DJ mixer into Home Receiver ?

Terry_ClubbupTerry_Clubbup 833 Posts
edited June 2005 in Strut Central
Hi,How many of you run your DJ mixer into your home stereo amp/receiveras part of your practice setup?I just blew out the left channel of my (old 1970s) amp, and I'm wonderingif it's overload trying to plug a DJ mixer into the AUX channel of a standardhome unit.The DJ mixer is not powered, at least not intended to drive speakerson its own.Bonus questions regarding home speaker cable:Have you ever blown an amp or a channel by putting a kink or crimpinto a speaker cable? There is a chance I may have done amp damage by setting a piece offurniture on top of a speaker cable.This is possible, I know, because if the positive and negative strandsin a speaker cable are allowed to touch while the amp is running,it can send a surge back into the amp.One more.You ever used one really short speaker cable, and on the other, a reallylong speaker cable? Would that be a problem, and if so why....back into the headphones I go...

  Comments


  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts

    "Hi,

    How many of you run your DJ mixer into your home stereo amp/receiver
    as part of your practice setup?
    I just blew out the left channel of my (old 1970s) amp, and I'm wondering
    if it's overload trying to plug a DJ mixer into the AUX channel of a standard
    home unit.

    The DJ mixer is not powered, at least not intended to drive speakers
    on its own."


    i use a 70s Realistic home receiver...pretty massive. using the aux channel shouldn't be a problem. i have two auxes on my amp and the first is fed by my mackie 1202 and the second is fed from the master rca out of my rane.

    "Bonus questions regarding home speaker cable:

    Have you ever blown an amp or a channel by putting a kink or crimp
    into a speaker cable?
    There is a chance I may have done amp damage by setting a piece of
    furniture on top of a speaker cable.
    This is possible, I know, because if the positive and negative strands
    in a speaker cable are allowed to touch while the amp is running,
    it can send a surge back into the amp."




    i've never had this happen but i can see that i might cause a problem. probably nothing serious though. but yeah, always wrap your cables properly and don't put the furniture on them! you want the signal to flow freely.




    "One more.

    "You ever used one really short speaker cable, and on the other, a really
    long speaker cable? Would that be a problem, and if so why.

    ...back into the headphones I go..."


    could cause a slight delay and drop in signal level but i don't know if it's anything that the average person could hear. unless we are talking about a really short monster cable and one really, really long, really really shitty super skinny cable from the 1940s or something...that might be bad. longer cable runs increase resistance and can significantly affect the signal. something like a low-impedance XLR cable can handle longer runs before the change becomes significant...1/4 inch instrument cables are hi-Z (hi-impedance) and thus the run is much smaller before the signal really starts getting audibly worse.


  • Hey thanks for the input Patrick.

    I have another question:

    Why are so many Soulstrut SuperFriends named Patrick?

    Just wondering.

    I am thinking about getting some receiver with the LOUDNESS button.


  • z_illaz_illa 867 Posts
    I do and will continue to do so until the proper investers for the event 20/20 foundation step up. I used to run my reciever powering 15" floor standers at parties at almost max volume (noclip) and I could set my clock to it over heating around 11:30. Turn up the volume on the boombox (ahem "monitors") for ten mins than back to work the reciever went. Works to this day. On the other hand I have blown at least 5 amps in my car (nodjmixer).



    I have blown an amp by touching power and ground wires before, but umm... nevermind.



    I aproach all Patricks with caution.



    In my experience loud buttons do nothing but cause damage and make nicely mixed music to sound like chite.



    have a nice day



    rob

  • hogginthefogghogginthefogg 6,098 Posts
    I am thinking about getting some receiver with the LOUDNESS button.


    They had their own button?






    PS I love this album.

  • Young_PhonicsYoung_Phonics 8,039 Posts

    Why are so many Soulstrut SuperFriends named Patrick?
    .




    There's

    Big Stacks
    THE_MACK
    Crazy PopRock
    and me.


    but you know there's way more "cosmo's", "heath's", "and "jermel's" than anything

  • crazypoprockcrazypoprock 1,037 Posts

    Hey thanks for the input Patrick.

    I have another question:

    Why are so many Soulstrut SuperFriends named Patrick?

    Just wondering.

    I am thinking about getting some receiver with the LOUDNESS button.


    your receiver doesn't have a loudness button? mine does...i think it's purpose is to boost certain frequencies that may be deficiant in the output of the amp...or maybe the input from the turntable or aux feed? i remember learning about this somewhere but i'm forgetting exactly how it works...it basically just gives it some "oomph".

    patricks rock


  • The receiver that just broke had LOUDNESS button, the one before
    had none.

    (aka Lock'an'Loll clazee niiights or no Lock'an'Loll clazee niiights)

    LOUDNESS BUTTON, I'm like what the hell, if something improves the sound,
    why not just have it integrated into the overall sound. In my experience,
    LOUDNESS increases low end and makes hippity hoppity rhythms sound greater.
    So I am surprise Rob, at how you say it messes up the mixx.

    One way it messes up the mix is like last week I was listening to
    final mixes before mastering, and wondering if there was too much low end,
    but then take the LOUDNESS off and it sounds tinny and narrow.
    Then you got those neighbors with the MEGA BASS option.
    Who am I mastering this album for?

