monitor switching...

  • Thread starter Thread starter icit
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icit

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Can anyone recommend a monitor switching device to me? I've got two or maybe three monitors and one power amp - i'd like to switch between them easliy without changing the sound at all - so something passive (right?).

I've considered the samson c-control - it has talk-back which would actually be really nice, and I don't want to spend more than $100, so that's nice too, but it's so cheap looking. I'd rather it be some black, or at least rack-mountable metal thing. I don't really have much of a service to even set the c-control on.

Any suggestions? I'm open to even some radio-shack cheap switch I could put under my desk out of sight. The talk-back on the c-control would be cool though.

Let me know what you guys think! Thanks!

sincerely,
nathan peterson
 
The Samson sounds like crap....... the last thing you want is a switcher that adds coloration to the sound... unfortunately, with the cheap units, that's exactly what happens.

You might want hold out until you can afford one of the better units (Presonus, Coleman, or the Mackie Big Knob)......
 
wow. how stupid to have a monitor switcher that adds noise!

i wonder if there's a cheap way to just route cables different ways - like an a/b switch from radio shack - something that would just be a piece of metal in the chain - that wouldn't color the sound, would it?
 
Damn, and I just ordered one of these! I guess I may have one up on eBay soon, although it will probably serve me okay for a little while at least. For what it's worth, I saw one of the Samsons on an eBay auction where the seller had removed it from the plastic case. Looks like it's in a standard 1/2 rack 1u box. You could probably mount it on one of those 1/2 rack conversion shelves no problem.

-Bret
 
workshed said:
Damn, and I just ordered one of these! I guess I may have one up on eBay soon, although it will probably serve me okay for a little while at least. For what it's worth, I saw one of the Samsons on an eBay auction where the seller had removed it from the plastic case. Looks like it's in a standard 1/2 rack 1u box. You could probably mount it on one of those 1/2 rack conversion shelves no problem.

-Bret
Click to expand...

I have the Samson unit and haven't had any problems. It filled a need I had at I price I could afford at the time. I know my rig pretty well, and that's a big part of getting good results. That being said, Bruce makes his living at this, whereas I just do it for fun. I've heard nothing but good things about the Presonus.
 
I don't know if the question is getting answered properly. It could be me though.

icit wants to monitor a single source on several different speakers, right?

That can't be done with a single power amp unless you're running dual mono since an amp has 2 channels. To get any additional chains, he'd have to introduced another amp or active speakers, right?

I'm curious.

Chris
 
no - you should be able to route the amplified signal (after the amp) to wherever you want. it's just wires. the trick is, i don't want any additional noise added/taken-away.
 
You're right Chris - I kinda missed that part of his question... none of the units mentioned so far would work without additional amps (for passive monitors), or actives...

That being said - what you need is a high-power relay that could handle switching a couple of 100 watts/ch - that's if you want to use the same amp with multiple speakers.

For high-powered ones I don't think they're cheap...... (but Radio Shack used to sell low-power units - handling under 50 watts or so.....)
 
icit said:
no - you should be able to route the amplified signal (after the amp) to wherever you want. it's just wires. the trick is, i don't want any additional noise added/taken-away.
Click to expand...
It's not quite that simple -- simple switches won't handle the amplified signal level...... plus there's the issue of switching while the amp is running - safeguards must be built-in to avoid suddenly introducing zero-load to the amp.
 
I have the Furman unit (SRM-80, I believe). It is designed to switch between passive speakers connected to one power amp, and also has connections for active monitors, and can monitor different sound sources. The downfall to this unit is the cost. It's rather expensive (I bought mine used), but I thought the Presonus unit was very similar. I could be wrong as I've never actually checked into it, only seen in reviews and ads. I think it may be hard to find a quality switcher for under $100. Hosa makes a switching device for around $80 (which I also have) that seems to work fine, but also not rack-mountable.
 
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