These Cables Work. (And why)

[Dave Blackham]

Line Level Audio In

Line Level Audio In

Whilst we are on the case with the Please can Balanced Line Level in be enabled.

Usual -8db tone with respect to peak level and registers at -18 on the meter system. Better still use PPM balistics on the Audio level meters so -8db tone lines up at PPM 4.

 

[Dustin Wilson]

PROBLEM SOLVED: FRESH BATTERIES IN MIC


I have just recieved two of these cables and am trying to use them with a Senheiser shotgun mic. I am getting lots of noise and feeback from the camera...

Maybe I have the wrong mic? It is an unidentified Senheiser shotgun. It has a AA battery, a little black switch ("BATT. ON") and then an inlayed switch that is red with a line and an angled line next to it. The LED doesnt seem to illumitate when I push the switch up to BATT ON. I am not sure if this mic is needs phantom power or not...maybe that is the problem?

However when I put the dB above 35-40 I can hear noise/feedback from the fan (which changes pitch as per fan speed), also clicking while recording, which all amount to an unusable signal...

Any advice out there? How to ID an unmarked Senheiser Mic? How to know if thats the problem?

EDIT: I tried multiple batteries....

EDIT 2: When AC power is attached the noise is DEF greater.

EDIT 3: I think I am using the Sennheiser ME66/K6

I'm going to revive this here. I've been searching around but can't find any answers. I am also getting the fan feedback when the dB is pushed up. Tried multiple mic setups and I can't get it to go away. Any ideas?

 

[Ben Coleman]

I want to add to this that if you use a Sennheiser EW100 wireless system the CL 1 mini cable that is provided does not work with the mini jacks on the body. Sennheiser does not connect the ring on the one end of the cable. The good news is, any standard TRS or stereo mini to mini cable will indeed work to connect a EK100 receiver to the body mini jack.

If your good with your soldering skills you could cut the one end off of the Sennheiser cable and solder on a new one.

 

[Chris Harless]

So on the CL1 modification...would you just take tip>tip ring>ring and sleeve>sleeve? I have the EK100 Evolution G3 wireless mic. i would like to connect form the receiver straight to the Scarlet if i can. I think i read that the system feeds line level audio. So i would just select Line level in the Scarlet?

Thank you guys for this thread...very helpful.

 

[Kamilla Lusa]

Will HOSA XVS-102F work when phantom power gets enabled on Scarlet firmware?

 

[Marc Baitz]

Where to get these audio cables in germany.

Where to get these audio cables in germany.

Hey,

I had the same problems with those cables. In germany you don´t get the Hosa cables. So anyone looking for the right cables in germany try digitalaudioservice. They have those cables in the store http://digitalaudioservice.av-cablesystems.de/product_info.php?info=p8862_MTM-0-2-FXP3-3-5-SW.html
Or they prepare the length you need if you call them.

 

[Daniel Crooks]

... I believe you can use one of those zoom recorders to pass the audio on to the epic. Use the onboard mics or plug in your own condenser. It provides phantom power.

so does this mean you can plug the headphone out from a Zoom recorder such as the H2N into the Epic mic in ? isn't the headphone out too 'hot' for a mic in ?

 

[Mike P.]

Reviving this because I can't find confirmation; will the HOSA XVS 102F/101F pass phantom power through?

Also, how is the unplug-while-phantom-power-is-on-ruins-your-sound/mic issue on Scarlet/Epic? Someone on the first page mentioned the R1 did some very bad things if you did this.

 

[Calle Herdenberg]

First I should say that I know nothing about audio.

I recently bought a Sennheiser MKE 400 to have a small microphone to help syncing the audio when editing. Yesterday I spent a few hours to get it to work I wasn't successful. That was before I red this thread.

The Sennheiser has a 3.5mm TRS mini cable. Is it the wrong kind of TRS cable? Do I need an adapter? Or am I just using the wrong settings in the camera?

 

[Mike P.]

Get a 3.5mm stereo (female) to 3.5mm mono (male) adapter at Radio Shack... It should be like $2-5. No phantom power, but you shouldn't need it with the MKE400.

 

[Elsie N]

Reviving this because I can't find confirmation; will the HOSA XVS 102F/101F pass phantom power through?

Also, how is the unplug-while-phantom-power-is-on-ruins-your-sound/mic issue on Scarlet/Epic? Someone on the first page mentioned the R1 did some very bad things if you did this.

Bump this.

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

First I should say that I know nothing about audio.

I recently bought a Sennheiser MKE 400 to have a small microphone to help syncing the audio when editing. Yesterday I spent a few hours to get it to work I wasn't successful. That was before I red this thread.

The Sennheiser has a 3.5mm TRS mini cable. Is it the wrong kind of TRS cable? Do I need an adapter? Or am I just using the wrong settings in the camera?

We chased down that answer in this thread:

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?81966-Sennheiser-MKE-400

First, we started on the connectors - which seemed to be the right ones.
After some investigation, we found that the wiring on the MKE400 was the issue.
Sennheiser was considering an adapter cable - turns out the combination is at the mic, not the connector end so that would not work.

