EV 50M - using stereo and Cat 5 question...

[pax-eterna]

So, I get what i happening with the cat5 cable and that it joins two units together, but my question is how do you get the original stereo signel into the master unit in the first place?

Surely one would need to run left and right from the mixer into channels one and two on the master unit first, yeah?

Cannot understand how I'd get a true FOH stereo signal unless left and right from the mixer are connected

[AlecSp]

Hadn't come across this item before but, from a quick look, not sure what there is not to understand.

Link two units by Cat5 cable and EV's proprietary QuickSmart link converts them into an integrated pair. Better still, you can mix across all 16 combined inputs. All quite cunning. It'll be passing channel and bus signals across the digital connection - clever, but nothing that unusual in these days of digital audio transfer over Cat5.

[Hugh Robjohns]

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/el ... evolve-50m

[pax-eterna]

Hadn't come across this item before but, from a quick look, not sure what there is not to understand.

Link two units by Cat5 cable and EV's proprietary QuickSmart link converts them into an integrated pair. Better still, you can mix across all 16 combined inputs. All quite cunning. It'll be passing channel and bus signals across the digital connection - clever, but nothing that unusual in these days of digital audio transfer over Cat5.

Sorry, you may have misunderstood the question. It is not a stereo signal going to the second unit, rather it is a mono signal split into two, if only one input from a mixer is connected. It is not the stereo mix from source audio.

[AlecSp]

Sorry, you may have misunderstood the question. It is not a stereo signal going to the second unit, rather it is a mono signal split into two, if only one input from a mixer is connected. It is not the stereo mix from source audio.

A mono signal into a stereo system will sound mono, though you can pan if you want.

But, hopefully obviously, you'll only hear a stereo field if you have a stereo mix. Either with a stereo input or a mix of panned mono signals.

That's just how mixing to stereo works - nothing to do with this particular system.

[pax-eterna]

Sorry, you may have misunderstood the question. It is not a stereo signal going to the second unit, rather it is a mono signal split into two, if only one input from a mixer is connected. It is not the stereo mix from source audio.

A mono signal into a stereo system will sound mono, though you can pan if you want.

But, hopefully obviously, you'll only hear a stereo field if you have a stereo mix. Either with a stereo input or a mix of panned mono signals.

That's just how mixing to stereo works - nothing to do with this particular system.

Which is exactly the point of the thread....If I run a left from the mixer into channel 1 of the main unit, and then right from the mixer into channel two, then I was hoping to get the left/right FOH the same, as if I am using an an audio cable from Mixer left to speaker left and an audio cable from mixer right to speaker right. Except connection to the second speaker is now via cat from the main.

....it's just the stuff from EV is confusing and makes it sound like, if connect one mono to the input of one, it somehow magically produces a left and right image...when all it is doing is sending the same mono signal from the main unit. Hence the whole system then becomes a mono system split between two speakers, yes?
I have tried it nad the panning of basses, keys and guitars set up in the mix is not evident in the FOH, hence asking here as SOS did a nice review to make sure what I am thinking is correct.
TBH, I think I will just stick with bog standard audio cabling from mixer to left and right speakers....

[AlecSp]

Presumably you've configured one speaker as L and the other as R when pairing? If the system is configured as mono or as both on one side, then you'll never get a stereo image.

Inputs in the mono channels (1-4) will be centred unless you've panned them. The mixer has no way of knowing that you want inputs 1 & 2 as a stereo pair without you panning them.

The stereo inputs should act as stereo inputs out of the box - again as long as the system was configured correctly when first paired.

I don't have one of these systems, but the manual looks pretty clear on how it operates. You did read the manual, right?

[Hugh Robjohns]

I haven't seen this product, let alone used it... but it seems to me that the cat cable just shares the mix buses between the two speakers.

The signal panning between the speakers is controlled by the mixing app.

So my assumption is that you can feed two Inputs into the left speaker (which is configured as stereo left), then pan one hard left and the other hard right in the app.

The cat cable carries the right channel information across to the other speaker's mixer (configured as stereo right).

Its a very simple thing to plug up and test for yourself...

[AlecSp]

I haven't seen this product, let alone used it... but it seems to me that the cat cable just shares the mix buses between the two speakers.

It's hard to know if it's just mixbus sharing or more, given that the two mixers appear to be integrated. That could be at the mixbus level, or there could be more being shared. But no way of outsiders knowing, without asking EV - and who really cares.

Interestingly, you are not limited to just 2 speakers. Would be really cool if you could have monitor sends to other linked speakers, but it doesn't look like that's supported.

The signal panning between the speakers is controlled by the mixing app.Its a very simple thing to plug up and test for yourself...

Indeed, and having had a quick play in the app in demo mode, it's simple to define which mode each speaker is in. In demo mode at least, both sides appear to default to mono.