    Reminds me of the ultimate absurdity...my second car, in a long line
    of schitty cars, was a 1984 Ford Tempo LX.
    Part of the package was a button right near the steering wheel that
    was labelled PREMIUM SOUND. It seemed to function as a LOUDNESS
    button, or it re-mastered the sound for you.
    Anyway, if it was indeed PREMIUM SOUND, why would you ever want to
    have it off? Why have a button? Just to show off I guess.

    So I used to play a trick on gearhead or musician type of friends,
    before they would get in the car I would turn the PREMIUM SOUND off, then they would get in and they would inevitiably ask about it.
    I would say "yeah, it sounds great, but it really puts a strain on
    the engine, so I don't run it too often"...they'd be all "really?!"
    and I'd be like "yeah, watch" and right as I hit that button
    I would drastically decelerate...turn the button off and resume normal
    acceleration. Maybe you had to be there, but it was good times and
    great oldies...L8R Dudes


  • z_illaz_illa 867 Posts
    ahhh yes, I am very familier with the ford (bose) premium sound feature. The problem with these things are is that they are designed to compensate for areas in which the speakers are lacking. Most, if I'm not mistaken are simple compression and eq algorhithms. Personally, I want a preamp to do what a preamp does, send as clean as signal as possible to the eq and let it do what it dew and then send that signal to the amp and or speakers to do what they do. When one piece of equipment trys to fix another it can't be good. Local problems. Not global. Sort of like this whole surround sound buisness. Why do people feel the need to have seven speakers and a subwoofer to do what 2 properly placed and fed speakers can do to greater effect on their own? Well besides cost of course. What were we talking about? Ohh yeah, why can't I play cellophane sympony without hearing a story about how some dude had to play crimson and clover for the band he was in in high school, but in the end he was the only one that could truely play it?


  • Why are so many Soulstrut SuperFriends named Patrick?
    .




    There's

    Big Stacks
    THE_MACK
    Crazy PopRock
    and me.


    but you know there's way more "cosmo's", "heath's", "and "jermel's" than anything

    What other Heath's are on here besides me(Heath Sweat aka Heathcliff Huxtable)?


  • Hi,

    How many of you run your DJ mixer into your home stereo amp/receiver
    as part of your practice setup?
    I just blew out the left channel of my (old 1970s) amp, and I'm wondering
    if it's overload trying to plug a DJ mixer into the AUX channel of a standard
    home unit.

    The DJ mixer is not powered, at least not intended to drive speakers
    on its own.

    Bonus questions regarding home speaker cable:

    Have you ever blown an amp or a channel by putting a kink or crimp
    into a speaker cable?
    There is a chance I may have done amp damage by setting a piece of
    furniture on top of a speaker cable.
    This is possible, I know, because if the positive and negative strands
    in a speaker cable are allowed to touch while the amp is running,
    it can send a surge back into the amp.

    One more.
    You ever used one really short speaker cable, and on the other, a really
    long speaker cable? Would that be a problem, and if so why.

    ...back into the headphones I go...



    Hey man blowing your amp may just be a fuse. open that fucker up. it may only need a 2 dollar fuse from radio shack. i bought an ammmmmazing high end stereo power amplifier for dirt cheap and all it had was a bad fuse.

  • edpowersedpowers 4,437 Posts

    Why are so many Soulstrut SuperFriends named Patrick? Josh?

  • edpowersedpowers 4,437 Posts

    but you know there's way more "cosmo's", "heath's", "and "jermel's" than anything

    hahaha!!!

  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    The "Loudness" button EQ's the signal so you can listen at a lower volume and perceive that the audio has to same EQ characteristics.


    Check the Fletcher-Munson curve:

    http://www.allchurchsound.com/ACS/edart/fmelc.html


    If you think about this graphic upside-down you would basically have an averaged frequency response of the human ear at different volumes.

    This was a study done in the 30"s where they asked people at what volume different frequencies sounded like they were equal in loudness. They averaged the results and determined that our ears are very sensitive in the 2-5khz range, and not as sensitive in the low-end. When you turn down music, the low end and very high end will appear to drop out relative to the rest of the spectrum. This is where the LOUDNESS button comes in. Most consumer-grade stereo systems have shitty components/connectors/speakers/etc. and people usually leave the button in to attempt to un-crappify their audio.

    People can get really tweaky with their cabling. If you can hear a difference, go for nicer cabling, but as a former salesman at a home theater store, I know Monster is laughing all the way to the bank every time someone buys cable at a 60% markup. Try Mogami for pro audio stuff, they are cheap and reliable. If you are just running your stereo at home, it's not really a big deal and wont make that much of a difference. As far as using a short and long cable, I say go for it. The longer one might lose some high end, but judge for yourself. The thing I look out for mostly is that the cable is not going to get tripped over adn yany a jack off the back of your stereo.

  • CosmoCosmo 9,768 Posts


    but you know there's way more "cosmo's", "heath's", "and "jermel's" than anything

    I would have KILLED for the name "Patrick." You have no idea of the hell I went though with the name Cosmo...



  • dayday 9,612 Posts







    That pic reminds me of my first sexual experience

















































































    KIDDING





    Damien was no treat either after this came out:





    "let me look in your hair and see if there's three 6's"



    no, i'm good, really.



    Don't get me started on my last name...
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