Topic: clipping only on one channel; what could it be? FOUND

[Napo]

Hi,there;

my rig (of which I am very proud of - see http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=141017.0 ) started giving me the following problem:

- clipping only on one channel why the other stays put below 6 dB
- there is no reason for clipping from the audio source
- the rig is MK21's>CMR's>TinyBox>M10

Now both John from Naiant and the guy who soldered my five female pin on my CMRs' (in Europe) kindly offered to ship back the gears to be checked.
Before doing that I would like to consult you, taping friends, on what is the source of the problem in your opinion:
the connector or the pre-amp? or something else ?

I am asking so because leaving in Europe (sic), it would be expensive to ship my preamp to John, in the first instance.
Thanks in advance for your shared experience.

Mauro from Italy,

PS: the M10 is working fine

[Church-Audio]

Hi,there;

my rig (of which I am very proud of - see http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=141017.0 ) started giving me the following problem:

- clipping only on one channel why the other stays put below 6 dB
- there is no reason for clipping from the audio source
- the rig is MK21's>CMR's>TinyBox>M10

Now both John from Naiant and the guy who soldered my five female pin on my CMRs' (in Europe) kindly offered to ship back the gears to be checked.
Before doing that I would like to consult you, taping friends, on what is the source of the problem in your opinion:
the connector or the pre-amp? or something else ?

I am asking so because leaving in Europe (sic), it would be expensive to ship my preamp to John, in the first instance.
Thanks in advance for your shared experience.

Mauro from Italy,

PS: the M10 is working fine

Are your mics matched? Where were your levels? were you close to zero? If so it could be a set of mics that are not matched one is hotter than the other. Thus one distorts before the other does. If thats not it I would make sure your mics work with another preamp. If they do then it might be a problem with the preamp. But I would check everything else first. It could be the mics are not wired right.. If they are not they could still work but one would be overdriven easily.

[Napo]

Hi, Chris;

thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, the Schoeps capsule are matched. I also tried two other capsules and the problem was the same.
My levels were at around 5-6 on the M10 (out of a scale of 10).

BTW, your gear works flawless and I am very appreciative of your expertise.

Best,
Mauro

[Church-Audio]

Hi, Chris;

thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, the Schoeps capsule are matched. I also tried two other capsules and the problem was the same.
My levels were at around 5-6 on the M10 (out of a scale of 10).

BTW, your gear works flawless and I am very appreciative of your expertise.

Best,
Mauro

I am willing to bet your CMR to 5 pin is not wired right.. Please open up the 5 pin if you can and take a picture of it.. All you have to do is uncrimp the connection and slide the steel strain relief down and the little plastic shell then we can see the pins / wire. I think your problem is a reversed wire Hi / Low  Make sure they are wired as per Johns spec.

I think it is So if you have a + and - Reversed that is your issue.. The easy way to tell is to make sure that the color of the wire matches the color of the wire going to the correct pins.. For example if red is - Then both pin 4,5 should have red wires going to them, if black is + Then 2,3 should have black wires going to them check both ends of the cable to make sure. If thats not it then I would say send the cmr + the preamp back to John and let him figure it out.

1 ground
2 R+
3 L+
4 R-
5 L-

[Napo]

I uncrimped the connection but the little plastic shell is too much for me to open (I am a newbie)

In any case I will pass your precious info (..and your bet  ) to the one who did the wiring.

I will keep you posted.
Best,
Mauro

[Church-Audio]

I uncrimped the connection but the little plastic shell is too much for me to open (I am a newbie)

In any case I will pass your precious info (..and your bet  ) to the one who did the wiring.

I will keep you posted.
Best,
Mauro

Make sure you check with John about that pin info I gave you I am pretty sure he changes it for customers. So it might not be exactly the same. But I am willing to bet thats the issue.. Also its better to back off if your not comfortable taking the connector apart. Good thinking to take it to the guy that did the work.. BTW.. he should be using heatshrink on the pins over the wires to prevent shorts inside the connector.. it can happen on these connectors. I always heatshrink them.

Chris

[Napo]

T+ Chris;

discussing the issue with you (how great is our community!) makes me think about another detail of my problem:

- the clipping does not happen always. It is random and sometimes it seems to subside if I play around with the connector (plugging and unplugging)
This would point to your last comment of possble shorts.
 
Your bet looks like a sure win! 

[Napo]

Hi, John;

got the multimeter

It gives me volts 7.47 on the upper center and right pins (facing the front of the tinybox). The others give no power signal.
Is that correct?

Same problem with the mid and high levels of the box (with the latter the problem is more extreme).

[Napo]

AND THE ANSWER IS.....

Chris won his bet: it was the connector, with a faulty pin connection!

[Church-Audio]

AND THE ANSWER IS.....

Chris won his bet: it was the connector, with a faulty pin connection!

Thank you Thank you I am here all week folks lol... Well sometimes you get it right sometimes not.. Thats the "fun" of audio lol.... I am glad your up and running. Sounds like you have some nice gear to play with.

Chris