MA-100 XLR audio adapter questions

Jack Smith · November 2nd, 2005, 10:58 PM

The Ma100 has electronics to process the incoming signal (active circuitry) and doesn't work passively(without DC power)
it gets it's low voltage DC power from the cam.Most passive devices would lose a bit of signal strength , so your right ,it boosts the signal slightly.

Don Palomaki · November 3rd, 2005, 05:24 AM

Jack is correct. The MA100 uses an a of couple integrated circuit amplifiers to perform the balanced to unbalanced transformation and in the process provides about 6 dB of gain. This is a standrd practice and offers both some potential advantages (e.g., wider frequency response, gain, lower distortion), and disavantages (e.g., needs power, no ground isolation), over transformer-based methods. The amplifiers require the 5-volt DC power from the camcorder to operate.

Michael Sweeney · February 17th, 2006, 07:27 PM

i have no idea what is wrong with this. i am hoping i don't have something broken. anyways. i have an apex 175 shotgun mic and a xl1s with the ma-100 xlr adapter. i plug in the mic and i have messed with all the settings but it does not work...am i doing something wrong, is this mic not compatiable with my camera?

thanks,
mike

Vic Owen · February 17th, 2006, 07:39 PM

Does the Apex mic require phantom power? The MA-100 does not supply it. I think the Apex might have the provision of battery power(?)

Michael Sweeney · February 17th, 2006, 07:43 PM

yeah, it takes phantom power or a battery which i put a brand new battery in.

Michael Sweeney · February 17th, 2006, 09:05 PM

can anyone help me??

Vic Owen · February 18th, 2006, 12:35 AM

Is your MA-1 connected to the Audio-1 jacks & the Input Select to Audio-1? What is your Menu gain set to? (It should be set to Mic.) Is your power plug from the MA-1 connected? Is your REC level set correctly?

You might try a different mic if one is available to help figure out which part is malfunctioning.

Don Palomaki · February 18th, 2006, 07:04 AM

If the battery is good and installed properly, it should work with the XL1 and MA-100. The most common problem is camcorder setting as Vic outline above.
1. Connect the MA-100 properly, both the audio and power cables, to the Audio 1 jacks at the back of the body. (Note, the jacks at the side of the handle are audio 2)
2. Setting the camcorder to Audio 1 input (switch behind the door)
3. Selecting MIC (or perhaps MIC ATT for loud venues) for the Audio 1 input from the menu

If that fails, try a different known good mic with the camera, and try the Apex on a different system to verify it woeks.

Josh Rudy · July 29th, 2006, 01:47 PM

I remember seeing somewhere (maybe the manual maybe not) that the RCA jacks on the back of the XL1 were dual use and if this is true then how do you switch from the camera to input to record from the input?

Greg Boston · July 29th, 2006, 04:29 PM

Not on the XL1. They became dual use on the XL1s. No A/V input available for the XL1.

-gb-

Josh Rudy · July 29th, 2006, 06:29 PM

darn, guess i should've bought an XL1s then heh.

Don Palomaki · July 31st, 2006, 06:42 PM

Well, to be more specific, the audio jacks are bi-directional (input or output). It is the analog video jacks on the XL1 (both RCA and s-video) that are output only.

Greg Boston · July 31st, 2006, 06:49 PM

Don is right. I stand corrected. You can use the RCA jacks for audio input. There is both a menu selection and the switch on the left side of the camera body to accomplish this.

It's on pages 36,37 of the owner's manual.

Don't know what I was thinking cause it would have been really hard to use my MA-100 with the XL1 if the rca audio was output only.

Mea Culpa.

-gb-

Stephen A. Dolphin · August 3rd, 2006, 06:04 PM

So, when I plug in the MA-100 I noticed that only 1 Channel on the meter is responding to the signal. Although the Left or Right channel only shows activity on the Meter, depending upon which XLR plug is plugged in, is it still recording in Sterio?

I noticed this last weekend when I was recording a concert and I plugged in a XLR cable directly into the main board at the venu, but only one channel was responding to the recording. Also, in the the head phones one ear was only playing.

I Audio 1/MIC seetings on Audio1 and REC LEVEL on "A" per page 36 in the manual.

Should I have left the INPUT SELECT on MIC with the MA-100 engaged?

Don Palomaki · August 4th, 2006, 04:28 AM

The MA-100 has two XLR inputs, one for left and one for right channel. If you are connecting only one input cable to it (e.g., a mono feed from the sound board), you will have sound only on the connected channel.

You can mix it in post to both channels (e.g., using the NLE audio PAN feature), or use a "Y" splitter at the MA-100 output or the MA-100 input, or run a second cable from the sound board for the other channel if it is a stereo sound board..

Be sure the signal feed to the MA-100 is MIC level, not line level. A line level signal will overload the MA-100.

The MA-100 is normally connectd to the Audio1 inputs, and Audio 1 is the slected input. If you set the input switch to MIC, you get the input from the mic jack (typically the standard XL1 mic), and the Audio1 jacks become audio output.

