Help! Synth to active speaker with only XLR input!

[konaboy]

Considering an ALTO powered PA speaker, but it only has line input on XLR.

How woud I directly connect a synth with 1(4" unbalanced outputs, what sort of cable is this, and any gotchas to be aware of?

thanks

[Jose EB5AGV]

Hi Woody,

 

You need a TS to XLR cable, no big deal 

[Baldwin Funster]

Lots of things will work.

An xlr to 1/4" cable. 

Even using a direct box will work because the alto xlr can probably handle low and high impedance.

[konaboy]

thanks, DI box perhaps overkill, the speakers will be at the side of my keyboard stand!

TR to XLR or TRS to XLR, does it matter?

 

[Baldwin Funster]

Not TRS. That might work or not depending on the internals of the jack.

TS to XLR is the best bet.

The DI box is just a suggestion because if you had one and a standard xlr and a standard TS to TS cable you could get your jam on without waiting.

[Delaware Dave]

4 hours ago, Jose EB5AGV said:

Hi Woody,

 

You need a TS to XLR cable, no big deal 

this.....

[ElmerJFudd]

Really surprised the alto doesn’t have a combo jack with a switch.  

[Reezekeys]

My two Alto TX308s have only XLR inputs, XLR thru, and a gain knob. They're also 12 lbs (5.4kg) and $139 USD each - the kind of price where you don't expect any bells & whistles! I connect it directly to my laptop, iPad, or iPhone with an 1/8" stereo miniplug to 2 XLR males:

 

 

There's an audio cable for pretty much any connection you need, or an adapter. I took this cable and separated the L & R xlr ends to accomodate the distance between my Altos. Woody, I hope you're doing two speakers for stereo!

 

[Docbop]

21 hours ago, konaboy said:

Considering an ALTO powered PA speaker, but it only has line input on XLR.

How woud I directly connect a synth with 1(4" unbalanced outputs, what sort of cable is this, and any gotchas to be aware of?

thanks

 

Don't most Alto's have a two channel mixer with combination XLR/1/4" jacks on the back.  

[Reezekeys]

32 minutes ago, Docbop said:

Don't most Alto's have a two channel mixer with combination XLR/1/4" jacks on the back.  

 

The TS models do. Not the TXs.

 

22 hours ago, konaboy said:

Considering an ALTO powered PA speaker, but it only has line input on XLR

 

The TX308 and TX310 have a gain knob that adjusts the sensitivity from line to mic. The others have a mic-line switch in addition to the gain knob. My TX308 gets very noisy when that gain is turned up to max. I don't encounter this issue as I'm feeding them from an i-device or laptop's headphone output, so I don't need to have the gain past 12 o'clock at home, and around 2 o'clock on the loudest gig I do with them. I would not get a TX308 or TX310 if I needed to plug a microphone directly into it and expect good sound – however, that's not how most PPAs are used anyway (unless its an emergency!).

 

[konaboy]

3 hours ago, Reezekeys said:

My two Alto TX308s have only XLR inputs, XLR thru, and a gain knob. They're also 12 lbs (5.4kg) and $139 USD each - the kind of price where you don't expect any bells & whistles! I connect it directly to my laptop, iPad, or iPhone with an 1/8" stereo miniplug to 2 XLR males:

 

 

There's an audio cable for pretty much any connection you need, or an adapter. I took this cable and separated the L & R xlr ends to accomodate the distance between my Altos. Woody, I hope you're doing two speakers for stereo!

 

thanks, for the info.

 

the tx308 was the model I was considering, and yes, a pair.

how they working out for you, any reason I should avoid?  home use only, but with potential for small gigs in the future!  not wanting to spend a fortune.

[dazzjazz]

If the speaker needs balanced line level and you send it unbalanced instrument level, you won’t get anything like full volume out of it. 

[Reezekeys]

7 minutes ago, dazzjazz said:

If the speaker needs balanced line level and you send it unbalanced instrument level, you won’t get anything like full volume out of it. 

 

It doesn't need balanced line level. As I said, it has an input gain knob that adusts the input sensitivity from mic level to line. I get more than enough gain directly connecting my i-devices & laptop.

[Reezekeys]

1 hour ago, konaboy said:

the tx308 was the model I was considering, and yes, a pair.

how they working out for you, any reason I should avoid?  home use only, but with potential for small gigs in the future!  not wanting to spend a fortune.

