Stereo Help! Audiophiles Please Help!

[3113]

AHer's I need your help and I need it now! A solution must be reached, well, by tomorrow!

My gym has this sort of antique music system (stereo? PA? amp? It looks a little like this)--essentially, it was meant for bands. You plug in instruments, microphones and such. Each plug has its dial, and there's dials and settings for echo effects, etc. This system has been jury-rigged so that CD player, the amps, the MP3 player, the tape player can all be heard through the speakers...and it works, but it plays music badly.

For example, old songs in stereo (like Yellow Submarine)--you only hear the one side of the song, not the other.

So, fine, we're trying to get a new stereo system. We'll be tossing the tape player; keeping the CD player, a cord for connecting MP3 players, microphone and speakers. But the people at Frys and Best Buy have told us that new stereo systems won't support our microphone. The microphone system is also a little old--it consists of a small transmitter box with an antenna (this needs to be plugged in), and a receiver/battery that is worn on a belt and attached to the headset that the person wears.

Are they right that new systems won't support this? Or any other sort of mic? And if they are, is there some sort of adapter we can buy that will allow us to plug in the old mic into the new stereo? Help, please!

 

[lance gt]

3113, go to any music store that sells musical instruments and audio equipment, they will have a good mic for you, or is Radio Shack still around? They have adapters of all kinds. Tell them what you have as amp power and Pre-amp system you're using and they would have it.

 

[Austin8]

3

I'm surprised Frys didn't offer a solution to the problem? They have one of the best components departments I've seen...

 

[DeeZire]

Basically, there are four components: mic, mic/guitar preamp, power amp, and speakers. Your existing system has the mic preamps built in, and I'm assuming it has a power amp built in, which sends power to the speakers. Your problem is you don't have enough inputs for everything, right? You might take a picture, and write down the model # of what you already have and take it to the music store.

One option would be a little mixer (under $100) to accept your CD player and MP3 player, with two outputs to go into two channels of your existing amp. I'm assuming your existing amp has at least 3 or 4 inputs? The only problem would be the output of the new mixer will be line-level, sending that line level into a preamp that's looking for mic-level. You would have to set those two channels on your existing rig to 1 (out of 10) in order to keep it from being blasting loud. This can be done, but it's better if you can find a mixer with a padded (stepped down) output that will go into a mic-level input.

Chances are, your existing rig is old enough to have tubes in it, which means it could be a highly sought after piece of gear. There is a big market for vintage gear. If the music store offers to take your old rig as a trade towards a new system (which could cost anywhere from $300 to $1000) assume they're ripping you off. Your best bet would be to check eBay and see what your existing thing is going for.

The possibility of finding a compatible system at Fry's would be iffy, since home systems are not designed to accept a mic or electric guitar input. Plus, the fact that they're home systems would mean they're underpowered for your application.

It's times like this when dating a musician would be very helpful.

 

[3113]

Um. I'm sorry. I think I explained it all wrong. Sorry. Sorry! The old Amp that I showed you is being tossed out. Bye-Bye gone forever. The Mic works fine with it (which is why i showed you something similar, so you can get an idea of what kind of plug the transmitter box needs)--but said amp is going into the trash.

We're getting a brand, new stereo. But the old mic, we are being told, can't be plugged into ANY new stereo system. Everything else will work just fine with it--CD, MP3, Speakers. But not the mic. And we NEED the mic. Help.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Have you considered a separate wireless mike? That way the leader could turn on the music and give whatever patter he/she wanted along side the rhythm and blues--or whatever.

 

[3113]

Have you considered a separate wireless mike? That way the leader could turn on the music and give whatever patter he/she wanted along side the rhythm and blues--or whatever.

It is a wireless mic, VM. It's the transmitter box that plugs into the amp. That transmits to a receiver that the leaders wears on a belt, which attached to the headset that the leader wears.

But that transmitter with it's antenna needs to be plugged into the system, or else it won't work.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

It is a wireless mic, VM. It's the transmitter box that plugs into the amp. That transmits to a receiver that the leaders wears on a belt, which attached to the headset that the leader wears.

But that transmitter with it's antenna needs to be plugged into the system, or else it won't work.

Oh. Well, you just got past me there.

 

[Austin8]

It is a wireless mic, VM. It's the transmitter box that plugs into the amp. That transmits to a receiver that the leaders wears on a belt, which attached to the headset that the leader wears.

But that transmitter with it's antenna needs to be plugged into the system, or else it won't work.

