Making Connections

There are a lot of misconceptiions about analog audio connectors. Many folks believe that audio will somehow sound better if it is carried on an XLR plug.

Let’s talk…

Several different types of connectors are used for audio equipment. Consumer equipment commonly uses RCA plugs and 3.5mm mini plugs. Pro gear has 1/4″ plugs and XLR connectors. Installed gear may have screw terminals or multi-pin connectors.

The primary purpose of all of these is the same… to deliver the electrical signals from one piece of audio equipment to the next without any loss. And they all do that job quite well. Then why are there so many different types of connectors?

The type of connector used is determined by cost, size, and special features.

RCA plugs are limited to 2 wire (unbalanced) audio. This is perfect for consumer audio gear that will remain connected for months or years at a time. Unbalanced audio works fine on cables under about 10 feet in length.

3.5 mm mini plugs are common with portable gear. Typically wired for unbalanced stereo.  Their small size makes them prone to damage from rough handling.

XLR plugs most frequently deal with 3 wire (balanced) audio. Balanced audio is not “better quality” than unbalanced. The advantage of balanced audio is noise immunity and the ability to operate over longer cable runs. XLR connections have a couple of specific features that make them especially useful on stage: 1) the metal connectors are rugged, and can tolerate being stepped on or rolled over,  and 2) the connectors lock together so the cables don’t come apart if someone trips on them.

1/4″ TRS plugs also carry 3 wires. They may be wired for unbalanced stereo, balanced mono, or various other configurations. TRS jacks are popular on compact mixers because of their lower cost and smaller size than XLR. You can pack a lot of TRS jacks onto a small mixer.

RJ45 plugs are becoming more popular for audio recently. Even smaller than TRS,  and they latch. 8 wires carry stereo balanced audio and DC power. These are the same connections used by computer equipment with CAT5 and CAT6 cable. Excellent reliability.

Multi-pin connectors can be of any configuration. High density connections used mostly for permanent installations.

There are more. These are the most common. Remember, the configuration of the connector does not alter the sound. A balanced connection has better immunity to extraneous noise, but the audio signal is no different in quality.

BSW stocks interconnect cables that allow connection between TRS and RCA, or XLR and mini, or just about any combination you’re likely to encounter. In most cases signal level differences between the equipment can be accommodated. In a few cases you may need an interface amplifier to boost or attenuate the signals to keep the gear happy.

Don’t fear the connector… it’s just a plug.

On The Level

Today I want to talk to the “other”-casters out there… the web- net- pod- [insert your favorite prefix here]-casters. Traditional radio broadcasters already know this stuff, but it may be new to the “new media” folks.

When you listen to most radio programs, the announcer, the commercials, the phone callers, the music, all sound pretty much the same volume. But many podcasts have little or no consistency at all… each new source of audio is at a vastly different volume than the one before. What are the radio people doing to keep the sound consistent?

Most local radio programs are handled by one person, who splits his attention between speaking, setting up the next commercial or song, and mixing the audio. Mixing usually becomes the lowest priority… if any sound at all is coming through, it’s close enough.

This “close enough” audio is sent through an audio processor before it goes to the transmiter. The processor instantly and continuously adjusts the sound to an ideal “target level” that is competitively loud, while at the same time guarding against “clipping” (the harsh distortion that occurs when the sound is louder than the equipment can deal with). This all happens in real time, with no attention from the on-air talent.

I hear you saying “but I can just normalize the audio with my recording software.” Yes you can, if you have the time and patience. Normalizing, equalizing, compressing, and limiting each individual track, and then the complete program, can take a lot of your time. With a broadcast audio processor, “post-production” time is almost eliminated.

Radio broadcast processors can cost over $10K. Fortunately, there are lower-cost options for non-radio use. These are more than simply a compressor-limiter. They provide intelligent gain control, multi-band compression and equalization, and multi-band peak limiting. They also have systems to avoid or reduce the “swirly” background noises often heard on webcasts.

Omnia1MultiCast and AirTools 2M are fully professional units that can be used for live or recorded programs. Orban’s PC1101 is best suited for live streaming.

Smaller budgets can get good results with TC Electronics FinalizerExpress. Even if you use a simple compressor-limiter like the dbx 1066, you will have a more consistent sound than before.

Then there’s always microphone processing to consider… I’ll save that for another time.

