Topic: CA-14 (o) -> CA-9100 -> PCMM10 question Re: Line in vs. Mic in

[Drgiggles1]

Finally got my ca9100 this week and will be using it for the first time t'row. The way I understand it I should run Line in always with a pre amp. Is this correct or is there situations with the 9100 where I would want to go Mic in. Thanks in advance. 

[F.O.Bean]

I would ALWAYS run Line-In w/ a preamp

[Church-Audio]

Finally got my ca9100 this week and will be using it for the first time t'row. The way I understand it I should run Line in always with a pre amp. Is this correct or is there situations with the 9100 where I would want to go Mic in. Thanks in advance. 

For quiet shows you can run mic if you need more gain.. Nature recordings and real acoustic performances. For anything else run line in.

[oreo]

This is just my experience using ONLY the Sony PCM-M10 and CA-14 omni's WITHOUT any
BB or preamp . I recorded Tommy Emmanuel using just the two items listed above , into
the Mic input with my manual recording levels at 3 , yes 3 , And it sounds as good as a
soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get . And even with levels at 3 , sometimes
it would almost be too loud . I was suprised when i left and saw the level at 3 , well closer to 3 than 4 .
  All recorded great without a battery box , preamp or anything else . And it came out great ..
I know being a noob here will bring me alot of heat for saying that , but it worked for me and all i did was
make sure the plug in power was turned on ... Just fyi . 

[Church-Audio]

This is just my experience using ONLY the Sony PCM-M10 and CA-14 omni's WITHOUT any
BB or preamp . I recorded Tommy Emmanuel using just the two items listed above , into
the Mic input with my manual recording levels at 3 , yes 3 , And it sounds as good as a
soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get . And even with levels at 3 , sometimes
it would almost be too loud . I was suprised when i left and saw the level at 3 , well closer to 3 than 4 .
  All recorded great without a battery box , preamp or anything else . And it came out great ..
I know being a noob here will bring me alot of heat for saying that , but it worked for me and all i did was
make sure the plug in power was turned on ... Just fyi .

Its a great question that gets asked many times here. Sometimes the sound level is not that loud at your show. Unless you carry a db meter you will never know how to judge loudness. So a concert you attended last week could be 100db and not distort but this weeks concert could be 105 and distort. Thats why I recommend a battery box at the very least be used at all times.

[dorrcoq]

And it sounds as good as a soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get .

Really?  Might be a generalization, but I would think it could be said that tapers prefer our audience recordings over soundboards or we wouldn't waste time and money buying mics.

[Church-Audio]

And it sounds as good as a soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get .

Really?  Might be a generalization, but I would think it could be said that tapers prefer our audience recordings over soundboards or we wouldn't waste time and money buying mics.

Some soundboard recordings can be better than anything you will get with a mic if you are talking fidelity but it will lack "liveness" of a real mic recording. This of course is only if the guy mixing is very good and the room is very good and the stage volumes are under control. This in reality almost never happens. Thats why even bands with great sound engineers hire recording engineers to capture tracks from a separate console.

[fmaderjr]

And it sounds as good as a soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get .

Really?  Might be a generalization, but I would think it could be said that tapers prefer our audience recordings over soundboards or we wouldn't waste time and money buying mics.

I don't care for sound board recordings. Even the well mixed ones sound sterile to me.

[adrianf74]

And it sounds as good as a soundboard recording . Or as close to it as you can get .

Really?  Might be a generalization, but I would think it could be said that tapers prefer our audience recordings over soundboards or we wouldn't waste time and money buying mics.

I don't care for sound board recordings. Even the well mixed ones sound sterile to me.

+1.  I'll usually take those "well mixed" ones and try to matrix it off around 70/30 (maybe even 60/40) because I like the ambience of the room as well.

[fmaderjr]

I'll usually take those "well mixed" ones and try to matrix it off around 70/30 (maybe even 60/40) because I like the ambience of the room as well.

That's the perfect use for a good soundboard pull. I should give it a try sometime I suppose.

[adrianf74]

I'll usually take those "well mixed" ones and try to matrix it off around 70/30 (maybe even 60/40) because I like the ambience of the room as well.

That's the perfect use for a good soundboard pull. I should give it a try sometime I suppose.

As Chris has stated, the best desk pull will always miss the "liveliness" of the venue.  Singalongs will be nill as will audience participation.  I had, IMHO, an incredible pull back last January and with the added audience recording on a 75/25 split (that time only), I loved what I got.   There were the odd beer bottle klinks, etc., but it just adds to the overall room sound.  I coud sit there and try and fade up and down as needed but I'm not going to spend days working on a show (for the two performances that night, I spent about a day trying to get the right "balance").  Best of luck.

[Mviljamaa]

How are you finding the CA-9100? Did you research prior to choosing it?
 
I'm looking for a phantom power supply to go with my PCM-M10. While I'm not in particular looking for a preamp, the CA-9100 looks like an interesting piece of gear and combines the two.
Btw, are there any distributors for Church Audio stuff in Europe?

Thanks.

[Drgiggles1]

I probably would have been fine with a battery box as 99% of the shows I enjoy tend to be on the loud side. However there are occasions I enjoy acoustic and/or quieter artists therefore I decided on the pre. Worked out really nice at a recent Arlo G. show I pulled from the 6th row. No research really. I bought CA-14's from the yard sale and for me a CA-9100 preamp was a no brainer especially when the pre was on a special sale. I suggest you email Chris @ Church Audio to check on shipping details. Currently he has a deal going on for his Black Friday sale to the 28th ov Nov. for $20 USD. His email is SALES@CHURCH-AUDIO.CA

How are you finding the CA-9100? Did you research prior to choosing it?
 
I'm looking for a phantom power supply to go with my PCM-M10. While I'm not in particular looking for a preamp, the CA-9100 looks like an interesting piece of gear and combines the two.
Btw, are there any distributors for Church Audio stuff in Europe?

Thanks.

[adrianf74]

Btw, are there any distributors for Church Audio stuff in Europe?

Unfortunately Chris builds and ships everything from just outside of Toronto, ON, Canada.  No European distributors.

[ScoobieKW]

How are you finding the CA-9100? Did you research prior to choosing it?
 
I'm looking for a phantom power supply to go with my PCM-M10. While I'm not in particular looking for a preamp, the CA-9100 looks like an interesting piece of gear and combines the two.
Btw, are there any distributors for Church Audio stuff in Europe?

Thanks.

For a phantom power supply, I've been happy using a Denecke PS-2, which is a stereo battery supply that takes between 7-22 Volts and outputs P48.

[aaronji]

Btw, are there any distributors for Church Audio stuff in Europe?

Unfortunately Chris builds and ships everything from just outside of Toronto, ON, Canada.  No European distributors.

True, but he has no problem shipping to Europe...Might take a little while, though...