Audio Technica 2022 stereo cable question

Chris F

Chris F

New member
I have an AT 2022 stereo xy mic that I've been using to record my double bass for a series of instructional videos I've been creating for the university where I teach (will link an example below). I like the mic because it's a decent sounding pair of small diaphragm condensers with a built in preamp that terminates in a 1/8" stereo plug that can connect straight into the camera. Because it's such a convenient mic to use, it would be nice to use it for other applications as well, but that would require having a cable that terminates into two separate XLR ends that could plug into my interface. The mic is wired so that you can use a regular XLR cable as an extension to transmit the stereo signal to the short adapter that turns in into the 1/8" connection. My first question is, can I purchase a cable to turn that stereo XLR out into L and R mono xld outs? And if so, where could I find that cable?

AT2022 X/Y Stereo Microphone || Audio-Technica US

Second, if i manage to procure a cable for this, how would I handle the phantom power issue when going into my recording interface (which has switchable phantom power)?

I realize there are more expensive/high-falutin' ways to record the bass, but this mic does pretty much everything I want and I'd like to use it for other things besides video. (example of mic sound below) Any and all help appreciated!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yTyOeCCgWc&channel=UCy-qgQuCQfdLzz_VztMY-Vw
 
Don't use a direct box! All it will do is add noise.

I'd just build the cable. I like to keep a pair of XLR>Dual TS adapter cables around because it's a convenient way to get any two unbalanced signals any distance you might need to go, but for this case I'd probably prefer XLR on both ends. The male ends will both have two of their pins soldered together and then connected to whichever pin is ground on the female end, with the third connected to one of the others. I always forget which pin is supposed to be which, but it's easy enough to find on google. The only concern being that the mic is definitely not exactly standard, so it'll be kinda up to you to figure out which pin is which on the female side. Easiest is probably to use a meter and check continuity on the adapter you currently have.

How's the mic powered now? Does it have a battery, or is powered by the camera's phantom?
 
Thanks for the replies. To answer some of the questions:
- The interface I would be going into is a persons Firestudio project. The first two channels will accept a line level input. To use that, I'd need a 1/8" stereo female to two 1/4" mono male plugs. I guess I worried that this would be noisier than xlr, but I'm not really sure why. Would it?
- I don't want to mess with the 1/8" stereo termination of the existing cable, because I still want to use it straight into the camera as before, where it works beautifully.

So i guess the real question at this point is whether 1/4" male is inherently any less desirable than XLR for basic music room recording into the Presonus unit. The reason I'd like to go straight into that is because I have a lot more options for manipulating the signal in Logic than I do in Final Cut.
 
I had this whole thing written, but then I realized that your inteface's gain pots probably affect the line ins as well as the mic ins, in which case I'd imagine it won't matter much. XLR might be a tiny touch better for S/N, or necessary if the mic is really weak and you can't get enough gain from the line path, but in practice you're probably fine either way.
 
arcaxis said:
Replace the TRS plug shown in the diagram below with an XLR which connects to the mic is what ashcat_lt is refering to...


View attachment 91166
Click to expand...

That's a good option but I think I'd rather terminate it in 1/4" TS and use transformers when XLR is needed. If nothing else that would make phantom power a non-issue. Sometimes I still use my old Radio Shack matching transformers on the output of my AT822 when running it longer distances.
 
If the above adapter work well you can buy a cable that goes straight from the stereo XLR to the pair of unbalanced 1/4". Having that 1/8" connection in the middle of things is asking for trouble.
 
arcaxis said:
That's why I had originally sort of thought a DI might be a good solution to give some isolation. One accidental powering of phantom with XLR connections throughout and the mic is toast.
Click to expand...
A passive DI is always a step down. It's almost never a good idea to take a signal that might be a little quiet, drop it 20db, send it down a cable, and then gain it back up. Even with balanced connections all the way through, you're only adding noise. I'm pretty sure bsg was talking about 1:1 transformers, which is actually a pretty good idea. Heck, with an active source like this, we could maybe use a step up transformer and get "passive gain" along the way!
 
I don't think the drop is that great. Isn't it generally just a consequence of getting from one impedance to the other?

Anyway, I've used passive DIs lots and it seems to work well enough. I said transformer because I didn't know if the ones I have used were 1:1 or not, but probably not since they do lower impedance. So all along I've been getting a signal drop and it hasn't been a problem as far as I can recall.

A stereo active DI might be an idea.
 
arcaxis said:
Much as I searched, I couldn't find one of those. It's a real oddball evidently. On the other hand heading down to the workshop and making one wouldn't be an issue.
Click to expand...

A bit short, but you can put an XLR of some convenient length between the mic and the splitter. Better to have an XLR connection there than a 1/8".
Dangerous Music Cue Amp Output Cable | Sweetwater.com

Yeah, I could blow the dust off the soldering iron, but I'm lazy.
 
arcaxis said:
While sipping coffee this morning and noodling around I found this>>> Hosa YMP-434 - 6" | Sweetwater.com .
Cheap enough to give it a try into the line inputs of your interface and you don't hack up anything on the existing cable.

View attachment 91173

This is your interface?...

View attachment 91177
Click to expand...

Yes, that's the one. I thought of this type of adapter, but didn't know if i would be losing something. If it's worth it to give the thing a try, I suppose it's cheap enough to go for it!
 
arcaxis said:
When bouldersoundguy said "matching transformer", I thought he might have meant this >>> A3F XLR Jack-to-1/4" Plug Adapter/Transformer - RadioShack.com , but as he is using it on an AT882 (better version of the AT2022), I wasn't sure how he could be using it as the AT822 XLR also has that oddball stereo pin out.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's the reverse transformer:
1/4" Jack-to-A3M XLR Plug Adapter/Transformer : XLR Adapters | RadioShack.com

The 822 comes with an XLRF to dual 1/4" TS cable. Those 1/4" ends go into the matching transformers and from there down XLR as far as needed.
 
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