Playing HIDDEN SOUND sets through a mixer:
HIDDEN SOUND sets are conceived as closed, active home audio concepts, but, as many of our customers are DJ’s, they asked us how to use their beloved sound at parties and even LIVE performances.
We love to share the amazing HIDDEN SOUND with as many music lovers as possible, but there is one DIFFERENCE when connecting a delicate home HiFi system like HIDDEN to a mixer: It needs precise, careful handling, which many experienced users of mixers, connected to the usual, more robust club-speakers, are not used to!
Namely, you can’t handle your delicate HIDDEN SOUND system in the same robust way you usually connect your mixer to speakers made for parties and clubs, which are specially built to perform under any input- or output-signal strength from the mixer. This is probably the only downside of the HIDDEN SOUND system we can think of. The downside of those robust club-speakers, on the other hand, is that they can’t deliver the sophisticated high-end audiophile sound our systems can.
Is there here a solution to combine the best of both worlds, iE HIDDEN SOUND sets for the most sophisticated sound, and a mixer for professional performances?
Of course there is, as many of our DJ-users have proven it: You simply have to connect the two PROPERLY AND CAREFULLY, following our instructions.
How do we identify a problem?
Too much power and / or incorrect input sourcing from the mixer may provoke the HIDDEN SOUND system to non-perform, or completely shut down.
How does that look like?
Usually the speakers play the sound correctly on low volume, but when the volume is turned up, the sound distorts heavily or breaks down completely, and rarely, but also possible, the HIDDEN SOUND system shuts down completely and there is no sound at all.
What can we do?
If a non-performance or shut down occurs in any form after connecting to a mixer, the first step is to check whether there is a problem with the HIDDEN SOUND system itself (1% possible), or with the mixer connection (99% possible). To find this out, the user needs to disconnect the HIDDEN SOUND system from the mixer, and to connect with the HIDDEN SOUND set via Bluetooth, and then play some music. If the HIDDEN SOUND set plays like usually, we know that the problem is in the mixer connection.
How do we get the mixer connection right?
Easy:)
First check the source of the signal, please:
Any mixer has several possible signal entries - MIC IN for microphone; INST IN for instruments; LINE IN for audio. To connect to a HIDDEN SOUND set, the sound input on your mixer MUST go through LINE IN only! Be careful, as on many mixers this switch is serviced by a simple power switch, that can easily get pushed in the course of the action! As next step, connect your mixer with the HIDDEN SOUND set through the LINE OUT / MAIN OUT / MONITOR OUT (diff. versions of naming on diff. mixer models) jack. You need a RCI red and white jacks cable for entry into our subwoofer’s back plate, (with red and white RCI jacks), to connect with the built in amplifier.
Then check the strength of the signal, please:
A) Check the potentiometer on the entry channel which displays the sign “GAIN”. “GAIN” MUST maximally be on HALF VOLUME.
B) The volume adjuster on the played channel MUST NOT be pushed all the way up.
C) And finally there is a small button on the mixer named PHANTOM POWER. It serves condenser microphones only, and MUST be SWITCHED OFF.
Still not working?:
If all these steps are taken correctly, and your HIDDEN SOUND set is still not performing correctly, only one more option is possible - the cable signal input from your mixer may be clashing with your Bluetooth signal input from your smartphone. We have namely intentionally not built in a power switch to change between Bluetooth and cable usages, so that our clients don’t have to walk up to the subwoofer unit each time, and physically click on a button, when they wish to change the connection from smartphone to anything connected via cable - such as mixer or CD player / laptop.
We have coded our digital amplifier to work both options in parallel, seamlessly, in normal circumstances, as we value our customer’s comfort over anything. This is why we have developed such a simple one-click-concept in the first place. But sometimes even the smartest digital equipment gets confused. So, if this seems to be the case, please simply disconnect the Bluetooth connection on your smartphone settings from your HIDDEN SOUND set, so that the cable connection with your mixer remains the only one. Then reset the HIDDEN SOUND set one more time - and off you go - enjoy the party!
