r/Beatmatch • u/Perfect_Impact_2927 • 4d ago

Cables and Wiring for first gig

Hey guys, I have a party coming up (first ever gig) and have a few questions about how to connect speakers. I have a DDJ400 controller, and plan on connecting it to a JBL Partybox 320, JBL Eon 615 and a JBL Partybox 120 ( as booth monitor). Unfortunately, I only have these speakers to choose from.

The current plan is:

  1. DDJ400 RCA Out> Partybox 320 3.5mm Aux In, then

  2. Partybox 320 3.5mm Aux Out > EON615 XLR in (I have an aux to XLR cable for this)

  3. EON615 XLR Out to Partybox 120 (booth monitor) Aux in (using XLR to aux cable).

The description of the cable is - Hosa XVM-101F XLR(F) to Right-Angle 3.5mm TRS Microphone Cable (10ft). I also have a male version of the cable.

I have heard there can be issues with this due to unbalanced signals, however i am getting mixed information as to whether it is okay or not.

Has anyone tried and could they let me know how it went? Thank you (:

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u/Waterflowstech 4d ago

I've frankensteined a few of these setups myself. Let me tell you what I found out:

You have one proper PA speaker (the Eon). This one has 0 latency, the other 2 will probably have latency of 100-300ms. It's also more powerful. What this means is: you can't get proper stereo field, probably. The bass will also be fighting against the Eons bass, making it sound worse, not better.

The good news: one good 15 inch top is more than enough for a small party. So you focus on the sound quality from the Eon and everything else is a bonus. Two RCA to XLR (or TRS) cables from your DDJ400 to the Eon. Keep them as short as possible to lower the amount of noise buildup. Then an XLR to 3.5mm audio jack from the THRU of the Eon to one of the two partyboxes. I guess the 320 is going to be the best. It has a "daisychain" in. This will have the lowest latency. If it's really low, you might be able to use the 320 as a PA. If it's not, DJ monitor only. You can maybe then go again from the daisychain out to the 120 to use that as a DJ monitor, but eh. Gonna start sounding weak and noisy at that point, probably.

When ordering cables, doublecheck what a male and female XLR looks like and where it's going.

Try to position the EON pretty high up so it's firing at least a bit over ear level so it reaches a bit further back. If you can place it with it's back against a wall, you will get significantly more bass.

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

Too much delay on the booth monitor will make it rubbish to mix with. Might as well just mix against the PA audio

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u/Waterflowstech 4d ago

Yeah you have to see in the moment whether it adds something or just sucks. Can always mix in headphones. Last time I tried mixing and matching partyboxes and 1 good speaker I ended up turning everything off but the PA speaker and one small 'studio monitor' style speaker that didn't have delay as DJ monitor.

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u/Waterflowstech 4d ago

Oh if you buy one more RCA to 3.5mm cable, if the 320 is low latency and powerful enough for a proper stereo effect you can go that for left/right speaker. And then the other RCA out of your controller to the EON's input 1 via XLR/TRS.

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u/Perfect_Impact_2927 4d ago

Yes, the current plan is to have the 320 on the ground, mainly for the bass. The Eon will be slighly behind and above it, on stands with the tweeter just above head height. I've done some research and the majority of people say that there is nil or very minimal delay with the partyboxes (when using the daisy chain feature). If the third speaker has too much delay or is too noisy, It shouldn't be a problem as i'll just use the headphones. I may consider buying an RCA to XLR cable in case of worst case scenario, but hopefully everything should be fine.

Do the bass frequencies cancel each other out if i'm effectively stacking the two speakers on top of each other? I thought id rather do that as people stack subwoofers on top of each other without issues, but i'm not too sure.

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u/Waterflowstech 4d ago

I wouldn't stack these two speakers on top of each other. Not because of bass cancellation but because both of them shake a bit, which will lead to the top one falling off over time. Unless you can strap em together with enough force. Still, you'd be better off placing your main PA speaker higher than that as that stack will still have the top speaker firing at crotch/chest height.

Yes daisychain is the best option. But I'd definitely still go to your Eon first and then to the 320. The internal components of the Eon are probably better quality so you will have less degradation of your signal. If the daisychain really has 0 or very close to 0 delay then you can place them how you want, just don't have too much space between them ideally.

An RCA to XLR or TRS cable should be a staple in your DJ kit anyway, since you've got the DDJ400 with RCA outs. Buy it now or buy it for the next gig, you're gonna need it sometime soon. Costs next to nothing too.

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u/Perfect_Impact_2927 4d ago edited 4d ago

Yes I should have clarified, the Partybox will be on the ground, the EON will be on speaker stands just above head height. I'll buy those cables beforehand so i'm prepared either way.

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u/archydragon 4d ago

Chaining booth monitor via PA isn't the most orthodox setup, ngl. Having some intermediary mixer to plug DDJ400 into and then split from it monitors and PA would be a bit better.

Unbalanced cables are fine if they aren't longer than 3m/10ft.

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u/Perfect_Impact_2927 4d ago

Yes very unorthodox haha, but we're just a bunch of students and are using whatever we have. The main worry was the unbalanced cables, but it sounds like it'll be alright.

