Opinion on Using "Tape Outs" for Board Feed?

[Bassman2003]

Hello,

I film a fair amount of live shows in different venues. Each place has a different audio challenge to get a direct XLR feed to go to my camera. Over the years I have noticed that pretty much any mixing gear one comes across usually has a pair of RCA "tape outs" as well as a headphone jack.

So I wanted to ask if you thought these were viable outputs to grab a feed from?

Here are my concerns:

They are consumer line level. Will they be any lesser quality than an XLR subgroup or main out?

Will they move with the main mix? I know some mixers allow you to set control of the master faders but I hate getting a feed that is not registering the sound guy's volume adjustments.

The reason I am asking is that to adapt stereo RCAs to mono XLR you need a little box to combine the L & R without issues. I do not want to buy the box and take it to a gig only to find one out of four times this will work. I am looking for a steady betty that will always be there if other ways are not possible.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Richard Crowley]

They are of the same quality as the main line outputs for all practical purposes. The only that makes them "inferior" is that they are unbalanced, and typically -10dBv (vs. +4dB or more for the main outputs) But if you aren't several meters away, it is probably just fine. And if you ARE several meters away, then a good iso transformer/"direct box" would solve that problem. For example, Rolls DB25b, etc.

Yes, they will move with the main mix. They are virtually always exact copies of the main output(s). As you observe, the "house mix" is not necessarily what you want to hear in a video or audio recording.

 

[GaryNattrass]

May be worth investing in one of these: http://artproaudio.com/isolators/product/cleanbox_pro/

Ok to use tape outs but as others have said they are consumer level so long cable runs may be a problem hence the need to interface them to an XLR output as above.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for your replies. A B&H rep pointed me to this box - https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/333335-REG/Galaxy_Audio_JIB_R_JIB_R_Jack_In_The.html

Not as good as the Art Pro but seems like it would work.

 

[GaryNattrass]

That box would be OK but if you are doing a lot of interfacing it may be even better to invest in one box that can take multiple inputs.

Like the B&H one this is mono but that may be all you need: http://artproaudio.com/active_di/product/av_direct/

 

[Rick R]

I have a $30 (passive) Rolls DB25 which works fine and has a three-position pad and ground-lift. The updated DB25 model has variable attenuation. They also work for instruments (acoustic-electric guitars for example), but loads them down some which is typical of most passive DIs). For instruments, I use and recommend an active box.

 

[Bassman2003]

Thanks for your help. I think the Galaxy unit will work best for my needs. I would like the unit to be passive, accept stereo RCAs and output a mono, line level XLR signal. Some units are active, some output a mic level XLR signal. I can also easily adapt the stereo headphone output to dual RCAs in a pinch as well. So this gives me options which is what you need when on location in new venues.