Wiring studio monitors through mixer

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Sonik TS

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I will be getting some studio monitors in a little while (bout $400-$500, nothing crazy) but I'd like to skip the new soundcard (for now). I have a Behringer Eurorack UB1204FX-Pro mixer (pic http://www.behringer.com//UB1204FX/UB-1204-FX_top.jpg ) that I use to run my mic into my computer.

I run my xlr mic through the first channel and run a Left and Right RCA splitter cable(that is plugged into the tape out) to the line in on my computer. I'd like to keep using the line in method but what would I have to do to hook studio monitors up to the mixer and controll the sound coming out the studio monitors with the mixer.

thanks.
 
You either use the stereo insert points or the tape send/return. Either way works and both are detailed in the manual.
 
Behringer mixers have dedicated monitor outs. They're called control room outs I think. I have a small behringer but I don't know where I put it, but I think that's it.

As mungo wrote, check the behringer manual. It will have a diagram of a possible set-up.
 
Yeah... when in doubt, RTFM.

But, anyhow, since I already looked at the pictures of the mixer on the Behringer site, I'll tell you what I saw. ( http://www.behringer.com//UB1204FX/ )

There are dedicated control room outs and a level control for control room/headphones. That means you can plug the CR outs into the LINE IN of an amp or amplified speakers.


Quick question -- why are you splitting your mono signal to your soundcard? There's no inherent advantage of recording a mono signal on two tracks -- you're just using twice as much resources. Record it as a mono signal and pan it appropriately.
 
Why not come out of the main outs of your mixer and run that straight into your monitors?

or am I missing something here?



555
 
Main outs should go to the soundcard instead of the tape outs, although the tape outs are about the same really. Control room to monitors since that's what the outputs are there for.
 
well, his mixer should have two main outputs (I believe)....XLR, and 1/4 inch...that is what I have (on a very similiar model behringer) and i have my XLR main outs feeding my monitors, and my 1/4 inch main outs to RCA in's on my soundcard....no problems here.

Are you saying I have my set-up wrong?
And im not being condescending/whatever, Im really asking-


555
 
You could do it either way. If your monitors have balanced inputs and your sound card doesn't -- it may be more convenient to use the Behringer's balanced main outs to go to your monitors.

But the connection to the sound card inputs is more critical (since it carries signal into the recording process) and if your sound card has balanced inputs, it makes more sense to use the balanced connection with them.

It may be more helpful to start from the main page for that mixer here:
http://www.behringer.com//UB1204FX/
...because you can click to detail pictures of the top, rear, etc.


I'm still puzzled by Sonik's use of the split out of the tape out... Even if, for some unknown reason, you wanted to record your mono signal onto two tracks (or a stereo track) you could just as easily use the units main outs (if the sound card supported balanced connections) or the ALT 3-4 outs.


My head's starting to hurt again.
 
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Ebbiguise555 said:
well, his mixer should have two main outputs (I believe)....XLR, and 1/4 inch...that is what I have (on a very similiar model behringer) and i have my XLR main outs feeding my monitors, and my 1/4 inch main outs to RCA in's on my soundcard....no problems here.

Are you saying I have my set-up wrong?
And im not being condescending/whatever, Im really asking-


555
Click to expand...

Not wrong at all. I don't believe the smaller mixers have xlr outs. They usually have 1/4" outs for the main outs and for the control room/monitor out as well as the headphone output. I don't know if your desk has two sets of main outs although it very well may.

I Just checked out the links you posted, using two main out will also work of course.

Ideally the control room outs should be used for the monitors. The reason for this is that you will often want to change the monitor out volume without changing the main output. So you may want to have your main output relatively high while the monitors are fairly quiet, or vice verse. When having the monitors output going from the main outs, and are recording into a computer or so, you'd either have to have volume control on your monitors/speakers or have the main output level low, which is often not the best thing to do when recording to digital.
 
Thanks alot for the help guys, it'll definatly help me in the future. Much appreciated.

Blue: Im not too sure I understand fully. It dosent record to two seperate tracks for my vocals. If I lift the main out slider's right side and lower the left side, it only records in the right channel on the track.

Heres a (poor) diagram of it:

RCA L (tapeout)-----------|
**********************---------------Line in
RCA R (tapeout)----------|

The RCA's are split in the mixer and they come toghether and connect to the 1/8" line in in my sound blaster live sound card. Would I also have to plug a cord from the line/speaker out in my sound card to the stereo in if I wanted to hear my computers sounds (alerts from msn, music and whatever Im mixing)? I will definatly hit up the manual tonight but having input from producers who work with these kinds of things everyday is definatly usefull.

thanks
 
sleepy said:


Not wrong at all. I don't believe the smaller mixers have xlr outs. They usually have 1/4" outs for the main outs and for the control room/monitor out as well as the headphone output. I don't know if your desk has two sets of main outs although it very well may.
Click to expand...

Why labor in darkness when it's so easy to flip on the freakin' lights.

