Can Mic Line Damage the speaker?

[wweiss]

I have a Roland drum pad that I connect directly into my Alto speaker using line level. I am not getting the gain I need. When I switch to mic level the gain is there! I don't want to carry a mixer/another piece of gear. QSC Support said this can damage the speaker. I hear no distortion or clipping. Will this cause speaker damage true or false?

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by wweiss

I have a Roland drum pad that I connect directly into my Alto speaker using line level. I am not getting the gain I need. When I switch to mic level the gain is there! I don't want to carry a mixer/another piece of gear. QSC Support said this can damage the speaker. I hear no distortion or clipping. Will this cause speaker damage true or false?

Hi wweiss
A danger for any speaker would be that the input gain on the speaker/mixer/input is set very high AND the output gain on a piece of equipment plugged into it also set very High, so a burst of sound is sent to the speaker that exceeds it's safety levels and damage may occur.

A safe solution is to always set the output volume of the equipment to zero, and the input level of the speaker at zero as well, then increase volume input of each gradually & safely.

Our son has a 12" 2 way QSC cabinet he uses for Open Mic Nights, and he's plugged everything into it conceivable at these open mics. He is always careful with the output levels of the devices, and the input level on his speaker.

He's been using it a couple years for open mic nights with electric keyboards, older electronic pianos, drum machines, phones, iPads, mics, mixers - you name it he's plugged it in. He knows absolutely NOTHING about input levels, line levels, or impedance. But he does know that he should not plug powered sources into the cabinet.

I think (because your post reminded me) that I'm going to give him one of my older passive Behringer direct boxes (¼" INPUT to simultaneous XLR and ¼" out). They can also plug in a powered source intended for speakers (think tube guitar amp with output labeled "to speaker" up to 2000 Watts, and convert it to XLR or ¼" out.

That should provide an additional buffer between him and other open mic participants who are equally ignorant of these things.

A simple passive Behringer box might be in order for you as well twixt the drum machine and speaker. Not every direct box has this feature (being able to convert speaker output to ¼" in-XLR out with ground lift and attenuation of the line in).

[jseth]

If QSC Support says that it is a "no go", then I would believe them!

Get the proper tool for the job at hand, and you'll be much happier...