School sound system setup

As the CAT teacher, I have found that sooner or later I end up working with everything remotely electronic in the school. One of the biggest challenges has been sound for school stage productions. Renting equipment is expensive and relying on outside help is both expensive and frustrating so committing to continuing investing in equipment with each production is worthwhile.

1. Venue

The floor of the hall is roughly 20m long and 10m wide. The Hybrid Powered mixer is installed in a cage backstage. The mixing desk is set up at the back corner of the hall for productions.

The wireless microphone sets use a very narrow spectrum (UHF 863-865 MHz) and setting them up successfully requires that the frequencies do not clash.

2. Hybrid M802 UBTX Professional Mixer

Mixing Desk with:

• 8 input channels
• USB Audio Interface
• Bluetooth

Stocatto, George

3. Hybrid U-SV MKIII V2 UHF Single Wireless Microphone Systems

Our investment for the previous play was several Hybrid Wireless Mic headsets. Working with cordless headsets has been undoubtedly the most frustrating part of this learning process. Dealing with the wireless frequencies was beyond challenging and I eventually had the CEO of Hybrid in Johannesburg involved (he was absolutely brilliant in helping us!).

Stocatto, George

4. Hybrid G-DV 2.4Ghz Digital Wireless Microphone System

A dual base station for 2 handheld cordless mics.

5. Hybrid PB15/A Active 15″ Speakers

2 active (self-powered/amplified) PA speakers. These are exceptionally useful as each act independently when necessary. 2 input channels (mic & line). The active speaker’s ability to output to 1 passive speaker allows you to purchase a cheaper passive speaker and use them as a pair. Please note that an active speaker cannot be used as a passive speaker!

The black moulded speaker cabinets are robust.

6. Hybrid PM6USB 6-Channel Powered Mixer

Runs 4 old speakers (a pair of Wharfedale Pro’s and a pair of ???), each mounted high in the 4 corners of the hall.

7. Cables

7.1 XLR Male to XLR Female cables

I bought several short XLR cables to connect the base stations for the wireless microphones to the mixing desk. The school already owned a set of 20m cables for the Hybrid speakers. One of the cool things I have discovered about XLR cables is that you can join them together effortlessly and securely to form longer cables.

I have a set of Cyberdyne CZK-510 XLR Male to XLR Female cables:

• 2AWG cable thickness
• Cannon/XLR connectors
• Supports balanced audio signal

A 1m cable costs R119.00 at Kloppers, Knysna

7.2 3.5mm Stereo Male to 6.35mm Mono Male cable

I have a Cyberdyne CZK-951 3.5mm Stereo Male to 6.35mm Mono Male cable:

• Low signal/noise ratio
• Stereo-to-mono audio

A 1.5m cable costs R69.00 @ Kloppers, Knysna

7.3 Mini Stereo Audio Cable 3.5mm Male to Male Jack Plugs

This is what is commonly referred to as an “Aux Cable”. As such it is used for connecting a music source to some amplification. I use it to plug my laptop PC or smartphone into one of the powered Hybrid speakers or the Hybrid amp, or my smartphone into my car stereo.

A 1.5m cable R79.00 @ Kloppers, Knysna

7.4 Speakon Male to 6.35mm Mono Male Cable

I bought this to connect one Hybrid speaker to the other, however, as both speakers are self-powered, this cable cannot be used with the school’s system.

I have a Cyberdyne CZK-968 Speakon Male to 6.35mm Mono Male Cable:

• Pro audio speaker cable (inner conductor 2.5mm OD)
• Extra-soft PVC outer jacket for flexibility
• Nickel-alloy plated connectors

A 10m cable costs R499.00 at Kloppers, Knysna

Comparisons

References:

1. Wikimedia Foundation. (2023) XLR connector. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XLR_connector (Accessed: 13 November 2023).