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Out 1-2 mix signal sounds different than headphone

Started by mvdput, March 20, 2021, 09:53:11 PM

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mvdput

I normally use my Samson headphone for drumming on my 2Box DrumIt 3 which sounds perfect for me. Today I bought a pair of active Samson speakers from a fellow drummer to use with my 2Box. I connected out 1 and 2 with a mono plug to the left and right input of the speakers.
The strange thing is that the toms, kick and ride seem to sound ok, but the snare seems to miss some punch and the hi hat's volume is too low.
I changed settings in the module and are routing the mix to both out 1-2 and to the headphones so I would expect that the sound would have been somewhat similar between the headphone and speakers. But unfortunately it isn't.

It wasn't a very expensive speakerset though but kick and toms and ride do sound somewhat similar to the headphones. Am I missing a setting or is it just the speakers who can not keep up with the snare and hi hat sound?

welshsteve

The sound on speakers greatly changes between headphones. If you have an excellent (or even decent) pair of IEM or Headphones, then the quality in these will be vastly different to a PA speaker. I am sure the Samson is an okay speaker at best, more about bang for buck at that category. I would bet it's nothing to do with the module, more about just the response difference between what headphones you are used to and the Samson speakers.

I find this all the time. I use a decent pair of IEM, and through a pa speaker, even a very good one, the difference in sound is quite different. Hence the reason most PA engineer require separate outputs so they can tune the sound of the components through the front of house.

But without hearing what your used to compared to how the Samson's sound, I can't say for sure.
My Hovercraft is full of Eels!

mvdput

The Samson speaker is indeed an ok speaker at best, but that is also the the price range it is in.

I bought this speaker as my first speaker for practice use at home because I found the price range for a Mackie or Electro Voice a bit too steep without knowing for sure that Using a speaker instead of headphones would be my preference. And a 1000watt Mackie or EV felt like a lot of overkill in a practice room at home.

Now I am in doubt if a better speaker would give me better sounds that are closer to the headphones.
Maybe someone can share their experiences here?

welshsteve

Well, a decent pa speaker would certainly be closer. But like I said before, I put my kit through my pa, which is a decent PA system (RCF Evox 12) and even then, comparing to the IEM, the quality differs. Not necessarily better or worse, just a different response. But the IEM is defo more rich in over all fidelity.

I personally wouldn't even consider a speaker for practice (or even live) Front of house is one thing, but for my ears, I would like the truest representation. And I think I have that pretty much at 95% as good as it'll get.
My Hovercraft is full of Eels!

mvdput

I am just wondering, I read somewhere that the out 1 and out 2 output the stereo mix. But does that mean that I need to use a TRS cable for Out 1 or a TS cable?

welshsteve

TRS cables won't matter as the signal output jacks of the drumit5/3 are TS connections.

But..

if you're doing long cable runs from the module into the PA system, I recommend getting a couple of DI boxes for your outputs, or a single stereo DI box.

If you're only talking about a meter or so from the module to the desk, it's probably not that important. But if it's going to be longer and over many power cables (like it would be if you were sharing a stage with a full band) a DI box will introduce a balanced signal and thus negate any electrical interference from other power sources.

This is just a general recommendation more than a rule.
My Hovercraft is full of Eels!