the C-control.
>
>The legnth of the cabling isnt more than a couple of metres or so,
>possibly less.
>
>Ideally I'd like to keep the connections balanced like they are now..
>although this isnt really going to happen within my budget (call it
>£100).. Can't really afford anything like the presonus central station.
>
>So, is it really going to make much difference having non-balanced
>signals going to my monitors over a short distance?
>
>Any comments or solutions greatly appreciated.
>
>Regards
>
>Beauchampy

[Beauchampy]

wrote:
> I have the Samson C Control and I'm very pleased with the features and
> performance. I think they are selling for $100.00 new and I believe
> it will be worth your while. I haven't experienced any buzzing or
> obvious loss of sound quality with the Samson. Hope this is helpful.

Thanks Leonard! I decided to go with the C-control which arrived this
morning. Very nice compact unit and certainly does what it says on the
tin :)



>
> Leonard
>
> On Sun, 28 Jan 2007 16:43:06 +0000, Beauchampy
> > wrote:
>
>> Well, heres my current monitoring chain..
>>
>> (B) = balanced
>>
>> Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Mackie HR824s (B)
>>
>> Digi 002 Mon out (B) -> Neutrik TRS patchbay (B) -> Samson Servo (B) ->
>> Yamaha NS10s
>>
>> I wan't a better way of switching between speakers rather than patching
>> so I was looking at something like the Behringer MON800 or the Samson
>> C-control.
>>
>> The Mon800 has no balanced outputs. The C-control has one set. The
>> Mon800 is about half the price of the C-control.
>>
>> The legnth of the cabling isnt more than a couple of metres or so,
>> possibly less.
>>
>> Ideally I'd like to keep the connections balanced like they are now..
>> although this isnt really going to happen within my budget (call it
>> £100).. Can't really afford anything like the presonus central station.
>>
>> So, is it really going to make much difference having non-balanced
>> signals going to my monitors over a short distance?
>>
>> Any comments or solutions greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Beauchampy