As I pointed out in my post right above yours -- all you have to do is look at the pictures of the unit on the Behringer website to see its connectors and controls.


Here's the main page:
http://www.behringer.com//UB1204FX/
click on the link marked "Rear View"

Really obsessive types can even read the manual. They have a link to a pdf copy.


Now my head really hurts.
 
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Sonik TS said:
Thanks alot for the help guys, it'll definatly help me in the future. Much appreciated.

Blue: Im not too sure I understand fully. It dosent record to two seperate tracks for my vocals. If I lift the main out slider's right side and lower the left side, it only records in the right channel on the track.

Heres a (poor) diagram of it:

RCA L (tapeout)-----------|
**********************---------------Line in
RCA R (tapeout)----------|

The RCA's are split in the mixer and they come toghether and connect to the 1/8" line in in my sound blaster live sound card. Would I also have to plug a cord from the line/speaker out in my sound card to the stereo in if I wanted to hear my computers sounds (alerts from msn, music and whatever Im mixing)? I will definatly hit up the manual tonight but having input from producers who work with these kinds of things everyday is definatly usefull.

thanks
Click to expand...

Hey Sonik, I think we're getting closer here to understanding each other. Maybe. ;) I thought you were taking one side of your TAPE OUTs, running that into a 'splitter' (Y-connector) and then running that to your sound card's stereo input (on that single mini-plug connector). Now, I'm thinking maybe you were just referring to a dual-RCA-to-stereo-1/8"-plug cable.

At any rate, now I'm thinking that perhaps the issue here is that you're unaware that your software can (probably) record single mono tracks -- which is far more efficient than recording a mono signal into a stereo track.

Before we go any farther, what software are you using for recording?

As long as it allows mono recording and as long as what you're recording is mono, I'd go that way.

And, if it turns out that this whole thing is because I misunderstood your use of the phrase "splitter" (as noted above) maybe the whole thing is moot... In which case, sorry to confuse the issue! :D
 
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All good Blue, I think I explained the cable set up wrong in my first post.

Im using Acid 4 to record but I dont see how the differance between recording mono or stereo would make a differance (if it does, please fill me in). Although I can pan using the mixer, I prefer using the panner in Acid just because if I dont like where it sounds, I can always change it back.
 
Ah... that explains a lot. I poked all through ACID Pro 3 and couldn't find a way of getting new audio tracks to be mono. So it's all moot for now.

ACID of course is oriented to loop construction, so it's gravy that it records audio at all.

If you should later end up with a more full-featured multi-track software, you'll probably have the option of recording in mono. Since stereo is, in effect, just two mono tracks, when you're recording a mono source, you can cut your overhead requirements in half by recording those tracks in mono.
 
I also have Nuendo and Cool Edit also but they literaly rape my CPU. Do you know if CE or Nuendo have the capability of recording in mono, and if so, how?

(I love how the topic of this thread has shifted, but definatly in a positive way cause I can use this today and not few weeks from now)
 
theblue1 said:


Why labor in darkness when it's so easy to flip on the freakin' lights.

As I pointed out in my post right above yours -- all you have to do is look at the pictures of the unit on the Behringer website to see its connectors and controls.


Here's the main page:
http://www.behringer.com//UB1204FX/
click on the link marked "Rear View"

Really obsessive types can even read the manual. They have a link to a pdf copy.


Now my head really hurts.
Click to expand...

I corrected the xlr thing in the same post. Still, control room outs are better suited for monitors than main outs.
 
sleepy said:


Not wrong at all. I don't believe the smaller mixers have xlr outs. They usually have 1/4" outs for the main outs and for the control room/monitor out as well as the headphone output. I don't know if your desk has two sets of main outs although it very well may.

I Just checked out the links you posted, using two main out will also work of course.

Ideally the control room outs should be used for the monitors. The reason for this is that you will often want to change the monitor out volume without changing the main output. So you may want to have your main output relatively high while the monitors are fairly quiet, or vice verse. When having the monitors output going from the main outs, and are recording into a computer or so, you'd either have to have volume control on your monitors/speakers or have the main output level low, which is often not the best thing to do when recording to digital.
Click to expand...

yea, cool. I actually run with some Yamaha MSP-5's which have the volume control on the front of my monitors, so I have just always used them that way (running out the main outs and adjusting the volume myself when I need to) and prefer to use it like that....plus just assumed an XLR connection would be a better, solid sound connection *shrug*


555
 
Makes sense if you have volume control for your monitoring source.
 
sleepy said:


...Still, control room outs are better suited for monitors than main outs.
Click to expand...

You bet.

I was just suggesting that if one's monitors and soundcard inputs were 'reversed' (as my own sort of are -- the sound card actually uses 1/4" TRS for balanced or un- and the powered speakers use XLRs for balanced) you could use them that way around -- all other things being equal and as long as you didn't get confused. (And, of course, as long as there wasn't some quirk in the mixer design -- but you would assume the two sets of OUTs -- and the ALT outs for that matter -- would be identical, bal/unbalanced issues aside.)
 
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