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Wiring XLR Wall Plates in Event Hall
Hey guys!
I volunteer for a fire department with a fairly large event hall (it’s an engine bay outside of events) which holds several different events to raise money to keep the department running smoothly.
I’ve been asked to wire up the room so we have speakers spaced out all through the bay. We already have a pioneer DJ mixer, 2 behringer 1200 watt speakers, and plenty of other accessories for us to hold our venue. In the last we’ve used the two speakers next to the mixer, only problem was we were limited to how far the speakers were from the mixer.
We want to have a speaker on each wall of the firehouse, for our larger events where more sound is needed. We want two of the speakers to be mounted up high, and would be stationary. The other two would be mobile so we can bring them out as needed.
The issue I’m rattling around in my head is how to wire all of this. I want to install XLR wall plates at the locations where I need speakers, but is it possible to send one input to multiple outputs? I want it so that I can plug a speaker in at any jack and receive the signal. I was going to “daisy chain” the speakers together, but I want to have it so the 2 mobile speakers can be excluded if not needed.
The Biggest part I’m trying to figure out is how I’d handle having multiple input locations. Based on the event, the DJ. Can be on the south, east, or west side of the building. So the wall plate would need inputs so receive the signal from the DJ.
I apologize if this is confusing.
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6 Replies
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Yes, typically you can “daisy-chain” the line-level output from a mixer to multiple powered speakers.
You could install a standard wall plate with a male and a female XLR connector at each spot. All wired in parallel with the daisy-chain feed incoming and outgoing. That way you could position the mixer (source) and speakers (destinations) anywhere in the hall with complete flexibility.
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Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder. -
So would I just wire the input from one jack from the back directly into the back of the input?
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Yes. Wire the outer shield to pin 1 of all the connectors (male and female).
And pick a color to wire to all the pin 2, and the other wire to all pin 3.
Simple as that.———————————————————————————
Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder. -
Thank you so much for the help. Last question: for wiring the inputs, would I just jump it from the output on the same jack which then goes to all of the other speakers?
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Yes. Regardless of whether it is a female (input) or male (output) connector, all the connectors are wired with the shield going to pin 1. And then all the pin 2 wired together. And all the pin 3 wired together. That is exactly the same whether the next connector is 1 inch away or 100 feet away. It really is that simple. Quite similar to wiring hot, neutral and safety ground to electrical mains outlets.
Note that pin 1 (and pin 3) appears to be on the “opposite” side of a male vs. a female connector. Always double-check the pin numbers when wiring. There is typically a very small number molded into the plastic insulator to identify pin 1 and 2 and 3.
Of course, you want to use shielded twisted pair cable for this. I would use something like this:
https://www.redco.com/West-Penn-291.html 10¢/ft———————————————————————————
Recording audio without metering and monitoring is exactly like framing and focusing without looking at the viewfinder. -
Thank you so much for your help!
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