tomsy49 Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Hey guys, new to the forum. I just got my setup done with my hd500 and just recently purchased an Alto TS112a to play out loud. I currently only have one XLR cable and i know that the XLR is ouput is stereo. I currently do not have a speaker cable to use for a mono sound. What is the best way to achieve the "proper" sound out to the speaker. Should i pan the mixer to whatever jack the XLR is connected? Or is fine to just use the left XLR out and not have to adjust anything. I'm not sure if the signal out will only be half of what it would be if i used 2 cables. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I just looked up the Alto TS112a. It appears to have 2 inputs. So one for each XLR would work. The Alto appears to have the double use Jacks so you could use a 1/4 to 1/4 cable and then because the POD will sum those to mono just use one. http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/alto-ts112a-12-active-2-way-speaker Take a look at the 4th picture. Does you Alto look like that or is it a older model? If you are really stuck with one XLR input, then if you don't use any Stereo effects on POD you could use just the Left output and then adjust gain as needed on the Alto. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsy49 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 That is the same as the one i have. Ideally i could use 2 XLR's to the one speaker but at the moment i only have 1 and i just wasn't sure if there was anything that would affect the output that would make me need to pan the mixer to one side or anything like that. I've been looking at the schematics and trying to figure it out but i thought i'd ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 The main thing is the HD500 doesn't sum stereo effects on the XLR outputs. It does on the 1/4 ones. So if you have 1/4" cable use that to connect to the Alto on the input 1 and you are good to go. A 1/4" can cuase some impediance etc... over a long run but if you below 30 ft cable then honestly I would use that over the XLR. But sounds like you only got one XLR, then,just connect it to input 1, adjust gain to taste, and don't use any Stereo effects on the POD and you are fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsy49 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I currently only have instrument cables so i would have to buy a speaker cable to have the mono out. I may do this anyhow still though. I would prefer not to have to worry about anything and to be able to use stereo effects if i desire. I only play at home so i'll never have a long cable. On another note, does using input 1:guitar, input 2: Same or input 2: variax have any bearing on the ouputs using 1 xlr>? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triryche Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 You should not use speaker cables to connect your POD to anything, they are not shielded and meant to run from a power amp to a cabinet/passive monitors. Selecting same or Variax can affect the overall signal coming in, whether or not it affects the output (besides overall level and behavior of the modeling) depends on your signal chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 I currently only have instrument cables so i would have to buy a speaker cable to have the mono out. I may do this anyhow still though. I would prefer not to have to worry about anything and to be able to use stereo effects if i desire. I only play at home so i'll never have a long cable. On another note, does using input 1:guitar, input 2: Same or input 2: variax have any bearing on the ouputs using 1 xlr>? For that rig you don't need a speaker cable, an instrument cable is fine, if not perfered since it's shielded. The power amp to Speaker is where you need speaker cable but the power amp and speaker are in the same box on the Alto. Input 1: guitar Input2: Same have no effect on the outputs. But they do have any effect on o yoru sound. By have the "Same" you have doubled you input signal, which can quickly overdrive the modelled amp. If you using dual amp models you would need input 2 set to "same" but if you setting to one amp, most people find setting input 2 to a source you are not using to sound better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 For that rig you don't need a speaker cable, an instrument cable is fine, if not perfered since it's shielded. The power amp to Speaker is where you need speaker cable but the power amp and speaker are in the same box on the Alto. Triryche, beat me to the post button!. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triryche Posted February 20, 2015 Share Posted February 20, 2015 Best solution: get another XLR cable and Alto TS112a!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomsy49 Posted February 20, 2015 Author Share Posted February 20, 2015 I would ideally be able to have 2 speakers and stereo output but i have a small house and not much room for a great setup. One will have to do for now and i have multiple instrument cables hanging around so i will maybe use that instead of the XLR. I was thinking XLR would produce a better quality of sound but im not so sure that is the case, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musical1212 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 XLR doesn't give a better sound quality. It is used to run longer distances, say over 30' or from the stage to the mixer (FOH position). 1/4" mono plugs on shielded cable at shorter distances should sound equal to XLR cables. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 For me, XLR does give much betters sound quality - when I have my Laptop connected via USB. I get ground loop noise using the single ended cables but it is dead quiet with the XLR connection from my Pod 500X to my powered PA speaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palico Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 For me, XLR does give much betters sound quality - when I have my Laptop connected via USB. I get ground loop noise using the single ended cables but it is dead quiet with the XLR connection from my Pod 500X to my powered PA speaker. That can happen with either one if the cable is not sheilded properly, your smaller cables are picking up interferance, likely from you monitor or any other equipment. XLR as musical1212 pointed out low impediance cable and 1/4 is high impediance. The only real differnece between them occurs on the longer runs. But XLR does tend to be sheilded better than cheaper instrument cables. Also "speaker" cable is often not sheilded but appears to the same as instrument cable which is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 No that is not it. The balanced connection with XLR is not as sensitive to ground noise. In both cases I was using high quality shielded cables. My setup is dead quiet with XLR and it was unusable with my single ended cables when my laptop power supply was plugged in. Balanced inputs are much better at rejecting noise on the ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jandrio Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 did u engage ground lift (available only on xlr outputs)? From POD HD500 Quick Start Guide - English ( Rev D ): 19. Balanced Output - connect balanced XLR cables here for an idealconnection to digital recorders or as direct sends to the house mixer orPA when playing live. If you are experiencing hums and buzzes, set theXLR switch on top of your POD HD500 to LIFT to eliminate groundloops between your equipment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie_Watt Posted February 26, 2015 Share Posted February 26, 2015 I have my XLR switch in the Ground position. It sill is quiet with my Laptop USB plugged in and the laptop charger plugged in. How well XLR works is dependent on the receiving device. If it's designed well, it will reject ground noise on the XLR inputs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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