November 3rd, 2005, 05:24 AM	#272
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	Jack is correct. The MA100 uses an a of couple integrated circuit amplifiers to perform the balanced to unbalanced transformation and in the process provides about 6 dB of gain. This is a standrd practice and offers both some potential advantages (e.g., wider frequency response, gain, lower distortion), and disavantages (e.g., needs power, no ground isolation), over transformer-based methods. The amplifiers require the 5-volt DC power from the camcorder to operate. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

February 17th, 2006, 07:27 PM	#273
Michael Sweeney Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 97	apex 175 and ma-100??? i have no idea what is wrong with this. i am hoping i don't have something broken. anyways. i have an apex 175 shotgun mic and a xl1s with the ma-100 xlr adapter. i plug in the mic and i have messed with all the settings but it does not work...am i doing something wrong, is this mic not compatiable with my camera? thanks, mike

February 17th, 2006, 07:39 PM	#274
Vic Owen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 540	Does the Apex mic require phantom power? The MA-100 does not supply it. I think the Apex might have the provision of battery power(?) __________________ -- Vic Owen --

February 18th, 2006, 12:35 AM	#277
Vic Owen Major Player Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 540	Is your MA-1 connected to the Audio-1 jacks & the Input Select to Audio-1? What is your Menu gain set to? (It should be set to Mic.) Is your power plug from the MA-1 connected? Is your REC level set correctly? You might try a different mic if one is available to help figure out which part is malfunctioning. __________________ -- Vic Owen --

February 18th, 2006, 07:04 AM	#278
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	If the battery is good and installed properly, it should work with the XL1 and MA-100. The most common problem is camcorder setting as Vic outline above. 1. Connect the MA-100 properly, both the audio and power cables, to the Audio 1 jacks at the back of the body. (Note, the jacks at the side of the handle are audio 2) 2. Setting the camcorder to Audio 1 input (switch behind the door) 3. Selecting MIC (or perhaps MIC ATT for loud venues) for the Audio 1 input from the menu If that fails, try a different known good mic with the camera, and try the Apex on a different system to verify it woeks. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

November 2nd, 2005, 10:58 PM	#271
Jack Smith Major Player Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: ontario Posts: 445	The Ma100 has electronics to process the incoming signal (active circuitry) and doesn't work passively(without DC power) it gets it's low voltage DC power from the cam.Most passive devices would lose a bit of signal strength , so your right ,it boosts the signal slightly.

February 17th, 2006, 07:43 PM	#275
Michael Sweeney Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 97	yeah, it takes phantom power or a battery which i put a brand new battery in.

February 17th, 2006, 09:05 PM	#276
Michael Sweeney Regular Crew Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 97	can anyone help me??

July 29th, 2006, 01:47 PM	#279
Josh Rudy Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hampstead, Maryland Posts: 28	Question about rca input/outputs I remember seeing somewhere (maybe the manual maybe not) that the RCA jacks on the back of the XL1 were dual use and if this is true then how do you switch from the camera to input to record from the input?

July 29th, 2006, 04:29 PM	#280
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Not on the XL1. They became dual use on the XL1s. No A/V input available for the XL1. -gb-

July 29th, 2006, 06:29 PM	#281
Josh Rudy Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Hampstead, Maryland Posts: 28	darn, guess i should've bought an XL1s then heh.

July 31st, 2006, 06:42 PM	#282
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	Well, to be more specific, the audio jacks are bi-directional (input or output). It is the analog video jacks on the XL1 (both RCA and s-video) that are output only. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

July 31st, 2006, 06:49 PM	#283
Greg Boston Wrangler Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: DFW area, TX Posts: 6,117 Images: 1	Don is right. I stand corrected. You can use the RCA jacks for audio input. There is both a menu selection and the switch on the left side of the camera body to accomplish this. It's on pages 36,37 of the owner's manual. Don't know what I was thinking cause it would have been really hard to use my MA-100 with the XL1 if the rca audio was output only. Mea Culpa. -gb-

August 3rd, 2006, 06:04 PM	#284
Stephen A. Dolphin New Boot Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Anaheim, Ca Posts: 20	Ma-100 - Newbee So, when I plug in the MA-100 I noticed that only 1 Channel on the meter is responding to the signal. Although the Left or Right channel only shows activity on the Meter, depending upon which XLR plug is plugged in, is it still recording in Sterio? I noticed this last weekend when I was recording a concert and I plugged in a XLR cable directly into the main board at the venu, but only one channel was responding to the recording. Also, in the the head phones one ear was only playing. I Audio 1/MIC seetings on Audio1 and REC LEVEL on "A" per page 36 in the manual. Should I have left the INPUT SELECT on MIC with the MA-100 engaged?

August 4th, 2006, 04:28 AM	#285
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,489	The MA-100 has two XLR inputs, one for left and one for right channel. If you are connecting only one input cable to it (e.g., a mono feed from the sound board), you will have sound only on the connected channel. You can mix it in post to both channels (e.g., using the NLE audio PAN feature), or use a "Y" splitter at the MA-100 output or the MA-100 input, or run a second cable from the sound board for the other channel if it is a stereo sound board.. Be sure the signal feed to the MA-100 is MIC level, not line level. A line level signal will overload the MA-100. The MA-100 is normally connectd to the Audio1 inputs, and Audio 1 is the slected input. If you set the input switch to MIC, you get the input from the mic jack (typically the standard XL1 mic), and the Audio1 jacks become audio output. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com