Quick mic pre question

[famous beagle]

Hey y'all,

I just got a Presonus MP20 mic preamp, and I had a quick question:

It has both XLR and 1/4" outputs. Would there be any harm in connecting the XLR outputs straight to the XLR inputs of my interface and then connecting the 1/4" outputs to my patchbay for use with my analog gear?

In other words, is there any harm in leaving both types of outputs (XLR and 1/4") connected all the time? I'd only be using one set at a time, of course.

I scoured the manual, and it doesn't say anything about not doing this, but I thought I'd ask anyway.

Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[PRHunt]

Let's assume that the XLR and TRS ouputs of the Presonus are active simultaneously (they may not be):

You could run in to issues on account of paralleling of the input impedances on the connected equipment. That would have the effect of lowering the impedance seen by the output of the Presonus. As the impedance lowers, higher current drive is required from the source to maintain signal voltages. On the other hand, if the Presonus separately buffers its XLR and TRS outputs, then there might be no problems at all.

On the other hand, if the input impedances of the connected equipment are high enough, then the paralleled load seen by the Presonus may be accecptable.

You may also run into strife if you connect to one piece of balanced equipment but the other unbalanced.

Without knowing the circuit details of the Presonus and the equipment you intend to connect to, it is not really possible to judge.

In summary, unless the Presonus is specifically buffered to drive multiple outputs, I would be more inclined to use the patch bay to easily switch output from the pre to whatever device you need.

 

[Steenamaroo]

On top of that, the XLR input on your interface is likely to be expecting a microphone level signal.
If the XLR output on your presonus is line level then you'll have a level mismatch on your hands too.