Gators, Ghosts and Good Friends

Working at BSW for the last 14 years has taught me a great deal and given me the opportunity to meet some of the most wonderful people in the world. While attending the WFX show in North Carolina recently, I made time to visit one of my favorite customers, Walt Howard of Sunrise Broadcasting. Walt and I have been talking to each other for nearly 13 years, but this was the first time we had met in person! It’s funny how you can be dear friends with someone without ever laying an eye on them.

Walt has been at Sunrise for about four years (before that he was the engineer at a group of stations in Alabama). Walt is the sole engineer for six stations in Wilmington, North Carolina. Busy as he is, he took the time to show me a couple of his transmitter sites, one of which is in the middle of a graveyard! Walt swears it is haunted, and unless there are a bunch of invisible hoot owls living in it, I’m inclined to believe him!

Besides having six stations to take care of by himself (and one haunted transmitter), he also has to watch out for really big alligators. Once, he pulled over to the side of the road so I could see that he was not kidding with me. There, five feet from the truck, was a 12-foot gator just sitting in the shallow water. As we drove around, I saw many road signs warning you to not exit the vehicle lest you be eaten! Gators and ghosts. All in a day’s work for my brave friend, Walt!

AES NYC – Small show. Great show

There’s just no getting around the fact that the exhibit floor at the AES convention in NYC was small this year. Occupying only hall 3B in the Javits Center, there was a large amount of curtained-off unoccupied space – and Registration was located in the hall, too.

Diminutive footprint aside, the aisles were packed, the vibe was positive, there was a LOT of new gear to see. Many major manufacturers were conspicuously absent – Avid/Digidesign, Bosch, Meyer, EAW, Cakewalk, Alesis, Samson/Zoom to name a few – but most of these companies had staff at the show cruising the aisles and conducting business in the lobby. Also attending:  representatives from most of the larger retailers, productions companies, and system integrators.

An auspicious beginning: I ran into these two fellows in the lobby before the show opened on Friday. BSW ball caps at AES! Thanks for your support, John and Peter. I hope you had a great show!

 

 

 

 At the Sennheiser booth, Wolfgang Fraissinet, Jeff Alexander, and Dawn Birr were on hand to unveil the new TLM-102 from Neumann. Reputed to be available in the US in November with a street price of $700, I’ll bet this is an instant hit with voice-over talent.

 

 

 

 

New ribbon mics from Audio-Technica. The AT4080 ($999 street price), and AT4081 ($699 street price). Active electronics and new robust ribbon technology make these a “must-hear” for studio and stage applications. 

Also from Audio-Technica: A new broadcast headset!! The BPHS1 has a cardioid, neodymium element mic optimized for broadcasters. It’s mounted on a flexible boom arm which can be positioned on the left or right side. The closed-back headphones provide isolation in noisy environment . The BPHS1 will have a street price of $199, and should be available in November.

 

 

Tascam is on fire! With  14 (!!!) new products in their booth, you’ll want to keep your eye on them. From the new VLM3 desktop sized active monitors (at $99), to the new HSP82, their new $4999 location recorder, Tascam is cranking out a steady stream in innovative products for a wide range of applications.

 

 

There was a lot of buzz about the new “Blackbox Recorder” From Joeco. Designed for “no-brainer” live recording, it offers 24 channels of low-latency, 24 bit/96khz recording for $2500 bucks!. You need to supply a USB disc drive, but they supply all the cables needed to hook it up to the insert points of a typical analog live sound console.

 

 

 

The new line of Shure headphones has been warmly received. And why not? Very neutral and musical sounding, built to withstand the rigors of everyday professional use (and built to be repaired easily, too!), and affordable. At the show, they debuted a new set of DJ cams  – the SRH750DJ should have a street price around $149. Great isolation – with a slightly emphasized low end that will make them great for use in clubs.

 

 

 

 

Yamaha brought it’s spectacular new roving demo truck. It was packed full of goodies, and fully functioning demo stations. Definitely worth a spending some time there.

 

 

 

Broadcast maven, Neil Glassman hosted a broadcast industry gathering at his Greenwich Village flat on Friday evening.  A few bottles of (really good) wine equipped those present for a thorough dissection of the current state of radio biz. This of course, devolved into a general raid on Neil’s music collection, where we found a gem. Yes, this is Neil posing with the jacket of his one and only album.

Size Matters. Acoustics Matters More.

