amistra Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Hey guys I just bought a USB controller keyboard to work with my Mac laptop during live performances. What is the best way to connect the laptop to a P.A system? The system that it will used with used an XLR stage box to take signal to the back of the room. I'm assuming that there is a better way than connecting into the line out and using adapters/making some sort of cable to connect directly to the XLR input. I was thinking of using a 1/8 to 1/4 jack into a DI box and doing it that way. Any better solutions would be more than welcomeThanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Sound cards in laptops are seldom particularly high quality, so you'd be best to invest in an external sound card - usually with RCA/Phono outputs/inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammie300 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 3.5mm stereo jack to 2 mono 1/4" Jacks. That is how would do it. I tend to use Proel Diehard cables for this kind of application HTH James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palbin Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Doesn't external sound cards that avoids the 3.5 mm jack jack of the computer usually perform quite superior? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jammie300 Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 I tend to use the external line out of a Laptop or PC, but I have used a soundcard that has RCA out. I tend to always use line level inputs on the desk for items like Laptops and MP3 Players etc as standard And Yes I agree that external soundcards perform a lot better than internal one. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 And Yes I agree that external soundcards perform a lot better than internal one. That's probably true in general, however there will be exceptions. I have several old IBM thinkpads - built like bricks - which have surprisingly good audio interfaces. Far better than some cheapie USB units. Looking at it the other way round, a good external audio card will outperform any onboard audio. But I suspect that some of the "budget" USB audio kit uses very similar components to the onboard version. So don't just assume that since it's external, it must be better... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinE Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 You might like to investigate the problem of ground loops or radiated RFI from your laptop, these are notorious problems when putting a laptop into a PA. Many DI boxes offer ground loop isolation (and of course dedicated ground loop isolators). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick S Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Sound cards in laptops are seldom particularly high quality, so you'd be best to invest in an external sound card - usually with RCA/Phono outputs/inputs. Mac laptop outputs are god awful. It's something to do with the fact the 3.5mm is a combined 3.5/digital out, as I only ever have issues with the intel Macs (PPC's only having analog outs). Lots of quiet but noticeable background hum and noise. Definitely try and go with a USB audio solution if you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobbsy Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Sound cards in laptops are seldom particularly high quality, so you'd be best to invest in an external sound card - usually with RCA/Phono outputs/inputs. Just one point here. Many affordable external soundcards will offer balanced outputs (either on a TRS socket or XLR) and it is ALWAYS worth going for balanced if you have a choice. Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkie Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Line out to a pair of DI boxes is the usual solution, but like others have said, the soundcard might not offer particularly good quality. Earth lift may be necessary if it hums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soundiesam Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 I have to go with yorkie I can't beleive nobody else had mentioned a DI box before that. you should never just connect a laptop with a mini jack to XLR you will have a nasty hum on your system, make a a proper convertion.... sam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 I have to go with yorkie I can't beleive nobody else had mentioned a DI box before that. you should never just connect a laptop with a mini jack to XLR you will have a nasty hum on your system, make a a proper convertion.... sam Well, nobody barring Kevin a bit further up. And the OP himself. Other than those 2, not one person mentioned them before Yorkie. Now, my thinking to why it wasn't mentioned a great deal (other than by the OP and Kevin and Yorkie) is that as Bobbsy points out, many of these external soundcards which has been discussed quite a bit in this thread, have balanced outputs. DI isn't really needed here. The other thing that made a mention of the DI box fairly rare, (apart from those 3 examples) was the fact that Jammie mentions that they always connect on line inputs. Again, no need for a DI if you're doing this. It's also worth noting that nobody has suggested putting unbalanced line outs into an XLR. The OP said they didn't want to do that. Just clearing a few things up as to why DI's etc weren't mentioned....apart from the ones where it was. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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