3 ms·
The problem isn't the philosophy but applying the philosophy out of context. I don't want my device to be "flexible" in what it accepts when we're talking about
by duped 4y ago
The problem isn't the philosophy but applying the philosophy out of context. I don't want my device to be "flexible" in what it accepts when we're talking about dozens of watts fed by amperes of current into my hand or pocket.
Like there's a reason that Speak-On (1) was invented. It turns out sharing a common connector for carrying power and signal can be fucking dangerous.
(1) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakon_connector https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speakon_connector
- jacquesm 4y agoI've seen more than one XLR based cable go up in a puff of magic smoke, this is a nice industry response to a very real problem. Better yet if the problem isn't detected during a soundcheck. Whoever thought that using the same connector for microphones as for speakers was a good idea wasn't thinking clearly that day. Unfortunately there is still a lot of old gear floating around so you get this: https://www.bax-shop.nl/speakerkabels/klotz-scasf030-neutrik-speakon-2p-xlr-female-30-cm-speakerkabe/product-details.html https://www.bax-shop.nl/speakerkabels/klotz-scasf030-neutrik...
- duped 4y agoI've seen older stage monitors use powered TRS cables. I still see it in amp heads and cabs. Powered signals on exposed conductors. Better not touch it.
- jacquesm 4y agoOh, that must work great when you insert them and short the connectors against ground...
- duped 4y agoIt's actually not that bad since the only thing on the other end is a transducer that's already rated for a lot of current. It's just rather dangerous to have powered audio signals on exposed copper so you generally don't hot swap the things. It's not so bad for amps since the cables are very short and inaccessible, but for stage monitors you can accidentally unplug it on stage.
- jacquesm 4y agoI've been zapped by microphone stands more than once and seen one musician take a serious hit just after plugging in his guitar. Stage gear is handled quite rough by non-experts and there is a ton of wear on plugs and cables. Especially outdoor concerts can be pretty nasty from an electrical point of view.
- Kye 4y agoI wonder how many shocks it took before Van Halen's brown M&M clause emerged.
- wkat4242 4y agoHaha I use speakon for charging + data of computer backpacks. Because they can have more pins than xlr, can carry decent load, have good strain relief and locking mechanism.
- eternityforest 4y agoThat's a little less horrible than XLR, because the common use of speakon is already a designated "You're on your own" protocol, since you have to verify yourself that the amp isn't too much for the speaker and you're not feeding it 80hz square waves.
- ilyt 4y agoIt's mostly because > Speakon connectors are rated for at least 30 A RMS continuous current 1/4 is still used in places (I have not too old guitar amp with one), but main benefits are: * No exposed metal * Higher current rating * Unidirectional. Can't put output to output. * Locking connector. Especially the last one, you don't want random pull to remove a connector easily, especially on events where you can't control everything going on. The fact it's different than the rest is just cherry on top. Actually, with lower power (say tens of watts) you probably wouldn't even damage anything but speak-ons are near-ubiquitous on "big boy" stuff with few KWs of power