I hear it all the time: “I just want to use a lapel mic. Those other mics are too big, and I can’t be bothered to stay in one place.” Sometimes, people just kinda miss the point.

Lapel mics work in television and on stage because of the size of the room. A TV studio may be 30 x 50 feet, with a 20 foot ceiling and plenty of acoustical treatment.  A lecture hall will be similar. By the time sound reflections make their way back to the mic, they are diminished to the point that they are insignificant.

A typical radio studio, or home-office studio, may be only 8 x 10 feet with a 7 foot ceiling. Reflections come back to the mic’s position very quickly, with enough audio energy to be a niusance. This is part of the reason we speak so close to the mic… well, ego figures into it, but that’s another subject. Basically the equation is: more “me” equals less “room.”

The radio studio will have some amount of acoustical treatment (foam on the walls, maybe something on the ceiling). A home-office studio likely has nothing but hard, parallel walls, and hard furniture. Even up close to the mic, you sound like you’re talking in a tunnel.

Yes, a mic processor with gating can help to some extent. But the gate is only active when the talking stops. During speech, the reflections are clearly heard, and contribute to an indistinct and unclear sound.

Small rooms are a big challenge. Ideally, you would speak in a padded cell (think of a voice-over booth… nothing but foam everywhere). But since most of us would like more flexibility in the decor, we make compromises.

Do as much acoustical treatment as reasonable. Use a mic with a narrow pickup pattern. Consider a dynamic mic for its reduced sensitivity. Keep the mic close to the subject. Use a downward expander to reduce the background sound when the subject isn’t speaking.

In an acoustically perfect room, you would be free to use any type of mic you like. In the real world, things are different.

Condensor Mics for the Air Studio?

Broadcasters have used dynamic microphones as their primary on-air mics for several decades (SM7, RE20, MD421, and more recently the PR40 and PROCASTER). Is it time to consider changing to condensor mics? After all, they’ve become very afforable in the last several years.

For most of you… no. Here’s why:

- Dynamic mics can take more physical abuse. Most of the mics listed above were designed for use with drums. They get knocked around, but they keep working. Most condensors are delicate and fragile by comparison.

- Dynamic mics are less sensitive to surrounding noises. Sensitivity drops off quickly beyond about 12 inches. This works out well for the average radio studio, with the computer fans, air conditioning, and other room noises. And the room itself is seldom ideal… a sensitive condensor mic will highlight all of the flaws of the surroundings. Dynamics just don’t pick up the noises so much.

Here’s a quick way to determine if the room sounds good, and the machinery is quiet: Do you use the expander/gate on your voice processor? If so, it’s because you are trying to minimize hearing the sounds in the room. ‘Nuff said.

- Dynamic mics aren’t affected by high humidity. All that warm breath at close range, day and night, exposes the diaphragm to a lot of moisture. (and if you use a foam pop filter, the moisture gets trapped inside). Over time, high humidity will deteriorate the flexibility and performance of most condensor mics.

A condensor mic may be appropriate in a well-treated Production Room, but not in most On-Air studios.

There’s always a new “flavor of the month” mic to look at. But the fundamentals haven’t changed. Imperfect environments are better served with dynamic mics (and some assistance from a good mic processor).

No, we’re not just hanging on to old technology… we’re using the right tool for the job.

Wire? Who needs wire?

Any engineer that’s been around the block a few times knows dozens of ways to use a piece of equipment that the manufacturer never intended. Some long-time favorites are: dead mixer as a doorstop, and: dead portable recorder as a paperweight. But wait… there are even things you can do with the stuff that still works!

For example – say you’re doing a remote broadcast from the fair, and you’ve got to run speakers waaay over there. Even if you had that much wire with you, it’s inconvenient to run it where the public won’t trip over it.

You can use a wireless mic or in-ear monitor system to deliver the audio to the distant speakers. Popular manufacturers include Shure, Audio-Technica, Listen, Galaxy, and others.

Most of these systems will transmit 150-200 feet easily. A beltpack or plug-on wireless mic transmitter can be connected to a spare output on your mixing board (Mackie outputs can be switched to mic level).

Put the receiver at the destination. If you need more range, use a directional antenna pointed back to the source.

Need to send a stereo signal across the way? No problem. Galaxy’s AS1000 system transmits full stereo. The receivers can output stereo, or a single channel (receiver at the left speaker just outputs left channel, right receiver outputs right).

Put as many receivers around as needed. They’ll all pick up the audio. Gee, it’s almost like… radio!

