Setting up a column PA stereo/mono question

Longtallronnie

Finally bought a new PA for my acoustic gigs, an LD Maui 28 which sounds bloody brilliant but I've got a potentially stupid question...

I'm only using one column so it's running in mono but I've been connecting both the L & R outs from my mixer to the L & R line inputs on the LD, mainly out of habit but it seems a bit pointless to me. I might as well just connect the L mixer out to the L in and pan all the channels to the left unless I'm missing something really obvious?

All my inputs are mono and it has a separate MP3/BT input for music. I guess it doesn't make much odds but just thinking it's one less cable to worry about.

maltingsaudio

For the performance point of view it doesn’t make any difference, however  the mp3 source may be chucking out a stereo signal in which case the stereo channel on your desk should be sending L and R to the main out of your desk in which case your playback may sound odd. Just put the stereo out of your mp3 player into mono channels not panned  on your desk problem solved. Or put your mp3 straight into the Maui again problem solved

Nb you don’t have to pan all channels as the mono inputs get sent equally to left and right out.

Longtallronnie

Awesome, cheers @maltingsaudio

Moltisanti

i wanted to try the same thing, but when I send the MP3 source to 2 channels (both left/mono) i don't get the full sound through the speaker, it's missing the stuff on the track panned hard right.

I tried with the channels panned left and up the middle and had the same issue, am I missing something ? @maltingsaudio ;

maltingsaudio

Moltisanti said:

i wanted to try the same thing, but when I send the MP3 source to 2 channels (both left/mono) i don't get the full sound through the speaker, it's missing the stuff on the track panned hard right.

I tried with the channels panned left and up the middle and had the same issue, am I missing something ? @maltingsaudio ;;

One of two things, either when you say both left/ mono  is any right information actually being sent from the player to the speaker. Try listening to just one input at a time to see if it’s there. If it is there and disappears when the second channel is brought up then there is a phase problem probably due to duff cables. My guess would be cables

Moltisanti

yeah because if I use the same cable to the L/R on one channel going to 2 speakers I hear both sides of the stereo image. I'm using a mini jack to RCA cable from a laptop into the desk, so into 1 channel I have both RCAs (with 1/4 jack adapters) going to L and R and it works as it should through 2 speakers.

If I put the L into the L/Mono of one channel and the R into the L/Mono of another channel I lose the hard right panned stuff, am i setting it up correctly or doing something daft ?

Moltisanti

ignore that last post, i tried it on my other bigger desk and it works fine, thanks for your help @maltingsaudio ;