Question for first outdoors gig.

Thanks.

You don't plug the house mixer into the S4. You plug the S4 into one of the available channels of the house mixer. The RCA pair on the main out of the S4 is what you would use to plug into the house mixer.

Yes mate, plug your main out into an available channel on the mixer, this also has the advantage of a quick change over after the last dj. Also, don't forget to bring a ground loop isolator in case of any feedback issues.

dont worry about the XLR's unless they have a mixing board.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sovvy

>>>The RCA pair on the main out of the S4 is what you would use to plug into the house mixer.

I see the S4 has four xlr main outs.
At home I just use two of them.
At events does one also just use two?

I'll take a pair of spare xlr cables - but I'm not sure exactly where to plug it in (I see Xone and Pioneer four channel mixers have basically the same in and out points on their back) - their inputs have four sockets - should I just use two right?

Thanks for helping :) I'm not familiar with other equipment right now.

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The S4 does have four main outs. However, they are not XLR, one pair is RCA (the red and black pair), and the other is a TRS connection, or commonly referred to the 1/4 inch jack. You would plug in the RCA main out into an available CD/LINE channel in the mixer. So, yes, you might need to take a spare RCA cable.

Also, this website will help you to distinguish the different types of common audio connectors and plugs.
http://www.dawsons.co.uk/blog/a-guid...able-connector

Like most mixers, the S4 has multiple main outs, In your case use the RCA one to plug into the main mixer. Of course you can use the XLR's if you want,

i use XLR's into the mixer, i had some rca trouble in the past with drop outs (still never found out if it was my end or the clubs) but i got cheap XLR to XLR from monoprice and it has sounded much better.

Using balanced connections only really helps over long distances, and it only eliminates general interference rather than preventing drop outs.

Club mixers will have RCA inputs, whereas studio mixers and other consoles typically use TRS sockets for line-level input. XLR is generally used for the final output into the PA system.

I compared the sound of the S4 plugged into active speakers (balanced TRS and xlr cable),
versus a RCA connected via an external mixer.

Didn't notice much of a difference in sound quality - the rca connection sounds fine.

Balanced cables are better shielded and therefore do not get interference, whereas RCA can be affected.

I used to run RCA's from my soundcard to my speakers, and a lot of noise in the signal, as soon as I switched to TRS got a lot cleaner signal, and now don't suffer with inteference.

There isn't a difference in sound quality. God you can spend hundreds on RCA's in the HI-Fi world.