I spoke to an engineer today that wants wireless stereo for his remotes, because he’s not looking forward to cleaning the “rodeo residue” from all of the cables when the event is over. Can’t say that I blame him!

Here are some links:
In-ear monitor systems.
Plug-on and beltpack wireless mic systems.

Back to the Basics…Live and Local

Comparing ‘there” versus “here”….hmmm. Fact is,  we don’t really know where “here is” in broadcasting vernacular. I remember many years ago our “local” radio station receptionist trying to explain to an elderly listener (who baked a pie for her favorite DJ), that the DJ actually lived 2000 miles away in Chicago.  Shocked and disappointed,  Grandma and her Peach Pie went out the door (with a bumper sticker of course) never to return. I love pie. And it disappeared.

Yes, Radio Stations were the early adopters of outsourcing. In fact, BSW’s company founder Irv Law, was the first to introduce ‘automation systems” to stations in the 1960’s. Nowadays,  listeners are not amazed to learn that many local DJ’s are, in-fact, local fiction.  A local radio station actually emulating from another loCAL (New York, New Brunswick, or Mars) ain’t no big thang. Local is a state of mind right?

So let’s talk about you shall we?  Wanna be hip? Wanna be cool?  Simple…Broadcast Live and Broadcast Local. Turns out this is is an effective serum to cure broadcasting blahs. Being connected with your local community is your opportunity to profit successfully in a soft economic climate.

Broadcast live from the hotel or 50,000 seat arena . (Worked for Murry the K and The Beatles). See how many high school kids can cram in a VW at the local dealership. Set up a mic on a local street corner and engage your listeners with a real person. Or…broadcast a boat race like BSW’s John Lynch does every summer for the local radio station.

Lastly, do the math. Live + Local = Hip . And guess what? Hip  = Profit. And, people pay for Hip…simple as that.

Old School Broadcasting STILL rocks. So go sell a local REMOTE broadcast. (Buy your remote gear from BSW). And while you are at it, pass a slice of granny’s peach pie.

Mmmm pie.

Tending To Radio’s Rosy Future

Radio broadcasting students from Penninsula High School placed first in Team Newscast category. Instructor Leland Smith is on far right.

When Old Man Winter stops his whining, Spring arrives with the promise of youth. What a perfect time to honor the efforts of high school kids as they grow into the wild and wonderful world of Radio!

For the second year running, Leland Smith and radio station KGHP-FM from Peninsula High School in Gig Harbor organized and hosted the Washington State High School Radio Conference and Awards extravaganza this past May 14th. Attended by nearly 200 radio broadcasting students from all over Washington State, the conference offered guest speakers and breakout sessions taught by communications industry professionals. Awards included Best Locally Produced Public Service Announcement, Best Public Affairs Series, Best Individual Newscast, Best News Feature, Best Team Newscast, Best Sportscast and more. BSW is proud to be a sponsor of this event, and we gave away headphones as prizes to the deserving award winners. It was thrilling to see so much youthful exuberance devoted to our industry, and we were especially happy to see one of our customers, Nathan Hale High School’s KNHC-FM, once again receive the General Excellence award. After spending the evening with such high energy kids, it is easy to see that the tired old cliche “Radio is dying” is just a bunch of cold winter air.

SIGSALY

And just when we thought we had heard of everything… SIGSALY was mentioned. Actually more than mentioned, we met an unbelievable man who was involved with the invention of this fascinating technology.  His name is Frank Laico, and he is a CBS Recording Engineer Emeritus who’s recording credits reads like a who’s who in hit records. (Sinatra, Bennett, Streisand, and on and on and on). Frank was the guest speaker at the recent AES Meeting in Seattle. Magnificant gentleman who gave us three hours of fascinating information regarding making hit records back in the days when hit records were really records.

Back to SIGSALY. The brief description (from Wikipedia)

n cryptography, SIGSALY (also known as the X System, Project X, Ciphony I, and the Green Hornet) was a secure speech system used in World War II for the highest-level Allied communications. It pioneered a number of digital communications concepts, including the first transmission of speech using pulse-code modulation.

Frank Laico and his military buddies were pioneering digital audio long before digital …existed.

So go put on a Miles Davis album, (also recorded by Frank) , sit back and read all about SIGSALY  here. Fascinating story.

While you are at it, Google Frank Laico. His story and recording credits are amazing as well.