Need Help. Mono Mic needs to be in Stereo

4,464
United States
Azle, TX
supermanfromazle
SanjiHimura
The good news is that I can spend a little money on an amplifier IF I need to. The bad news is that I need some information concerning how to up mix a mono microphone into a stereo source for streaming.

First, allow me to explain my set up. I had an Optimus microphone (1/4" not an XLR microphone) plugged into a guitar amplifier then the amplifier then outputted to the stereo through a converter (1/4" to RCA) and then plugged into the PC through an RCA to 3.5mm cable. The whole thing was cumbersome, but it worked.

Then the amp went out. I am seeking a possible replacement, but the first replacement idea that I had was a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter. But then people on discord would hear me out of the left side of the headset and not in stereo, so I will need a replacement idea.

I like this microphone, but if I need to go to XLR, I would need to redo my entire set up.

EDIT to add: My webcam is doing the same thing.

TL;DR: I need ideas on how to up mix mono to stereo.
 
I'd just make an adaptor cable for this, either get a female 3.5mm plug (mono/stereo doesn't matter) or cut off the end of the mic cable you have and solder it to a male stereo plug so that what was the tip of the old plug is connected to the tip and ring of the new plug, and the sleeve goes to the sleeve as before. You should be able to get solderless terminals for this, Adafruit used to sell one that used screw terminals, not sure if they still do.

Edit: this, but the 3-pole version.
 
I'd just make an adaptor cable for this, either get a female 3.5mm plug (mono/stereo doesn't matter) or cut off the end of the mic cable you have and solder it to a male stereo plug so that what was the tip of the old plug is connected to the tip and ring of the new plug, and the sleeve goes to the sleeve as before. You should be able to get solderless terminals for this, Adafruit used to sell one that used screw terminals, not sure if they still do.

Edit: this, but the 3-pole version.

Wouldn't that still need an extra output (ie cross-soldered from the live)? As it is there'd still be Live-Earth-Nothing instead of the stereo Live-Earth-Live?

I'd consider a little USB mixer and go into that with everything.
 
Wouldn't that still need an extra output (ie cross-soldered from the live)? As it is there'd still be Live-Earth-Nothing instead of the stereo Live-Earth-Live?

I'd consider a little USB mixer and go into that with everything.

I may not have been clear, I'm basically saying @Sanji Himura can replace the mono TS jack with a stereo TRS jack, wire what was wired to the 'T' (tip) of the TS jack to the T and R (tip and ring) of the TRS jack, then just connect the sleeve (ground) of the old jack to the new jack and you get the same mono input on both left and right channels.
 
I may not have been clear, I'm basically saying @Sanji Himura can replace the mono TS jack with a stereo TRS jack, wire what was wired to the 'T' (tip) of the TS jack to the T and R (tip and ring) of the TRS jack, then just connect the sleeve (ground) of the old jack to the new jack and you get the same mono input on both left and right channels.

That makes more sense, when I read it earlier I thought it would still only give one channel rather than dupe the mono.

@Sanji Himura, what socket does your mic go to at the moment?
 
That makes more sense, when I read it earlier I thought it would still only give one channel rather than dupe the mono.

@Sanji Himura, what socket does your mic go to at the moment?
The mic is a mono 1/4".

@neema_t The issue that I am having at the present is that I can buy a new microphone and that cable that is linked to the other post. That will cost me a bit of money, but on the other hand, I don't have to worry about using an amp to up mix, which is explained in the OP.
 
The mic is a mono 1/4".

@neema_t The issue that I am having at the present is that I can buy a new microphone and that cable that is linked to the other post. That will cost me a bit of money, but on the other hand, I don't have to worry about using an amp to up mix, which is explained in the OP.

Is this software solution suitable for you? Depends what else you're running of course, but it's a simple fix if appropriate. He shows a gadget on the title frame but this works for many devices including onboard sets, and the input doesn't have to be XLR (the sockets in the picture are XLS/Jack combo in any case).

