Speaker send XLR splitter

[WiLL]

So, here's the deal;

We have our normal P.A (mixer, sound p.c.,MD player, CD player etc)in the control area and a small all-in-one hifi unit at stage level. The smaller one is used for teachers and directors to play CD's and MD's with no technicians around as it looks and behaves like a domestic hifi and therefore far less scary for them, the larger is for the people who know what they are doing, i.e. my asst. and I. At present both systems' sends come from their own amps to our speaker patch where I have to unplug one set and plug in the other depending on which is needed. A bit of a PITA, especially if I have a day off sick and have left the main P.A patched through and teachers get all frustrated by a lack of sound coming out of the speakers when they use the small hifi. What I was wondering is if anyone a) knows of a pre-fab piece of kit which consists of two female XLR's which connect to a single male. Thus enabling me to plug the male into the speaker patch and one channel of the main P.A, one from the hifi into the other end. This would enable both systems to be patched to the speakers without the need for replugging. Obviously this would need to be rated for speaker, not mic level.

Or; b) A switcher box with 4 XLR Female in's and 2 XLR male outs and a simple selector switch to choose between inputs 1&2 (Main PA) and 3&4 (the hifi).

 

 

Sound isn't my specialty so forgive me if this is an obvious question, I've tried a search through past topics and not found anything that really answers the question. I've also done internet searches and scoured my canford, RS and maplins catalogues without success.

The best I found only had binding post connections and I'd prefer something a little more sophisticated really.

I realise I could probably manufacture what I need from parts but frankly my soldering tends to look like an earthquake in a mercury factory.... and I'm feeling lazy.

 

Any ideas?

[paulears]

You wont find anything with Speaker XLR switching, because XLRs died away when speakons arrived (thank goodness). I got a bit confused with your explanation, but I think you want to have the facility to switch the L&R of a hifi, and the L&R from the PA into a single set of speakers? I've hunted around the usual places but can't find any ready made. Shame your soldering is rubbish, because it's not that hard - but maybe you can twist somebodies arm to make one for you?

[WiLL]

Either that or time to improve my soldering :). I realise XLR for speakers is fairly outdated, but I'm constrained (at least on the output side) by the 20 year old patch bay.

[Rob_Beech]

XLR's and speakons have the same footprint usually, so they should be interchangable in a bay anyway. Secondly, why have you got 2 different amplifier stages? Can you not use a line level out of the hifi, and your normal line level out of the PA, to go to some processing or straight to the amplifiers and to the speakers. Thus making your switching line level. A cheap 4 channel desk would be all you needed then, paid for by selling the second lot of amps if it's not the built in amp of the hifi.

 

Just a thought, maybe I've not quite understood it but 2 amps for 1 speaker seems silly to me.

[SoLiEn]

call me thick if you wish, but what I have done is just run the stage playback kit into the control room and put it through my mini FOH mixer, all I do is turn it on beginning of the day, off end of the day and they can use it without me there. if they need proper control over volume, then if you have a headphone out with volume control, plug into that, headphone control becomes main volume control...

 

cant you do a similar setup?

[themadhippy]

Forget the first option,you risk damaging one (or both) of the amps.

[fatfrog]

Well Firstly - I'd say using the hifi amplifier to power your pa system is probably very bad for your speakers - I'd put money on the fact that the hifi amp is definately not powerful enough for them and you will damage your speakers - seen it done before not nice!!!

 

I suggest you get a set of XLR's run from the stage back to your main mixer and just plug them into a spare channel on the desk and leave this channel open throughout the day - then at the stage end simply connect the line level outs of the hifi unit to the XLRs using di boxes - this way you only have one set of amps and no switching whatsoever just your hifi connected to the main mixer

 

Just my 2c

 

Alan

[paulears]

I see no reason why a hi-fi amp can't be used with PA speakers. If I've worked this one out, all that is happening is that the room has a set of PA speakers permanently wired to a panel. When they want proper PA then they plug th PA output into the panel and use the speakers that way, but when a dance teacher or similar wants to play the hi-fi they have in the room, then this can use the same speakers. Seems quite sensible. I expect the idea of a switch simply to avoid people having to move plugs around - so a switch saying PA or HIFI is the simplest way for students and staff to make noise come out of their system.