 

If you're looking for good value for the money, I highly recommend them as long as one is realistic about their capabilities. I've used them on pretty loud jazz gigs. They sound fine but I knew I was approaching the top of their headroom; I could feel a little "pushback" and thinning of the sound if I leaned into my playing - I'm going to guess the drivers were reaching their excursion limits. Things were pretty loud then though - much louder than you'd have them at home, for sure. For solo gigs, duos, or laid-back jazz trio gigs they would be a good choice, imo. I'm mostly playing acoustic piano & rhodes. I would probably bring my QSCs if I had to do left-hand bass or organ pedals, or any loud gig with synth tones that had a lot of low end. Don't expect miracles and you won't be disappointed. And they're ridiculously light as well.

[konaboy]

that is good to know, thanks.  am also considering paying twice as much for entry level QSC CP8.  The higher end QSCs have a cooling fan I believe, which I wish to avoid for home use.

[Reezekeys]

57 minutes ago, konaboy said:

am also considering paying twice as much for entry level QSC CP8.

 

Over here in the USA the CP8 is $500, over 3.5x the cost of the TX308! It's also 1000 watts, with DSP, 3 inputs, etc. A different class of speaker. Close to twice as heavy too.

[analogman1]

One thing you should always have on hand is a small mixer. I have a Yamaha MG06X mixer; really inexpensive and has effects. 
I can output 1/4”, or  XLR; and convert output of two of the channels to mono with the flip of a switch. 
It bails me out of just about any connection issues. 

[stoken6]

Is there a reason you want to use stage speakers at home? Would a set of active studio monitors be a better choice (trading better sound quality against a less rugged construction)?

 

Cheers, Mike.

[Reezekeys]

2 hours ago, stoken6 said:

Is there a reason you want to use stage speakers at home? Would a set of active studio monitors be a better choice (trading better sound quality against a less rugged construction)?

 

I'll answer that Q even though it wasn't for me - but it describes my situation. My Altos are set up in my dining room (my work area!). The reasons are simple - first, I don't have a spot for studio monitors where I'm set up. Second, I don't need to buy two sets of speakers! The Altos sound fine to me at the volume levels I monitor at when I'm home - and I can bring them to gigs! Studio monitors might sound a little better at home but they're not for gigging.

[D. Gauss]

if you are connecting a synth directly, you will most likely need a preamp of some sort (small mixer, stomp box, etc.) in line before the Alto if you expect to get any decent level out of it.   Many (not all) keys have a fairly pathetic output level. -10db,  some old Rolands were -20 i think.  If so,you will have to crank the Alto pretty much full to get any "real" level and it will be a hissing mess.  To be very clear, this is straight from keyboard. IF you are using an Ipad/laptop (i.e. Reezekeys), then the output should be fine as the computer acts as a preamp and outputs at speaker level. HOWEVER, before you plop out the cash for a preamp/mixer (Behringer Xenyx 502S or afore mentioned Yamaha) you can try using the keyboard's headphone out jack (if it has one).  That will give you much more gain into the Alto (possibly too much unless you keep level really low on keyboard). You will have to be mindful of the cable you use as you can't plug a stereo TRS headphone out into an XLR without either hardwire summing L&R first or using only one side. (Interwebs can show you pic of how to wire it or which cable to buy)

[DJkeys]

Get the newer TS408, combo jacks, new tech, bluetooth control, more power, $249 US brand new-

 

-dj

[Reezekeys]

6 hours ago, D. Gauss said:

You will have to be mindful of the cable you use as you can't plug a stereo TRS headphone out into an XLR without either hardwire summing L&R first or using only one side.

 

I believe Woody said he was going to do stereo, so a cable like I pictured a few posts above would work fine.

 

4 hours ago, DJkeys said:

Get the newer TS408, combo jacks, new tech, bluetooth control, more power, $249 US brand new-

 

Not bad advice - that's a lot of features for the price! I have my QSC K8s so my motivation in getting the TX308s were mostly to save weight, not to replace the QSCs. Going from 27 lbs to 12 lbs (12 to 5 kg) is a game changer for this older guy with an ever-increasing aversion to schlep! 🙂 

[konaboy]

thanks for the advice, very interesting reading.

 

TS series too many bells and whistles for my needs and also, TS much more expensive here in Sweden, twice the price of equivalent TX at $400 per speaker. This is nudging into the territory of the big boys, QSC, Mackie, JBL, Yamaha etc so I'd go for that instead.  I think TX308 will be adequate at $200 each, now that you all helped me figure out the cables. 

 

Will only use additional mixer/preamp if absolutely necessary, want to keep it simple for home use, single keyboard into two speakers directly.

[konaboy]

(i'm almost afraid to tell you, but also been considering pair of behringer b208d / b210d, which seem to be very popular with rave reviews...)