Signal strength over distance

[kevinc333]

How far can a typical microphone/line signal be carried over a standard cable or snake? At what point do you need to boost the signal?

[tha]-[acksaw]

i don't have the answer (sorry about that), but this is a great question. i would love to hear some info about it.

and if anyone has any info, here is another question...

whats the best way to boost the signal when getting into this dangerout terratory.

thanks!

[DigiTechSupt]

Mic signals can go a long ways - 100+ feet or more, because they're low impedance signals.

Line level signals, on the other hand, start to peter out around 25 feet, as they're high impedance. Converting to low impedance (with a direct box) allows you to run them for longer lengths. That's the best method, as continually boosting the signal just raises the noise floor of the signal, degrading sound quality.

[Barnabas]

Originally Posted by DigiTechSupt

Mic signals can go a long ways - 100+ feet or more, because they're low impedance signals.

Line level signals, on the other hand, start to peter out around 25 feet, as they're high impedance. Converting to low impedance (with a direct box) allows you to run them for longer lengths. That's the best method, as continually boosting the signal just raises the noise floor of the signal, degrading sound quality.

Unless by "line signal" you mean a balanced line signal, like what goes between a mixer and an amplifier or between a preamp and a balanced line input on a recorder. Those signals can travel much farther then a mic signal without degradation of signal.

In a large-venue concert, you might have mic signals traveling down 300 feet of mic cable/snake cable to get to the mixer. The signal looses a little something going that distance, but it's OK for live sound, but might be noticed in a recording. Converting to digital on stage (close to the mic) can cut down on a lot of the long-distance loss.

I have run a dynamic mic through over 1,000 feet of cable for an outdoor event with no problems, but then that was for a sports announcer, not for critical music.

If your recorder is a long distance from the microphone, it's best to keep the mic cable short and allow the cable between the preamp and the recorder (assuming a balanced line) to be longer.

Some recording trucks will place their preamps on stage and then run balanced line-level signals out to the truck.

[DigiTechSupt]

Unless by "line signal" you mean a balanced line signal, like what goes between a mixer and an amplifier or between a preamp and a balanced line input on a recorder. Those signals can travel much farther then a mic signal without degradation of signal.

I should have clarified that. Line level, unbalanced, high impedance signals is what I was referring to. Balanced, lower impedance (but not as low as a low-impedance microphone) signals can also be run long lengths without any noticeable signal degradation.

My numbers are also extremely conservative, fwiw.

[kevinc333]

Thanks for the help!!