Hi everyone,
I’m currently looking to improve my audio setup and have the following gear:
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Mic: Rode PodMic USB (XLR connection)
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Inputs: PC , Xbox One S (audio only, dont need the mic here)
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Outputs: Bose Companion 2 Series 3 speakers and Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro headphones (80 Ohm Edition)
My goal is to connect everything through a mixer so I can easily switch between speakers and headphones without constantly unplugging cables.Also, I always want to hear my PC audio, but when I’m using the Xbox, I want to hear its audio in addition to the PC sound and use the Rode PodMic USB as my mic on the PC.
I’m considering the Hercules Stream 200 XLR and wondering if it would fit my needs. Specifically:
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Can it mix PC and Xbox audio well?
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Is it easy to switch between headphones and speakers?
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Does the Rode PodMic USB work smoothly with it via XLR?
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Are there any limitations or things I should watch out for?
I don’t need any fancy effects or advanced features, just a straightforward setup with good sound quality and simple controls.
Thanks a lot!
Hi Jannek,
I will try to give you more information and help you in your choice.
With the Stream 200 XLR:
- You will connect your XBox to the S200 using the optical input or Line In
- You will connect your DT 990to the 3.5mm headphone ouput of the S200
- You will connect your Bose speaker to the 3.5mm Line Out output of the S200
- You will connect your Rhode microphone to the XLR input of the S200, note that we recommend to not connect you mic to USB at same time to prevent ground loop.
- I don't know the sensitivity of the Rhode, but maybe you will need to use the provided external Preamp for it, activate the preamp in the Stream Control App and press the 48V button on the back of S200 .
- You will connect your S200 to your computer using the USB-C to USB-A provided cable
- You will select one of the 5 Playback sound card provided by the S200 to play from your PC. Stream Control App will help you for that
- for example you can play Youtube on S200 System sound card, Discord on S200 Chat sound card ...
- So you can adjust separetely the sound level of each source in the 2 modes ( Creator and Audience )
- Then the S200 will mix all these channels to 2 differents Stream that are also recording devices ( Creator and Audience )
- On your headphone output you can select using the front bouton what you want ot hear in your headphone ( either Audience or Creator )
- In the Stream Control App you can select what you want to send to the Line Out ( so your Bose ) ( either Audience or Creator )
- In the Stream Control App, You can assign a button to mute the Line Out output using ( Mute Channel function )
- Note that you can adjust the microphone level of what you mix to Creator and Audience using the S200 Knob, but not the microphone Level of your Chat application
Even if there is a little trick, when you Mute Microphone input in Creator Mode , it also mute the global microphone input.
Here is a small diagram that hope can help you
Olivier
