norty303 Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Ok, so the question has been done to death the other way round, but how about using DMX cable as mic cable? I'm doing predominantly lighting work these days but have a couple of weddings for friends where I'm doing sound for the bands and I'll probably need to buy a few more bits of cable stock. I'd rather buy DMX cable as it's more useful to me - but is there any reason why I shouldn't use it for regular balanced audio signal? I appreciate the sheath may be less on the DMX cable but I can live with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ynot Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 This HAS also been covered in the variety of other topics, but the answer is essentially the same. Different cables are developed for different jobs, and whilst using DMX cable for audio will undoubtedly 'work' there may be issues arising from it - as I'm not an audiophile, so couldn't say for certain but I suspect it will be in the vein of reduced audio bandwidth, extra loss, etc. If you've got nothing else to use, then it'd be a stop-gap, but considering the low price of half-decent cables, why not just buy a couple of pukka mic lines?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmills Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Not really true in this case.... 110ohm screened twisted pair does just fine as mic cable. I have a large amount of cable designed for AES-3 digital audio which I bought deliberately as it is useful for analogue audio, digital audio and DMX. Audio is basically DC-20Khz, which more or less any screened twisted pair will cope with, the digital protocols need 100 ~ 1000 times that bandwidth to work which is why they need cables that behave as transmission lines at those frequencies and normal sort of gig lengths. Regards, Dan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boatman Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Of course, you may also have a problem forcing the 5-pin XLRs on real DMX cable into the mics and mixer. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norty303 Posted May 31, 2009 Author Share Posted May 31, 2009 why not just buy a couple of pukka mic lines? Unfortunately it's not 'just' a couple. I'm looking at 10 to 15 10m cables so it could end up being over £100. I'd rather spend that on DMX cables than mic cables that'd undoubtedly end up being used for DMX at some point anyway (which, as we all know, is a BAAAAD thing...). I did look for some previous posts and found one that essentially said that you're better off using DMX for mic than mic for signal which certainly makes sense due to the better noise rejection. Don't suppose you can point me in the direction of any of the other threads, as I could only find one that dealt with the issue from an audio stand point? 110ohm screened twisted pair does just fine as mic cable. I have a large amount of cable designed for AES-3 digital audio which I bought deliberately as it is useful for analogue audio, digital audio and DMX. Audio is basically DC-20Khz, which more or less any screened twisted pair will cope with, the digital protocols need 100 ~ 1000 times that bandwidth to work which is why they need cables that behave as transmission lines at those frequencies and normal sort of gig lengths. Thank you Dan, a real world answer that pretty much confirmed what I suspected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Nice mic cable lies well on the floor and feels nice to hold which install DMX cable will not, but I'm sure that you can get some cable that is designed for DMX that handles nicely and it will work for microphones perfectly. When rigging note that the connectod gender is different! A microphone outputs signal on pins, a DMX controller outputs DMX at a socket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smalljoshua Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Just being curious now, how would using DMX cable affect Phantom Power? Would it have any effect? Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 phantom needs 3 conductors, so isn't a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killyp Posted May 31, 2009 Share Posted May 31, 2009 Shouldn't do - phantom is just a +48v DC offset to the hot and cold pins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nb705 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Shouldn't do - phantom is just a +48v DC offset to the hot and cold pins. Surely you mean a 48v DC offset between Hot/Cold and ground? Both the hot and cold pins are at +48v Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killyp Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Yes, just bad wording on my behalf. Thanks for picking up on that, it made sense when I wrote it! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mackerr Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Yes, just bad wording on my behalf. Thanks for picking up on that, it made sense when I wrote it! ;)It still makes sense to me. You didn't say it was a 48V offset between pins 2 and 3. And not only are DMX cables fine for analog audio, they are also fine for AES3 digital audio, which regular mic cable is not. Of course proper DMX cables have 5 pin connectors, but that's another kettle of fish. Mac Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob_Beech Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 .....with all pins connected....sometimes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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