High level signals is PA

[airborne50caliber]

hey guys I got a thing that's been nagging me for a bit. I only have experience in the doamin of recording as a pose to PA and live sound so I;ve never come across this.

There are different cabling types that carry diffrent signal levels.

--> Jack cables of all types
--> XLRs
--> RCA
--> Speakon® and binding post speaker cables

There are different signal levels

--> Instrument level
--> Mic level
--> Line level

Is it right to say that an XLR can carry all of these, as can a jack?

Okay, the real question, in the context of PA, is High Level signals. Is it correct to say that a signal anywhere post a power amp, necessarily goes to the speaker as a high level signal?

So it is

Mic level line level high level
Mic -----------> Mixer ----------> Poweramp --------------> Passive Speaker

Mic level high level
Mic -----------> Powered Mixer ------------>Passive Speaker

Mic level line level
Mic -----------> Mixer ----------> Active Speaker

correct?

And can this high level signal be carried byXLR cabling or is it necessary to use speakon/binding post cable past a poweramp?

Please, could aes or someone give me quite a detailed answer on this? Thanks.

[Nicko_Shmicko]

the plugs on the end of speaker leads come in jack, xlr and speakon. Speaker cable is diferent to normal mic or guitar cable in that it is insulated diferently so that it doesnt melt as it gets hot.

Basically post power amp, the lead is carrying a high power signal, so dont plug it into anything but speakers, unless you wanna fry it

[Nicko_Shmicko]

i just read you want a detailed answer so i'll try do a better one.

Ok, things going into the mixer like mic leads and jack leads etc are all at mic or line level so they dont need extra insulation etc.

Once you go from the power amp or powered mixer to the speakers you need special speaker cables. The difference between a normal mic or instument cable has little to do with its conectors, but actually the cable itself. Sometimes you will see speaker cables where you can physically see both the ring and tip cable, in others it is just very thick. This is so they dont get too hot and cause problems

So basically when you choose a speaker lead you choose the type of connector that is on your spekers and power amp. For example if the power amp has xlr outs and your speakers have speakon in's, then you want xlr-speakon speaker cables etc.

Ok to answer your main question...
Anywhere post power amp is a very "high level" or powered signal and should only be conected to speakers.

I hope that helps you

[airborne50caliber]

Thanks loads Nicko, cleared all my doubts. :thumb:

[Nicko_Shmicko]

no worries man

[airborne50caliber]

Hey, Nicko, I looked on the back of my dad's HARMAN KARDON which is a really nice poweramp, but it only uses speaker binding posts. How would I connect XLR or speakon-equipped speakers to this?

[Nicko_Shmicko]

you would have a lead which at one end has and xlr or speakon plug and at the other end is stripped to reveal the 2 wires

[moaner]

or, something called a banana lead, although i hear from aes those fall out really easily.

[airborne50caliber]

you would have a lead which at one end has and xlr or speakon plug and at the other end is stripped to reveal the 2 wires

Oh cool, i guess that makes sense. Are called banana leads like moaner said or just 'XLR to stripped wire'? :p

[Nicko_Shmicko]

never heard that term lol

[airborne50caliber]

never heard that term lol I never heard of either of them. All you need to do to fix open wire to a binding post is wind it round and tighten the post, right? I also noticed that there are two separate ground wires which connect to the speakers left and right. I wouldn't have to worry about this on the XLR/speakon end, right? I would just worry about connecting and all the grounds at the amp..? And also, how do I know which is ground?
:p

[Aes820]

This should answer all of your questions:
http://colomar.com/Shavano/speaker_wiring.html

And take note of which connector and speaker cable guage would be most suited to the power you're running through them.

You can run a signal from a poweramp into a passive crossover before the speakers, but not an active crossover.
Passive crossovers are just there to prevent damage done to the HF drivers due to the large amount of power. They don't increase the amps performance in anyway.

Banana connectors fit into the hole that is in the middle of the binding post. I wouldn't reccomend using them, they just pull out way to easy.

[airborne50caliber]

Thanks aes I checked it out. Some more complicated technical stuff on there but it cleared all the stuff about binding posts - thanks :thumb: