[ADVICE REQUESTED] Line in to the HV20 from mixer?

[Jongleur]

I need advice on specific audio connectors. I've read several threads on here, but I would still like confirmation before I spend my $, as I am an audio newb.

Threads I looked at before asking these questions:
- The "Compendium of Solutions" thread
- Guy asking about RCA-to-minijack solutions
- A similar question to mine
- and others


The Situation
I have been recording spoken word poetry at this bar for a while, and converting it to videos for YouTube. The bar has an HVAC system that the human ear filters out, but which sounds quite loud on the videos.

I have some videos up here if you want to see (hear) what I mean:
http://www.youtube.com/user/VerseWorks



What I Have Now
Currently, I have the following system:
A Shure Beta 58a mic, plugged into a Behringer EUROPOWER PMP518M Powered Mixer. 10-12 feet away, I'm recording with an HV20 and a Rode VideoMic.

Large image of the Behringer mixer
Behringer mixer manual

I want to try running sound to the camera off of my mixer. As I understand it, I need to make sure that the cables carry a strong "line level" signal to the camera, in particular so that I can turn down the pre-amp in the camera (not sure how one does this), because it kind of sucks. At the same time, I don't want to send too strong (or "hot") a signal to the camera, because the sound will be crappy then, too (will it damage the camera? I don't know). So I need to not only get sound to the camera, but provide the right level of sound.

Just to be clear, I am not worried (at this point) about portability. I have plenty of power outlets, and no need to move the camera. So it doesn't matter to me how small/battery operated things are, although ideally if I can mount stuff on my tripod (a Velbon DV-7000) so much the better.



What I Think I Need to Buy
Basically, I need to get from the REC OUT (RCA) output of the Behringer mixer to the 1/8" input of the HV20.

I have read that the best solution for a cable of any length is XLR. This gets me down to:

1. Something to turn the stereo RCA jacks into XLR
2. Something to translate the XLR into a 1/8" minijack for the HV20, without (and here is where my audio ignorance shows) "overloading" the HV20's input.
3. Make sure the levels are right

Number 2 seems to be solved by any of these:
- BeachTek DXA-2s: 2 x female XLR, around $190
- BeachTek DXA-6vu: 2 x female xlr, around $350
- JuicedLink CX231: 2 x female XLR, around $300

That leaves me with the need to get from the stereo rca jacks to an XLR input. I have to admit that at this point I have a dumb question:

- Am I looking for a cable that has two (male) RCA connectors on one end, and one XLR on the other end (like 10-155-1 in this picture), or two RCS connectors to two XLR cables (like these, only I'd get longer ones)?

Or is that a question that's decided by my mic setup? Recall that I am using a single Shure B58a to get the sound in the first place.

I think that's it. A specialised cable, and one of the XLR adapter/preamp things.

Can someone tell me how I'd go about choosing among the three adapters above? Are there any considerations I am forgetting?

Thanks for any help you can provide!

- Chris

[cdlynch]

Hi Chris,

First, sending a hot signal to the HV20 will distort your sound, but will not hurt the camera, but you're correct to avoid it!

If you're going from an RCA out of the mixer, you won't gain anything by switching to XLR because it won't be balanced. You'd want to start balanced at the mixer, and convert to 1/8th" just before the camera. Your mixer doesn't have any balanced outs, so just test with RCA to 1/8th" to start with and see what you get. It doesn't look like the Rec Out has it's own level, so you'll have to use the HV20's gain adjustment for the correct level, which might add extra noise if you have to do much boosting. The unbalanced cable run could also add noise depending on the environment, but might also be OK.

I recorded a live show recently from a mini Mackie mixer to the HV20, and it was kind of acceptable because my mic cable runs were all balanced XLR, but I have major beefs with the way the HV20 handles sound. If you have ANYTHING else that will record sound, hook it up to the Rec Out of the mixer with a short cable and line it up in post if you have that option. That'll save you the cable troubles, and bypass the crummy HV20 audio. Any digital recording device drift should be minimal or none at all, and it's easy enough to correct for anyway.

The XLR to mini jack items you listed will only have benefit IF you supply them with a proper balanced signal, but not from RCA. For the price of most of those, you can get a flash audio recorder that'll smoke the HV20's audio quality, if you're not squeamish about lining up audio in post. There are several available now, and really good ones at or around $300:

http://www.sweetwater.com/c860--Flash_Players_Recorders

I hope this helps!

-Chris

[cdlynch]

By the way, make sure you double check the output from the mixer to be sure there's no hum in the system that might not be as noticeable in the room. It's not uncommon for a PA to have some hum! If that's the case, you'll have to compare between that, the HVAC, and maybe even tape drive noise from the camera mic.

Live sound is a total a-hole. You have my sympathy and best wishes!