XLR VS 1/4 TRS...have you noticed?

  • Thread starter Thread starter philboy
  • Start date Start date
philboy said:
" I haven't read all the responses, but could it be that your XLR inputs are mic inputs (which are not padded) and your TRS inputs are line level inputs (which are padded)? Sounds like that's the difference you are hearing."

Well... might be that... i actually didn't think about that... as i was thinking that the XLR input on a mixer (with the gain trim turned down) would give the same gain as a 1/4 TRS input on the same mixer...i might have been wrong about this... didn't know that a line level input is actually "padded"

This means that on a mixer channel, the line is less sensitive than a XLR input, eventhough the XLR in has the trim pot completely down?
Click to expand...

What happens on the Mackie mixers, and probably the Behringers as well, is that the line level signal is attenuated and then sent to the preamp. Then the signal is brought back up to line level via the trim knob. This is because there is one channel strip but two ways to get into it, line level and mic level. So the line has to be brought down to mic level and then fed into the preamp. That's why the sound of the preamp is so important on these small mixers: any channel with a preamp means that line level signal is going through the preamp too.

So if you are just plugging line level into the TRS jack and expecting it to be the same as mic level, then you will be wrong. This is why I suggested feeding a +4 signal as your test tone. Or a -10 signal. The point is to have a clearly defined level that you know is correct, and then troubleshoot from there.

I'm not sure this solves your issues, but hopefully it helps get you closer. Again, use a test tone of a clearly defined level in order to see how the gain is working throughout your system.
 
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