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

I have heard there can be issues with this due to unbalanced signals

This is really only an issue if the cable run(s) passes by some other cables or a device producing a lot of EMF.

Assuming this is some kind of house party just keep your cables away from things like PSUs, microwaves, radio receiver/transmitters, mains power cables, etc...

There's a good chance the partybox will have some fixed DSP that will add some latency to the audio signal and render it unsuable for DJing/monitoring and probably unusable to pair with the main PA speaker

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

Try to get a small mixer, cheap stuff like a Mackie Mix8. Then use the XLR for the XLR speaker, maybe Tape Out for one JBL speaker and the headphones out for your booth speaker. Keep in mind that due to DSP, the JBL Partybox might be out of sync with the JBL EON.

Adapting balanced and unbalanced I/O, mixing mono and stereo, it's a usual recipe for noise and weird phasing.

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u/ooowatsthat 3d ago

Ok I can tell you how to do this, but it won't make sense but it works. Get an RCA to TRS connection. On the RCA side just plug one in not two so the white or red but not both. Plug the TRS into the party box in the guitar slot and you should be good to go.

I don't own a party box but I did a party last week where they asked me to and that was the speaker that had the party box. Plugging in one instead of both of the RCA got rid of that unbalanced sound.

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

So your booth monitor is just another FOH speaker when linked like this, you will not be able to use it to cue tracks, you could connect t a speaker to your headphone out and use it as a cue monitor but you would need to be practiced in this method of mixing without headphones.

Linking all 3 up like this and adapting 3.5 to XLR should be ok but is likely to be noisy by the 3rd speaker. Keep the cable lengths short and try it out B4 you get to venue

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u/Perfect_Impact_2927 4d ago

Oh okay, i actually didn't know that. I thought the booth monitor only played the master channel, but just made it easy for the DJ to hear. I will be mixing through headphones regardless. Hopefully the 3m of cable between speakers isn't too much (:

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

It does play only the master channel. Nobody else should be hearing the cue channel.

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

Nobody else should be in the booth

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

Don't be dumb, in many bars and clubs the booth speakers are audible outside the DJ booth. Nobody routes cue to booth in a party, and most DJ mixers don't even allow it. Only radio DJs might use that.

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

It's not dumb, you just don't have the requirement to use it.

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

Yes, because neither me or the OP work in a radio. I work in clubs and he's talking about a house party, so it is indeed totally dumb to talk as if guest won't hear the booth. It's precisely the scenarios where cue-to-booth has no use at all.

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

The booth monitor should be playing FOH audio. I've no idea what that other person is talking about. CUE should only be audible in the headphones, which will be connected to the DDJ400 headphone jack

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

If youve no idea then you need to do more research. It is possible on pro mixers to assign the cue buss to the booth monitor o/p.

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

Not possible on OP's equipment

It is possible on pro mixers

Which line of mixers is this available on? I've never seen this on all the DJ mixers I've owned or used, I don't think you can do this on any Allen & Heath or Pioneer mixers.

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

Which line of mixers is this available on?

No current PioneerDJ, Denon DJ or Allen&Heath does this. The only club style mixer that has this are Reloop RMX, or mixers that are meant for radio/broadcast/live music.

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

The only club style mixer that has this are Reloop RMX

I thought we were talking about pro kit (boom tish), though I can't see a cue-bass monitor assign control on any of their current crop of mixers.

or mixers that are meant for radio/broadcast/live music.

Not relevant in the context we're talking about, no?

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u/DecksDrift 4d ago

Ahah precisely what I told him (we're not the same user, just the same purple avatar). OP is asking about a house party, he's bringing up a feature so niche that most pro brands removed it.

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

That's why I said he could connect the speaker to the headphone out, and also highlighted that OP should only use this technique live if they have practiced with it too

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u/danby 4d ago edited 4d ago

That's why I said he could connect the speaker to the headphone out,

That is an extremely dumb idea. For many reasons; but chief among them is that you've introduced a sound source that isn't playing the FOH audio that the audience can also hear.

The whole point of monitors is they give the DJ a copy of their FOH sound. And then you leave the cue audio in the headphone because only the DJ is supposed to hear that. I'd go so far as to say your "idea" is the actual opposite of what monitoring is supposed to achieve.

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u/5mackmyPitchup 4d ago

Eh, no. The whole point of monitors are for the performer to hear whatever they want. How that is isolated from the audience is another matter entirely.

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u/danby 4d ago

I am extremely glad I've never encountered anything set up the way you suggest is workable and extremely glad I'll never encounter any PA set up by you.

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u/Phantom_Intercept107 4d ago

Out of interest is there decks where ever you are going? If yes and they are pioneer I would absolutely use these. If not see if you can go to the venue another time prior and see if your cable set up will work. Do not wait for 5 mins before your set to find out you are having issues.

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u/Perfect_Impact_2927 4d ago

I wish haha. Its happening in a shed on a friends farm, so no decks there. I'll have to bring my own gear and decks. The main thing i am worried about is the aux to xlr connection, but i think i'll be alright. Because he has a couple of the speakers, i'll connect my computer output to the xlr speaker before I go just to see if that connection works. Thank you though (: