Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Individual volume control for speakers via mixer

I want to control the screening room speaker volumes individually and swiftly by sliding potentiometers for 10 speakers + 1 subwoofer. I would maybe use a Mackie 16-channel mixer for this -- faders for 16 channels + master fader. This mixer would be situated on a work table at the rear of the screening room, while all A-V equipment would be racked in a sepearte projection both to the rear.

QUESTION: Where would I interface (connect) the mixer for this individual speaker volume control to work? In-between the incoming audio signal and the preamp/processor? Or in-between the pre/amp processor and the power amplifiers? Would any old (analog or digital) audio mixer work to control speaker volumes this way?

Connections would be via XLR-IN and XLR-OUT.

Also, I am debating whether to get an OUTLAW AUDIO 7700 power amp (7x200 Watts) + three Model 2200 "mono blocks," or get 10 of these mono blocks individually instead.

Pretty big difference, and there must be pros and cons going either way, in case someone can be the wiser for me.

Thanks for the help! This audio stuff is one hairy business!! But oh, so much fun! :~))

Can't answer the "amps" question, but the Mackie would go between the preamp and amps...

Thanks, Mark!

There is one room with many speakers, I want to control individual volumes of these speakers. The screening room will also be used to spatially create 5.1 and 6.1 type of audio mixes for DVDs and Sony HDCAM tapes, and for that of course the physical mixer is a good idea.

Of coruse, I also will have a 19-inch touchscreen LCD monitor there, so I suppose instead of actual, physical line sliders, this controling business can also be done "virtually" on screen. The line-level would have to be broken by the mixer, or I can perhaps get a pre-amp with a PC-based utility program, install this and run individual volumes through the PC (and the touchscreen).

So, PC or DVD or HDCAM or whatever audio signal IN first, but this would go directly to the pre-amp/audio processor. Then, take the individual (decoded and "processed" lines ot from the pre-amp via XLR, run it IN & OUT the Mackie mixer (for the volume control and further eQ, as needed), and then on to the power amps. Okay, then.

I would not buy any pre-amp that does NOT have XLR balanced but only unbalanced RCA connections. On the other hand, the more proper way would be to go via AES/EBU digital via XLR into a digital mixer. Blackmagic Design now has a PCI-e connected external BOB (break-out box) MULTIBRIDGE STUDIO that actually takes IN and OUT 12-independent channels of AES-EBU D-auio via XLR connections!

What are you doing? Home theatre? Real theatre? Recording studio? Mastering booth?

hehe......I just asked him a few similar qestions on his other post in HT.

I'm sorry, but it doesn't come together. Lots of technical terms, but strange assumptions and applications. I'm confused.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one that is getting really confused, that is why I asked a few things that may help clear up my confussion.