They are thinking...
In the meantime, the MKE400 will not work - you need to find a mic that not only has a balanced connector, but the correct isolated wiring behind it.


I know that many at RED HQ curse the mini-XLR's, but how I wish they were on the front of the EPIC and Scarlet cameras...

 

[Calle Herdenberg]

I saw this thread just now.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?81966-Sennheiser-MKE-400

They asked that I post this for the time being:




Due to the unique connector and wiring scheme of the Scarlett camera, the MKE 400 with its standard cable will not operate. We are investigating an adapter cable and will keep users posted on developments. Thank you.

So I guess getting another mic would be best.

Get a 3.5mm stereo (female) to 3.5mm mono (male) adapter at Radio Shack...

Or do you still think an adapter could work?

 

[Brian F Kobylarz]

I saw this thread just now.
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?81966-Sennheiser-MKE-400


Or do you still think an adapter could work?

Adapters are not the solution - this was provided to me by Sennheiser's Technical Director in the US:

"Upon further analysis, even unbalancing will most likely NOT work, as tip and ring are connected together inside the microphone, thus shorting out the audio input no matter whether is configured balanced or unbalanced ..., "

I'll be at their US HQ sometime in the next few days - I'll check to see what progress they have made in developing a solution - or, in worst case, report if they have found that there is not one.

 

[Mike P.]

I must recant what I said... Apparently it doesn't work with the MKE400. I don't have one to test, but every mic I have works with a stereo to mono (with phantom power OFF, obviously.)

 

[D Fuller]

Will HOSA XVS-102F work when phantom power gets enabled on Scarlet firmware?

I haven't looked at this thread in a long time. You probably know this already, but for anybody who doesn't, the answer is yes. Those HOSA cables do pass phantom power.

 

[Marc Wielage]

There is a lot of confusion about the kind of cable required to get audio into an Epic or Scarlet. Let's clear that up.
One of the popular choices for XLR-to-Epic/Scarlet TRS inputs are the Hosa XVS102F.

Hosa is a very, very cheap "Guitar Center" kind of brand that sells cables for $1.98. They would not be among my top choices for shielding, strength, and reliability. You'd be far better off getting a pro audio dealer to make you custom audio cables using carefully-shielded Canare Star-Quad cable. They aren't that expensive and are far better than anything Hosa sells.

 

[D Fuller]

Hosa is a very, very cheap "Guitar Center" kind of brand that sells cables for $1.98. They would not be among my top choices for shielding, strength, and reliability. You'd be far better off getting a pro audio dealer to make you custom audio cables using carefully-shielded Canare Star-Quad cable. They aren't that expensive and are far better than anything Hosa sells.

You're right, Mark. Or Mogami makes a good cable, and of course Red itself makes one now. But when I wrote this back in 2012, the more important thing was that HOSA had published their wiring diagrams, and I could use them to help people understand what was going on with those mini plugs on the front of the cameras. People could use those diagrams to have custom cables made if they wanted, and they'd be properly wired.

There was a LOT of confusion (as I'm sure you remember) and this was really intended to give guidelines that people could use in sourcing any brand of cable, as well as a part number that was available everywhere: Amazon, Radio Shack, and yes, Guitar Center. Once people understood how audio into the camera worked, they could think about getting better cables. But for about $6 they could solve the immediate problem.

 

[Mike P.]

I've got a better question; can you blow the audio board by connecting/disconnecting the 3.5 audio cable while phantom-power is ON (and the camera is on)? I've never gotten a clear response, and I just haven't used phantom power because of it (even though it'd be really helpful for jobs that can use in-cam audio).

 

[Marc Wielage]

I've got a better question; can you blow the audio board by connecting/disconnecting the 3.5 audio cable while phantom-power is ON (and the camera is on)? I've never gotten a clear response, and I just haven't used phantom power because of it (even though it'd be really helpful for jobs that can use in-cam audio).

I've never had it happen with a piece of pro audio gear, but I can't say for sure with Red. It's a very low-current connection, even though it's 48VDC, so we're not talking much power here. I'm not even sure you can feel it if you stuck your finger on the leads.

You're right, Mark. Or Mogami makes a good cable, and of course Red itself makes one now. But when I wrote this back in 2012, the more important thing was that HOSA had published their wiring diagrams, and I could use them to help people understand what was going on with those mini plugs on the front of the cameras.

Well, the wiring diagrams are trivial and obvious. All the technicians who work for every pro sound company in the world know the wirings of XLR and Red gear -- it's not rocket science.

The key is that Red users shouldn't assume that a $1.98 Hosa cable is the right way to go, especially for day-in day-out location sound recording. That's the last cable I'd choose.

If it were a home studio that never got disassembled, and you were just noodling around trying to write demo songs, sure... $1.98 Hosa cables are fine for that. But not for professionals, and certainly not for shooting TV shows, shorts, commercials, documentaries, and features with mission-critical audio.

I agree that Mogami is an excellent choice, as is Belden and many others. I prefer to go with Canare Star-Quad for the simple reason that it's demonstrably better for shielding, though there is slightly more loss when you go over 100'. But the truth is, so much of location sound is now contingent on wireless microphones, I'm not sure if cables are as much of an issue -- especially cables that go into a camera.