jyanes Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Hello everyone. I know there are already a couple of threads with users reporting hiss and issues with XLR output to their board. In summary it appears this is mainly due to the board sending phantom power to the Helix. My ask to the community to help others is what is the recommended configuration for sending your Helix guitar signal "Mono" to a board for each condition below? Assumptions - 1. XLR Left Mono Out Conditions - 1. Board is sending Phantom Power to device (Phantom power can not be turned off) 2. Board is not sending Phantom Power Questions - 1. When should i use Mic level output versus Line level output? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klangmaler Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 My ask to the community to help others is what is the recommended configuration for sending your Helix guitar signal "Mono" to a board for each condition below? We are still waiting for an 'official statement' by the line6 team, I guess?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainbug Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 Hello everyone. I know there are already a couple of threads with users reporting hiss and issues with XLR output to their board. In summary it appears this is mainly due to the board sending phantom power to the Helix. My ask to the community to help others is what is the recommended configuration for sending your Helix guitar signal "Mono" to a board for each condition below? Assumptions - 1. XLR Left Mono Out Conditions - 1. Board is sending Phantom Power to device (Phantom power can not be turned off) 2. Board is not sending Phantom Power Questions - 1. When should i use Mic level output versus Line level output? If the board is sending phantom power, connection is only possible if you buy a Phantom Power blocker, or a transformer isolation box, in other words something that stops the 48V DC current coming from the board If you go straight to the board XLR inputs, it's better to use mic level output, use line level if you go to the board line input with an adaptor XLR / TS 1/4" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil_m Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 If the board is sending phantom power, connection is only possible if you buy a Phantom Power blocker, or a transformer isolation box, in other words something that stops the 48V DC current coming from the board If you go straight to the board XLR inputs, it's better to use mic level output, use line level if you go to the board line input with an adaptor XLR / TS 1/4" I don't agree that it's better to use mic level if you're using the XLR outs. I think it's better to send the hottest level possible to the board and bypass the channel strip's preamp totally if possible. Many professional boards have a mic/line switch, so just have the sound guy set it to line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainbug Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I don't agree that it's better to use mic level if you're using the XLR outs. I think it's better to send the hottest level possible to the board and bypass the channel strip's preamp totally if possible. Many professional boards have a mic/line switch, so just have the sound guy set it to line. It's been said in other topics, and for my experience I confirm it, that line level in XLR outputs make the board clip, even with 20db attenuation on.. then IF you have a board that bypasses the preamp completely, then I agree with you. But not that many does it. Same concept of individual phantom power :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I can NOT hear the difference between using a DI out from the 1/4" output and using the XLR out on Helix.On HD 500 I could hear a difference, but I liked the 1/4" output better. imho, if you're stuck with a mixer with phantom power, you probably already have a DI lying around. Just use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainbug Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I can NOT hear the difference between using a DI out from the 1/4" output and using the XLR out on Helix. On HD 500 I could hear a difference, but I liked the 1/4" output better. imho, if you're stuck with a mixer with phantom power, you probably already have a DI lying around. Just use it. If you don't need the 1/4" output for anything else I agree completely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterHamm Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 If you don't need the 1/4" output for anything else I agree completely Even then, you can go "through" the D.I. if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slicbald Posted January 15, 2016 Share Posted January 15, 2016 I tried the mic and the line out settings from the xlr left of the Helix into a monitor and then an Alesis Sumo 300 xlr inputs, and the mic setting seemed hotter to me. I ran my xlr left and right set to mic into the xlr on the board and the sound guy put me in the monitors as I was not using an amp and while the sound was good it seemed too loud. Hehad to set the channels gain at about 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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