#AUDIO AND MIC SPLITTER MANUAL#

There are two kinds of passive splitters. Bear in mind that splitters are generally specified for live-sound situations, where the ultimate in preamp quality is rarely expected (or needed). The potential downside is that the preamp in a splitter may not reach the standards expected of a high-end preamp, especially in terms of equivalent input noise. This allows the mic to work as intended and avoids ‘loading losses’.

The output of the mic preamp is distributed by whatever means to feed the multiple outputs - but the mic ‘sees’ none of that it’s only concerned with feeding its individual mic input stage. SOS Technical Editor Hugh Robjohns replies: In an active splitter, the mic feeds a single mic preamp and is powered in the conventional way.

#AUDIO AND MIC SPLITTER MANUAL#

The manual for my Schoeps CMC65 mic cautions: “If one microphone must be connected to multiple inputs simultaneously, an active microphone splitter should be used in order to preserve the loading and powering conditions for the microphone and to prevent interference.” Should I ignore this at my peril? The Schoeps manual warns of the evils of passive mic splitters for a good reason - but the ART S8 and similar single-split transformer devices shouldn’t pose a problem. I use an ART S8 eight-channel mic splitter, a passive device, to send mic signals to two separate recording systems (a Focusrite 828 preamp paired with an RME UFX interface, and an Audient ASP800 preamp paired with a Focusrite 18i20 interface).

Audio and mic splitter