 

As long as we're not talking about paralleling up two amps at the same time - where's the problem. Most combo hi-fis from the local shops would drive a pair of cabinets likely to be found in a school or college with no problems whatsoever.

[SoLiEn]

Forget the first option,you risk damaging one (or both) of the amps.

 

my apologies , I meant bypassing the hifi amp, making it line output.

 

EDIT:

 

where you referring to me?

[themadhippy]

where you referring to me?

na twas this bit I was on about

 

 

a pre-fab piece of kit which consists of two female XLR's which connect to a single male. Thus enabling me to plug the male into the speaker patch and one channel of the main P.A, one from the hifi into the other end. This would enable both systems to be patched to the speakers without the need for replugging. Obviously this would need to be rated for speaker, not mic level.

[dbuckley]

I've made a speaker switcher previously, and they work fine.

 

You need to switch all both wires of each speaker feed!

 

You need the right kind of switch, it needs to handle power, and not oxidise, I like the Kraus and Naimer CA4 range.

[Jivemaster]

The patch system means that you never drive main PA power into the music centre which may not survive!

 

The simple answer is to install a pair of speakers for the music centre! Alternatively look through CPC RS or Farnell for a multipole on - off - on switch of sufficient poles and current rating so that the patch between sources can be done on a properly labelled switch one side labelled music centre the other labelled main PA.

 

If the assembly isnt within your comfort zone, have you a technician in CDT ICT or science who could be persuaded to assist.

 

There is a "Speaker Selector Switch" in Maplin

 

2509283484

SWITCH, STANDARD SIZE TOGGLE, SOLDER LUG from RS

 

SW02862 4pdt switch from CPC

 

either could be the key to doing the job well.

[WiLL]

Thanks for your replies guys. To clarify a little, the reason this system is needed is because technical staff aren't always there to turn equipment such as mixers and amps off at the end of the day. The tutors often stay a few hours after the end of the school day for rehearsing when it would be pointless for the technicians to remain, just clocking up overtime. And as I'm sure we all remember from our school days, relying on teachers to know how such equipment works (even after you have shown them and left instructions) is a forlorn hope.

I realise I could simply take a line out to the mixer but then I would come in after the weekend to find that the Saturday school , who also use the space on the weekends when there are NO staff here, have left it all on and the control room unlocked.

With regards to the hifi powering the speakers, I should have said, the hifi doesn't get patched through to the full set of 6 tops and 2 bottoms, just a pair of 250watt HH cabs. This has worked fine without any sign of malfunction for three years so I figure it's quite happy to continue.

I could, it is true simply add in another pair of speakers solely for the hifi, but sadly when the architects designed this place they didn't think that wings with a depth of more than 2 and a half feet would be at all useful, as such I am a bit loathe to find room for yet more speakers when I already have 6 capable of the job.

I will do some more digging around regarding the switch box option I think.

Again, thanks for your advise chaps. Mucho Obligato.

[djtom29]

Hi

 

what about 2 of these and spliting the input on your amp/amps so that all you need to leave on is the amps and the controll room can be left open.

 

XLR male - two XLR female

 

thats how I would do it as we never turn amps off because the staff use our pa in lesson times and havent got a clue about how to turn an amp on!!

 

hope that helped

 

tom

[bruce]

what about 2 of these and spliting the input on your amp/amps so that all you need to leave on is the amps and the controll room can be left open.

 

XLR male - two XLR female

 

thats how I would do it

 

In general, it's a bad idea to have two sources feeding one amp via a Y-cable. Don't do it.

 

Specifically, in this case, it appears (although details are very sketchy - we seem to have jumped to and from speaker/line levels at random!) that one of the proposed sources is a mixing desk, and the other might be a line out from a domestic hifi.. So the signals are at different levels, and one is balanced, one unbalanced. Suggesting combining them with a Y-cable is a bit daft...