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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: JLMoore3rd on December 18, 2008, 07:25:33 PM
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I have a Beachtek DXA-10 preamp and would like to use it with a friend's Panasonic HVX200 digital video camera... The part that bothers me is the unbalanced RCA outputs on the DXA-10. Anybody done any mod work on this pre? Or- am I wasting my time? Is it really necessary to run balanced in to the HVX200? If so- maybe I should just break down & spend the money on a Sound Devices pre.
John "Alpha Flying Monkey" Moore
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Well, I heard back from Harry @ Beachtek (quick response & great customer service from Harry!)... It sounds like I'll be fine using the unbalanced outputs from the DXA-10.
To quote: "The line level output is a very strong signal and I doubt that you would have noise issues that are common in unbalanced mic level signals. If you really wanted to convert the output of the DXA-10 to balanced you would need a line level balancing transformer and these are not cheap."
I did find a product that would do the conversion: Rane Balance Buddy 2http://www.rane.com/bb22.html (http://www.rane.com/bb22.html), which sells for around $130. But, it sounds like I might be money ahead to sell the DXA-10 & buy a Sound Devices MixPre, or a used Sound Devices MP-2... Anyone? Anyone?
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John, in principle any balanced input can be driven directly from an unbalanced source, provided that the voltages and impedances are otherwise compatible. Often a simple adapter will suffice for this.
If you're going to convert an unbalanced signal source to balanced operation, however, the optimal place to do that is at the source--not at the input of the balanced device. You'll get none of the noise immunity that a balanced input offers unless the line itself (connecting the source to the balanced input) is balanced.
However, if you're sure that this noise immunity isn't needed in your application, then what Harry at Beachtek says is right.
--best regards
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Maybe you can through in a impedance balanced output? Look at page three "2.4 - A Simple Alternative" in this document, http://www.jensentransformers.com/an/an003.pdf The benefits of a balanced interconnection is at the balanced receiver. It is a that point the "nasties" are cancelled out.
Roger