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[Mal Brown]

I'm thinking about adding a 4 channel set into my PC based FOH position where there is no audio.  I would use it for

• Talk Back
• Solo monitor return
• 2 channels don't playback, iphone off an AV Pro DI

Anyone tried similar?  Is there a difference in sound quality between say Radial and an off brand ?

[Mac Kerr]

I'm thinking about adding a 4 channel set into my PC based FOH position where there is no audio.  I would use it for

• Talk Back
• Solo monitor return
• 2 channels don't playback, iphone off an AV Pro DI

Anyone tried similar?  Is there a difference in sound quality between say Radial and an off brand ?

It's just connectors, why would there be any difference? All of the devices that do this are just breaking out the 4 twisted pairs in a Cat5 or better to 4 XLR connector on pin 2 and 3. If you use shielded category cable it might be connected to pin 1, but for line level signals all you need is the twisted pair.

Mac

[John P. Farrell]

It's just connectors, why would there be any difference? All of the devices that do this are just breaking out the 4 twisted pairs in a Cat5 or better to 4 XLR connector on pin 2 and 3. If you use shielded category cable it might be connected to pin 1, but for line level signals all you need is the twisted pair.

Mac

Exactly.  The only difference between Whirlwind/Radial and the amazon specials are build quality and feature set.  Assuming the wiring is correct none of them will sound any different.

JF

[James Paul]

Besides any price differential between any or all, I would point to the connectors as the primary difference. Most likely genuine Neutrik versus clones.
My $.02, Pro daily use warrants Neutrik, otherwise the clones serve just as well in my low demand and abuse toolkit. That said, I did roll my own  Elite Core cat5e STP cables with Neutrik Ethercons.

[Mal Brown]

Cat 5 or Cat 6 for 100 to 150 foot runs?

[David Sturzenbecher]

Cat 5 or Cat 6 for 100 to 150 foot runs?

Doesn't matter one bit.   If you want the Pin1s connected, you will need shielded cable.

[brian maddox]

Cat 5 or Cat 6 for 100 to 150 foot runs?

Add a zero, still doesn't matter.  It's analog twisted pair wire.  Line level balanced analog signals are pretty forgiving of distance as well as wire type.  That's essentially how telephones used to work.

[Luke Geis]

I made my own set for about $40 with stuff you can find on eBay. Thomann just released a set that sells for about $35! They are robbing you when they sell them for more than about $50. It is literally a 1:1 connection of all the connections in an RJ45 to an XLR. The ground is created by the shield and is shared among all 4 possible channels. In theory, you don't even need a box to convert things. You could just take a cat 5 cable and throw xlr connections on each end and use another wire that binds to the shield to go to each xlr end for ground. charging $100 + for each end is a criminal sin and is simply banking on people's lack of knowledge of what it is and how to do it.

[Mal Brown]

My plan has been to mix 3 channels of mic level send and 1 of line level return.  How well do these devices handle cross talk ?

[Rob Spence]

My plan has been to mix 3 channels of mic level send and 1 of line level return.  How well do these devices handle cross talk ?

The twisted pairs reject adjacent signals.

Cat5 vs cat6 only matters for data.

[ProSoundWeb Community]