Forums › Forums › CQ Forums › CQ feature suggestions › 1/4″ as Extra Outputs
Tagged: Outputs
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2024/11/27 at 11:23 am #127585H4nParticipant
Hi,
I’ve just bought my new CQ20B for an IEM rack system for my band. We upgraded from a Behringer X-Air12 because now we have an extra band member and needed the extra outputs. I assumed I’d be able to assign the 1/4″ outputs to different mixes, like we did on the X-Air12 (granted, the X-Air12 doesn’t have XLR outputs), but sadly, and much to my surprise, it’s not possible.It would be great if this was possible because that would mean we could send lines to FOH, and still have enough outputs for our ears. I’ve been working on an SQ5 for the past 2 years and was so impressed with the user interface that I thought I’d get something similar on the CQ, again granted, they’re different machines at different price brackets, but still, it seems like a missed opportunity there to have the physical outputs and not be able to assign them to different mixes.
Thanks, Han
2024/11/27 at 11:50 am #127586Highflyer1953ParticipantYou are asking for an extra mix to be added, A&H have never added extra mixes or inputs to any of their mixers. Also you mentioned the SQ, that also is just the same as the CQ in that the AB outputs can only be assigned to one of the existing mixes. Admittedly the extra flexibility of the SQ routing makes it look like AB is an additional output , but it is not.
2024/11/27 at 12:19 pm #127587H4nParticipantAll I want is 3 extra sends so that the Alt outs and Headphone out, can be their own separate mixes. If they are assignable to the L/R mix and any of the 6 mixes, then surely they could be assignable to 3 extra virtual mixes, which would make the desk so much more powerful and interesting. Flexibility, that’s all.
2024/11/27 at 12:57 pm #127589SQuserParticipantMaybe we’re just misunderstanding you.
You’ve been using a Behringer X AIR XR12 up until now – right?
From what I see, it has 2 aux outputs.
Now you have one more band member and your CQ20B has 6 aux outputs, but you’d like 9.
That doesn’t seem plausible.
Or do you mean something completely different?2024/11/27 at 1:24 pm #127590Mike CParticipantFor what it’s worth the QU series with the exception of the QU16 has the option to switch the audio groups into additional mixes for up to 11 mixes if using a QU32, QU Pac or QU SB. With the QU Pac or Sb you would need to use a stage box to get all the additional physical outputs.
2024/11/27 at 2:00 pm #127593BrianParticipantIf it’s just the fact that you have to use an XLR output instead of a 1/4″ TSR jack output, the signal that would be output in either case is the same “balanced audio” output. You can simply use an adapter (buy or make your own) to change/convert the 3 pin XLR balanced connector to a 3 pin balanced TSR connector. Just google “XLR to TSR connector” for a bunch of suitable connectors.
2024/11/27 at 2:28 pm #127595H4nParticipantSorry, that was confusing, indeed.
It’s not the 1/4″-XLR, thing. It’s just that I’m using a few synths, and I’d like to use the XLR outs as feeds to FOH, so i don’t need to use DI boxes anymore.
So yes. I now need 9 outputs in total.
2024/11/27 at 3:30 pm #127598BrianParticipantWell now I am even more confused…..
Adding a synth and the question of DI box or not has nothing to do with the console’s outputs. The synth would be a new source coming into the CQ-20. The CQ 20 has two sets of 1/4″ balanced stereo inputs as well as 8 combi inputs (which allow either an XLR or TSR connector to be inserted). Additionally the CQ-20 does allow for two “HiZ” inputs on inputs 15-16 which can usually be used in lue of a direct box for instruments that normally need a direct box. What option will work best to connect the synth’s directly to the console without using a DI box really depends on what type of signal the synths are outputting however.
The CQ20 has eight XLR outputs. Six are dedicated to the six aux busses that the console has, and the other two are dedicated to the Main L/R mix. Additionally the CQ20 also has two sets of “Alt Outs” which are 1/4″ balanced outputs. You should be able to select which output (aux 1-6, Main L/R, or the “Listen” buss) is sent to these aux outputs. Using the Aux Outs don’t provide any additional busses, but if you need an 1/4″ output instead of an XLR output, you can use these instead of having to use a cable adapter like I suggested in my previous post.
Long story short however, if you really need 9 unique mixes/busses output from the console, I don’t think the CQ series is what you want. Still, this is more than double the number of unique outputs that the Behringer X-Air12 offered, so I am still confused why adding one additional musician has caused you to run out of mixes with the CQ. You had three mixes (2 aux and Main LR) with the X-Air12 and added one musician, so it seems you should be able to get by with 4 mixes (3 auxes and Main LR). You have 7 unique mixes available on the CQ20 (6 auxes and Main LR), which is why everyone is confused why it isn’t sufficient.