There's no adapter out there 3? You might have to wire in a new male jack... Fry's has um?

 

[3113]

There's no adapter out there 3? You might have to wire in a new male jack... Fry's has um?

Ah! An adapter has been suggested...the question being "Is there one?" (We honestly don't know. Obviously, no one at Fry's suggested that, but perhaps the person we sent explained things as badly as I did and if she asks they'll know?) And if not...what does it mean to "wire in a new male jack"? That sounds like a plot bunny right there....

 

[Weird Harold]

Are they right that new systems won't support this? Or any other sort of mic? And if they are, is there some sort of adapter we can buy that will allow us to plug in the old mic into the new stereo? Help, please!

Your picture didn't work for me, so I found this one.

http://i.ehow.com/images/GlobalPhoto/Articles/2134935/adcopy_Full.jpg

The last time I was in Radio shack, (about a month ago) they were still selling sound system components that used that type of three pin "professional" microphone connectors.

 

[Weird Harold]

Abit of browsing at Radio Shack's site turned up this example of a wireless microphone: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3650202

Radio shack sells three different wireless mics that use the same atw-700 receiver this one does.

The interesting thing about this mic )and possibly about the mic you have) is that it has TWO outputs -- the three pin balanced XLR output as pictured above and unbalanced 1/4" Phono-plug.

Many of the more in-expensive PA/DJ systems that Radio Shack sells only have unbalanced 1/4" phono-plug inputs for Microphones, so you may be looking too low-end for your replacement system for a balanced XLR connector, but your existing Mic may just require a different patch cable to work with a low-end system.

 

[popcorn2721]

Um. I'm sorry. I think I explained it all wrong. Sorry. Sorry! The old Amp that I showed you is being tossed out. Bye-Bye gone forever. The Mic works fine with it (which is why i showed you something similar, so you can get an idea of what kind of plug the transmitter box needs)--but said amp is going into the trash.

We're getting a brand, new stereo. But the old mic, we are being told, can't be plugged into ANY new stereo system. Everything else will work just fine with it--CD, MP3, Speakers. But not the mic. And we NEED the mic. Help.

do you have a pic of the mic? if it has the three plug "hi-z" end on it which has a extra ground built into it... youll need a HI-z to Lo-z adapter. This essentially reduces the plug to a quarter inch plug that will work with any amp/preamp, mixer or whatever. They cost about 15 bucks at radio shack and a little more if you go to a music store.
I work with this kind of thing all the time PM me if you have any questions.
POPS

 

[DeeZire]

Damn! I wanted that old amp. Is it still in the dumpster?

I'd suggest getting a little $50 mixer like this at Guitar Center, or preferably your local independent music gear retailer. (The independent retailers generally have more knowledgeable sales staff. The turnover is so high at Guitar Center, the sales people never stay there long enough to know what the hell they're talking about.)

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-Eurorack-UB802-Mixer?sku=631238

You can plug in two mics and two stereo sources (mp3 player and CD player.) The output of the mixer is line level, (same as a CD player) which you can plug into one of the Aux inputs or CD inputs of the new stereo using a regular stereo RCA cable.

If you try to adapt your mic to a home stereo, all you can play is the mic. In other words, you can't play the music at the same time. That's why you need some kind of mixer - to combine different sources so they'll all play at once. Plus, if the output of the wireless mic receiver is mic level, you need a mic preamp to bump it up to line level, which is taken care of by the mixer above.

 

[3113]

Abit of browsing at Radio Shack's site turned up this example of a wireless microphone: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3650202

do you have a pic of the mic? if it has the three plug "hi-z" end on it which has a extra ground built into it... youll need a HI-z to Lo-z adapter.
POPS

I'd suggest getting a little $50 mixer like this at Guitar Center, or preferably your local independent music gear retailer. (The independent retailers generally have more knowledgeable sales staff. The turnover is so high at Guitar Center, the sales people never stay there long enough to know what the hell they're talking about.)

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-Eurorack-UB802-Mixer?sku=631238.

Thank you everyone! All the above and everyone who made points on this thread. I'm passing this onto our person in the field who is shopping today (her last day on the job) for stereo and, now, one of these other items in hopes of making it all work.

This was the first place I came for ideas

Thank you SO MUCH for helping us out. And Dee, you really don't want this old amp. It's not nearly so pretty or good as the one I tried to show you all. It's been a nightmare working with it and our hope is just to have a system that'll play good music (and let us talk over it with a mic) no big headaches, no surprises. Here's hoping!