Which Mixer To Get? (Aux Channels)

[tregaurd]

Hi guys

 

Can you give me a bit of help as to my mixer needs, as the channel routing seems a bit complicated (for me at least)

 

Inputs -

 

1. Presenter 1

2. Presenter 2

3. Gallery Producer (and Talkback)

4. Sound FX

5. Phone Line Audio

... plus a couple of spares for anything needed.

 

(The gallery producer needs to be able to speak to presenter via IEM but also go "live" to air, like in a radio setup.)

 

Outputs -

 

1. Main mixer out to viewers/listeners (all channels when live)

 

2. Presenter IEM (need them to hear 4,5 only when live and 3 whether it is live to air or not .. ie for producer to presenter talkback)

3. Phone Line TBU (need them to hear 1,2,3,4 when live)

4. Studio Foldback Speakers (3,4,5 only when live to air)

*possibly needed* 5. Gallery monitor speakers (1,2,5 when live to air, and 4. as a pre-fade so they can preview sound fx)

 

Am I right in thinking for the full setup above I need 4 aux channels ... 2 pre-fade and 2 post fade aux? (for 2 & 5). I can maybe do without 5. if costs come into it as they can always preview sounds via the computer speakers and have the whole main mix for gallery monitor speakers instead)

 

Also will the whole talkback IEM thing work ... I take it I have the aux for 2 turned up, the pfl button down and the presenter can hear everything whether the fader is up or down. Then the gallery producer would just hold down the 3 channel "on" button for it to also go to air?

 

Two mixers have been recommended to me in our price range -

 

Soundcraft M8

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/soundcraft-m8-multi-purpose-mixer--8723

 

Yamaha MG206C (or USB version)

http://www.dv247.com/studio-equipment/yamaha-mg206c-analogue-live-sound-mixer--40686

http://www.dv247.com/mixers/yamaha-mg206c-usb-analogue-multi-purpose-mixer--40687

 

Will both these do the job? The yamaha looks slightly easier to use and I guess the USB function could come in handy if we ever want to record sound to pc. Any other recomendations in that range?

 

Also additional question. Any studio monitor speakers. Do I need active speakers or powered ones? I was guessing powered as the mixer isnt an amp aside for the mics

 

Cheers

[GKW]

Sadly I can't add much on the mixers - but my understanding is that active speakers ARE powered speakers - if they need an external amplifier then they're passive speakers?

 

 

[TimmyP1955]

Sadly I can't add much on the mixers - but my understanding is that active speakers ARE powered speakers - if they need an external amplifier then they're passive speakers?

 

I would find a clean used Yamaha 01V instead (not the 01V96 - which is great, but much more than you need).

[tregaurd]

Sadly I can't add much on the mixers - but my understanding is that active speakers ARE powered speakers - if they need an external amplifier then they're passive speakers?

 

 

 

Oops my mistake. I meant are speakers used on the mixer passive or do I need active powered? I'm guessing active like computer monitor speakers.

 

Unfortunately I cannot use used gear for the mixer, so just need to know if these will do what I want and work the way I am thinking.

[CharlieH]

Regards the mixer, I haven't checked whether it has the correct number of aux outputs, but the Allen & Heath XB14 is designed for broadcast use, and has 2 channels designed for phone lines (which would cut out the need for one of your aux outs). Should you want more, the GSR24 is its big brother, although I assume that this will be frightfully expensive! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif

[jmaudio]

Powered and active mean slightly different things when it comes to studio monitor speakers.

 

I believe the way it works is at follows:

 

Passive: Cabinets only contain drivers and a crossover. You need to feed these with a signal from a power amplifier.

Powered: One Cabinet contain drivers, crossover and two channels of amplification. You feed this cabinet with both mains power, and line level audio (ie, output from a mixer) The second cabinet contains only drivers and crossover (passive), and is powered from the first cabinet.

Active powered. The most expensive kind. Each speaker is identical, there are no volume controls on these, so the gain is fixed. Each box contains a DSP crossover, which splits the incoming signal into the high and low frequencies to feed two power amplifiers, one for the woofer (speaker generating low frequencies) and one for the tweeter, which sorts out the rest of the audio band. You feed the left output of the mixer into one speaker, and the right mixer output into the right speaker, and feed both with mains power.

 

HTH,

 

Jamie.

[intyra]

Regards the mixer, I haven't checked whether it has the correct number of aux outputs, but the Allen & Heath XB14 is designed for broadcast use, and has 2 channels designed for phone lines (which would cut out the need for one of your aux outs). Should you want more, the GSR24 is its big brother, although I assume that this will be frightfully expensive! http://www.blue-room.org.uk/public/style_emoticons/default/dry.gif

Considering the XB14 costs almost double all of the mixers listed, I doubt it's appropriate.

 

Josh

[tregaurd]

Yeah its just a fairly small thing (I guess could be compared to a student station) so no chance of an XB14 (I wish!!!) and in any case I doubt the people who are going to be operating this would ever be able to use something like that to its full capability.

 

So a the mixer isnt a powered amplifier (other than phantom mics) I need powered speakers. Cool! Thanks muchly Jamie :D

 

Both mixers I listed are 4 bus, 4 aux. Yamaha you can select all whether post or pre-fade. The soundcraft is 2 pre, 2 post. It sounds to me that they should both do what I want .. tho I'm confused whether I can use it for talkback in the way I want. Ie. Do I need the PFL button down for pre-fade on an aux to work (obviously with that aux turned up) and then when the producer lifts the fader up and puts the channel live it will then be heard on the main mix, or they need to take the PFL button off (ie does one cancel out the other)

[Wilflet]

pfl/afl is just for soloing to headphones/local listen wedge.

If you have the talkback mic into a channel, prefade aux feeding presenter IEM, post fade to anything you've listed as 'when live', and main broadcast out from the stereo/main out. When the channel fader is down the the mic goes to the iem (and any other prefade) when its up it goes to the post fade auxes and masters relative to the fader- the prefade send remains unchanged by this.

[tregaurd]

When the channel fader is down the the mic goes to the iem (and any other prefade) when its up it goes to the post fade auxes and masters relative to the fader- the prefade send remains unchanged by this.

 

Cool, thanks for that. So by saying the pre-fade send remains unchanged, the iem will continue to get fed the talkback mic even though with fader up it will also be sent to the main mix. So the IEM will get that talkback mic feed at all times.

 

I think I'm getting a grip on this. I hope, ** laughs out loud **

[Sipie]

Hi,

 

Basically, you would normally run the IEM's on an aux. Make it pre fade and the chap wearing the IEM's won't be defend by the movement of the fader!!

 

So, when the gallery chap isn't live on air, you just pull the fader down and it's still heard in the IEM's. Make sense?

 

Probably I would say the M8 is the nicer to use out of the 2. I've always had a few issues with the low level Yamaha's, where as Soundcraft make them quite well!

[paulears]

The really simple solution is to use a Y splitter on the gallery mic, so it comes up on two faders, one goes to the destinations via auxes with no link to L & R, while the other goes ONLY to L & R. One controls the IEM feed and the other for when it becomes a programme source. Simples!