2024/11/27 at 3:44 pm #127599BrianParticipantMy only other thought is that somehow you expect the console to be able to act as a signal splitter for the FOH audio. Meaning you expect to put all of the inputs into the CQ20 (which is acting as a monitor console) and then output all of your sources (in addition to the monitor mixes that you need) to be used as sources for the FOH console.
While I am sure some consoles would have enough I/O to do this, this is not how FOH/monitor splits are usually set up. Certainly the CQ series is not designed to function like this and it’s not surprising that you can’t make it work (if this is in fact the situation you face). THat being said, I don’t know how you would have made it work previously with the X-Air 12 because it is even more limited than the CQ series consoles.
What you need to make this “split” work is an analog splitter. This is a device that takes your sources and provides two analog outputs. One set of analog outputs will go into the CQ20 for monitor use and the other set of analog outputs will go to FOH for their use. This is the best method to set up a FOH/Monitor split because each system (FOH and Monitors) is completely independant from each other. There is nothing that FOH can do that will mess with your monitor rig or vice versa.
2024/11/27 at 3:48 pm #127600H4nParticipantWow, this is much harder than I expected.
Please, forget the specifics. I’d just like for the alt to be assignable to different mixes, which is something I thing everyone would benefit from.
Is it possible to get an answer from someone from Allen&Heath without getting questioned? It’s my first time interacting with this forum and it seems quite brutal already.
2024/11/27 at 4:22 pm #127605BrianParticipantAs I mentioned in my last post, you can assign the Alt Outputs (the pair of 1/4″ outputs on the CQ20) to any of the available buss outputs. See page 68 of the CQ reference manual. If you haven’t downloaded and read that manual completely, I suggest that you do.
However I have no idea if that is really what you are asking or not because your comments have been all over the place. You say that this forum has been brutal but it’s only because we have no idea what you are asking about. When we ask for clarifying details, you end up changing the story to something else. We can’t help you if we don’t know what you are actually asking about……
2024/11/27 at 4:33 pm #127606BrianParticipantNow I get that sometimes it can be hard to “ask the right question” when you don’t know enough about the system to ask the right question. Because of this, often times people ask a specific question because they don’t understand the functionality of the system and are ultimately trying to get the system to do something in a way that they system wasn’t designed to do, but that the ultimate goal can be accomplished another way. If we understand “why” a person is asking the question, often times we can give then a solution that works for their situation even if the technical answer to their original question is, “no the system doesn’t work like that.” Being able to say, “no the system doesn’t work like that, but you really need to accomplish this by doing X, which does work” is a much better result. This is why we want to understand the question clearly and why we will ask for clarifying information when we don’t understand the question or the reasoning behind the question.
2024/11/27 at 5:17 pm #127610KeithJ A&HModerator@H4n
As you are familiar with SQ, it might be easiest to use that as an example –
The SQ has an XCVI core capable of routing and processing 48 input channels, with LR + 12 stereo/mono mixes and 3 stereo/mono matrices.
The core is really the mixer and defines the amount of processing available, then you have the surface (screen, faders, rotaries, keys etc…) and remote control which makes changes to the core, along with the I/O (local, expanders, USB, option cards) to get audio into and out of the core.
These are three separate things that make up the SQ mixer and my point is that the I/O and core mixing capabilities are separate things.
Every SQ model has more input processing channels that local XLR inputs, but also…
Every SQ has the capability to connect far more input sockets than can be used at any one timeThe CQ on the other hand presents most all of the available inputs and outputs in the core as sockets on the unit itself, so I can see why you might presume it possible to simply add some more ‘virtual’ mixes.
As per the spec, the core has up to 16 mono channels that can be stereo linked, one or two stereo line inputs, plus dedicated USB and bluetooth inputs. All models then have an LR mix along with 6 independent mixes which can be stereo linked.
The ALT OUT on the CQ-20B is provided as an alternate output socket type only, to feed a recording or IEM system for example.In short, unfortunately it is not possible to add extra mixes/outputs to the core without somehow rebuilding it to do more with less – so it is incredibly unlikely that we’d ever be able to provide a different mix on the ALT OUT sockets of the CQ-20B.
Hope this helps to explain it.
Keith.2024/11/27 at 5:31 pm #127611H4nParticipantThank you, Keith. That answers my question.
It’s a shame it’s not possible. As I mentioned, missed opportunity there.
Cheers, though.
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