 
@neema_t The issue that I am having at the present is that I can buy a new microphone and that cable that is linked to the other post. That will cost me a bit of money, but on the other hand, I don't have to worry about using an amp to up mix, which is explained in the OP.

This doesn't answer my question, though - the balanced signal that XLR carries is a) not directly compatible with the unbalanced signal your PC will expect, unless the cable you linked converts it and b) is still mono, so you'll get the exact same result as if you were to do what I've described, but it'll cost you a lot more.

If you're a musician and need an XLR mic for performing in a professional environment then fine, but if you're only going to plug it into your PC then buying one with an XLR output is a weird choice. There must be 3.5mm or USB mics that are cheaper than an XLR mic and adaptor cable (that may or may not provide a signal your PC can use).

Look up "XLR pinout" on google images and you should see some results that show an XLR to TRS jack wiring diagram, you'll see that you don't get left/right/ground on the jack, rather positive/negative/ground - this means the sum of the tip and ring voltages will always be zero which would probably sound really, really weird as left and right channels and if that's what you're intending, it shouldn't be. I do AV installations for a living and this is not something you'd ever intentionally do.
 
I misunderstood the question then. The reason for the XLR is for this cable:

61ojUiUN4dL._SL1000_.jpg
I want an XLR mic is so that I can use this converter:

WIN_20190306_17_42_52_Pro.jpg

That is a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter.

Also @TenEightyOne No the video provides no help.
 
I misunderstood the question then. The reason for the XLR is for this cable:

View attachment 804632
I want an XLR mic is so that I can use this converter:

View attachment 804660

That is a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter.

The XLR won't get you sound down both channels, surely it'd just be cheaper to buy a jack cable and stick a 6.5mm > 3.5mm converter on it?

Also @TenEightyOne No the video provides no help.

I checked all three of our laptops and my tower today, two of the laptops (Toshibas) and the tower can output to stereo through onboard and/or soundcard. You're on W10?
 
I want an XLR mic is so that I can use this converter:

Why not just get a mic with a 3.5mm jack? Or a USB one? I have a Samson Go compact USB condenser mic which has been really good, it was a bit expensive I guess but it was worth it to not need to worry about anything but plugging it in.
 
The good news is that I can spend a little money on an amplifier IF I need to. The bad news is that I need some information concerning how to up mix a mono microphone into a stereo source for streaming.

First, allow me to explain my set up. I had an Optimus microphone (1/4" not an XLR microphone) plugged into a guitar amplifier then the amplifier then outputted to the stereo through a converter (1/4" to RCA) and then plugged into the PC through an RCA to 3.5mm cable. The whole thing was cumbersome, but it worked.

Then the amp went out. I am seeking a possible replacement, but the first replacement idea that I had was a 1/4" to 3.5mm converter. But then people on discord would hear me out of the left side of the headset and not in stereo, so I will need a replacement idea.

I like this microphone, but if I need to go to XLR, I would need to redo my entire set up.

EDIT to add: My webcam is doing the same thing.

TL;DR: I need ideas on how to up mix mono to stereo.

If I understand correctly, you were using the guitar amp soley for the purpose of converting the 1/4" output of the microphone to RCA so you could use an RCA to 3.5mm conversion cable to plug into your computer. If so, then all you need is a 1/4" (mono) to 3.5mm (stereo) conversion cable. If Radio Shack still exists (i don't know if they do or not), they would probably have a cable that does this. If not, and you can find the connectors, they are fairly easy to make. Just connect the tip of the 1/4" to both the tip and ring on the 3.5mm and the sleeve of the 1/4" to the sleeve on the 3.5mm.

If you like your current microphone, you will be better off finding or making a conversion cable than you will be if you get an XLR microphone. The XLR output is balanced audio and expects to be connected to a balanced input of an amplifier, which your computer does not have.

Don't confuse the three pins of the XLR with the three elements (tip, ring sleeve) of the 3.5mm. Two totally different things. The XLR has plus, minus & shield and the 3.5 mm stereo plug has Left, Right, & ground.
 
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