I need help from a sound engineer.

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
03/09/2016 at 17:51 • Filed to: None

I use a wireless microphone all day, every day in my job as a teacher. The pictures below show the pieces, and there’s an Onkyo receiver and 4 Cerwin Vega bookshelf speakers where my amplified voice comes out.

Here’s my situation: The old wireless mic that I’ve been using for 10+ years started fading in and out. So I bought a newer one from a nice guy on Ebay.

The mic receiver plugs into a little mixer — currently Channel 2 — and the mixer plugs into one of the line inputs on the Onkyo receiver. Maybe I should be using the mic input on the mixer? And the guy at Shure says that my mic and the transmitter are definitely compatible, but that the microphone is somehow “quieter” than other possible inputs...

When I plugged in the new receiver/transmitter system to the mixer, I couldn’t get a peep out of the new mic, plugged in exactly as was the old mic, without switching the line level input on the mixer from line to phono . (I understand about how there’s a “stronger” signal at line level, though I don’t want to give the impression that I know what I’m talking about.)

I also find that the physical microphone itself behaves differently with the new transmitter/receiver. The sound is fuller and the mic has a different sensitivity: it’s somehow less sensitive and more sensitive at the same time. I’m not sure how to explain it.

So if any helpful Opponauts know about this sort of thing and want to take the time to look at the photos below, I’d be grateful for any input you might be willing to offer. (And doesn’t the Nexus 5 take remarkable macro images?)

DISCUSSION (25)

HammerheadFistpunch > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 17:56

I don’t think PH stands for Phono, Im pretty sure it means phantom...which you do NOT want to turn on, (it sends 48v to the mic). The path you should want is mic to mixer at mic level, then mixer to amp at line level. Mic level is pre-amped and line level is not.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 18:00

What do you teach. I’m just wondering.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 18:00

Phono has a pre-amp, line does not. As a typical microphone is not powered, it needs to have its signal amplified. However, the phono input isn’t necessarily intended for that - if you have a mic in, then you probably ought to use that. It may be that your old wireless mic powered its output, while the new one is intended to be used in a setup ready for non-powered mics. Or there may be something wacky relating to settings on the mic’s base unit - set for phantom power or something - I’m not that experienced with this stuff.

HammerheadFistpunch > HammerheadFistpunch
03/09/2016 at 18:04

EDIT: I was wrong, your mixer does not have phantom power it appears, and so listen to ramblin re: phono. The rest of my advice is still sound. Mic level input to mixer from the receiver then, line output from mixer to amp.

JGrabowMSt > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 19:02

I did live sound for many years. What cables are you connecting everything with?

What model microphone is the new one? Do you have easy access to new cables?

You’ll need to adjust the squelch for the sensitivity issue and possibly solve the output issue.

I dont know quite enough from the initial post to help more, but I can help more if I have a little more info.

The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 19:21

I’m not a full time sound engineer, but have been doing it on weekends for 3 years this summer.

Are the cable’s original? 95% of the time it is always the cable that gives. Are you always unplugging & plugging it in? It could be the male or female ends going.

At the worst it could be the sound board going.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/09/2016 at 19:30

Your theory about non-powered input on the new base unit would jive with what I’ve experienced. I’m still diggin. I think I need to experiment with the Mic-In on the mixer.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > JGrabowMSt
03/09/2016 at 19:31

Let me do some more experimenting, especially with the Mic-In on the mixer. The entire purpose of having that baby mixer is so that I can talk over top of whatever else I might have going on, such as showing a Spongebob Squarepants episode to my math class.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap
03/09/2016 at 19:32

7th grade math, 5 times in a row, daily. Never been happier.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
03/09/2016 at 19:32

Sound board on which device?

JGrabowMSt > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 20:02

Mic out to mic in, and use the fader on the mixer.

Also, you could try to change wireless channels and see if it helps any.

Wireless setups are sometimes difficult because of interference, and its not always apparent by static or audio bleed.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > JGrabowMSt
03/09/2016 at 20:08

I’ve gotten good results, I just can’t figure them out sometimes. I see that there is dedicated mic input on my little mixer, and I think I should experiment with that before I go any further or bug anybody else. I was expecting that someone would say, “Oh, just plug this into that and set it on unbalanced low-Z and you’ll be in the macaroni.”

JGrabowMSt > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 20:30

It could be, but it’s hard to say if you may also just have a bad cable (which is always possible). The mixer is also lacking XLR ins, so it’s just a DJ mixer, and based on the look of how you’re currently wired, it looks correct to me.

It says Mic input, but I would only use a really basic dynamic wired microphone into it, not what you have (Shure SM58 or similar).

I would first try different cables and see what happens. Then play with the settings, but aside from the fact that it’s just not how I would necessarily do it, there’s no reason it wouldn’t work.

To be curious, what state or general area are you in?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > JGrabowMSt
03/09/2016 at 21:15

I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland side of the Bay, not far from NAS Alameda, where they filmed Mythbusters. You?

JGrabowMSt > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/09/2016 at 23:00

Northern NJ, about an hour outside NYC. Basically the other side.

bhardoin > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/10/2016 at 00:17

Everything looks like it’s plugged in correctly.

After checking cables, I’d recommend trying to make up the difference at the mic - set it up as close to your voice as possible. I’d guess that this mic - based on your description of both quieter and louder - doesn’t have as much compression in its gain stages. In other words, it’s keeping the quiet stuff quieter and the loud stuff the same. That “squelch” control is probably either a compression adjustment or a de-esser. Try fiddling with it and see if it makes your mic quieter or louder. Additionally, the mic might just be less sensitive, which would be a good thing if you were yelling into it, but not ideal in this situation.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > JGrabowMSt
03/10/2016 at 00:42

Well, if you ever visit San Francisco, I’ll buy you a coffee and show you where the best view of the Golden Gate Bridge can be had.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > bhardoin
03/10/2016 at 00:51

There’s a squelch adjustment on the back of the receiver, and a gain(?) Adjustment on the transmitter. I suspect that I have the necessary bits here to do really well if I could understand how the mic system itself works. The older system was more sensitive, but higher pitched. The new system seems a little less sensitive, but is deeper and richer sounding...The head worn mic is a Shure WH 20.

bhardoin > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/10/2016 at 14:09

Gain is just what most people would think of as a volume control. Just don’t crank it to the point where it distorts the sound.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > bhardoin
03/10/2016 at 14:24

Exactly how I am doing it. Thank you for weighing in and helping out.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch
03/10/2016 at 14:24

I got this sorted. Thanks for weighing in.

What’s the story behind your screen name?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
03/10/2016 at 14:25

Are there two RamblinRovers? I got this sorted. Thanks for weighing in.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock
03/10/2016 at 14:26

I got this sorted. Thank you for weighing in.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/10/2016 at 14:44

I just changed my username appendages and pic today to mix things up. There is actually another RamblinRover account, funny enough, but it exists for legacy purposes and rarely posting pictures from my phone, so you probably haven’t seen it.

HammerheadFistpunch > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/10/2016 at 16:17