XLR patch bay to Tascam DR-03 recorders with 3.5mm mini inputs?

[garynyc]

Hi all;

I have a number of Tascam DR-03 recorders that I have to take to record concurrent sessions at a large convention center. The sessions are all voice--just speakers talking about various subjects.

The only rub is the patch bay at the center has XLR male outputs. I am worried about going from this XLR outputs to my Tascams which have a mini 3.5mm (1/8") input jack that accepts mic & line signals. Supposedly it switches automatically between the two depending on the signal. The Tascams have manual level control.

Questions I have: Will I get a ground loop if I connect these decks? Will I throw a ground loop into the rooms being recorded?
Should I use XLR female-RCA cables and then an RCA to mini adapter on the end?
And should these adapters be mono or stereo? The recordings dont need to be stereo, or both channels.
Also, should I bring some sort of Di box or hum eliminators?


I'm kind of in a corner here...

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Guy_Cochran]

You can risk getting hum and buzz with a variety of adapter cables. I'd go with a juicedLink, BeachtTek or if it's just mono, the single channel Jr SignVideo XLR adapter http://www.signvideo.com/xlr-pro_xlr_adapter-audio-mixer.htm

 

[Noiz2]

Good question. I would not go with any of the boxes designed for DSLR's because they are going to be knocking you down to mic level and you really would like to stay at line level.

Here is my $.02

1) you need to get to an unbalanced signal, so you need a line transformer. You should be able to get one that ends in either a female 1/4" or RCA connector. The transformer will also isolate you from the system and should make them a lot happier about your patching in.

2) unless your getting a stereo feed you need to either split the out put above and feed both sides of the recorder or kill one side of the recorders input. I would probably split because I don't know the recorder and you don't want to just leave the input open but I don't know if it would be happy if it were shorted. If you leave it open it might pick up buzzes and hums and the crosstalk on these recorders is probably more than you want.

3) if they are feeding a balanced line level it's probably at +4 and I would bet big bucks that the line in on the Tascam is at a consumer level (-10, or pos -7 (the CD "standard")). If so at some point you are going to have to knock 10 -15 dB off that signal. The easiest way would be an inline attenuator before the line transformer. Because this makes your adapter stack a bit long I would use a XLR cable between your adapters and the patch panel. You probably need to get a bit away from the panel anyway.

There is probably a box that does all of the above. I happen to have a LOT of adapters from many years of dealing with strange connections so I would do the above but YMMV.

One other note is that they may be giving you a news feed box to hook into. Those often have a switch to go from line to mic so in that case if you go mic you don't need the attenuator.

 

[Noiz2]

And Guy is correct about risking hums etc. But that is not as big a deal with XLR connectors and line level signals. The weak link is going to be the 1/8" connection to the recorder. One box that did it all would be a "better" choice and if this is going to be a recurring gig then maybe it's wort it. But the adapters above will be a lot more flexible and useful down the line.

There are some boxes like the "hum eliminator" ones you mentioned that go balanced to unbalanced and have a variety of connectors at each end and often some attenuation options in between. They are bulier than the adapters and probably more expensive but really handy to have around.

 

[Guy_Cochran]

I already have had this exact issue occur a few times and messed around with a variety of adapters while trying to find the buzz culprit, at the end of the day, the $109 Signvideo with Ground Lift and built in selectable attenuation solved the issue quickest. I just happened to have one in my bag o tricks, it may not be an affordable/practical solution for someone that is only going to use it once. The Signvideo XLR jr is a nice lil box to keep around as the metal exterior keeps out stray interference too. It also works great to get XLR audio into any smaller camera that you may have with 3.5mm inputs as it was originally intended, so sure it may be pricey if its just for one or two gigs, but if it saves the day and has a use with a camera later, it's a good investment.

In a perfect world we would all carry around a $189 Remote Audio Adapt a pak with the most common adapters and problem solvers along with a few inline attenuation barrels, DI boxes, hum elimators etc... http://www.remoteaudio.com/adapt_a_pak/

After looking at all these $200 DI boxes from Countryman, http://www.countryman.com/store/default.asp?catid=10 the Signvideo at $109 doesn't look too bad after all.