I just scored a Lindell Audio 503 Power 3-Slot 500 series chassis on eBay for a great price, but I'm inexperienced with 500 series racks and would appreciate some setup advice from people with experience with them.

My game plan it to use 2 channel strips in the 500 series rack, one for left channel, one for right channel. Mostly intending to use this for stereo mixbus processing.

My questions are about the types of cables I can use for routing the audio out of my interface outputs (1/4in line out 3-4 on MOTU M4), into the inputs on the Lindell 503, and then back into line inputs (1/4in line in 3-4) on my interface.



Can I use balanced 1/4in to XLR Female cables to route from 1/4in lines out 3-4 on my interface to the XLR Male inputs on the Lindell, then use XLR Male to 1/4in balanced cables out of the back of the Lindell into 1/4in inputs 3/4 on my interface?

Is this an acceptable way to route the signals in and out of the 500 series gear, and in and out of my interface? Are the types of cables acceptable for this use case?

Thanks a lot for any advice/help.

- Matthew C

 

Anyone? Lmao

 

Nope but congrats on the score! Was thinking of getting into those myself someday.

 

I think you got it backwards there (or i completely misread it). Should be something like this: Interface 1/4" out -> 1/4" TRS to XLR male cable -> XLR female inputs on the 500 series. Then XLR male outputs on the 500 series -> XLR female to 1/4" TRS cable -> Interface 1/4" input

Yup. It's pretty much the only way in your case. Just make sure the cable itself is balanced and you're good to go.

 

^ that is correct. But since you have 2 modules, if you are buying new cables, you just need 2 of each cable type.

 

I''ll let you know how it works out! Buying one of these used is a bit iffy. They're $260 USD new but I got one for about $115 on eBay. I have to buy my cables and modules quickly though to be able to test the unit and make sure it works in the 30 day return window.

 

500 Series is a good introduction to outboard i believe. I wish i started that way because it took like 8 19" before i got my 1st 500 series chassis and trust me i would've saved half lmao. I would just do some quick voltage readings on the chassis as well when you 1st get it (because used). You could check power supply and phantom power probably even without modules in it at 1st.

This is just being slightly anal and you could get away with not doing it until you hear something that doesn't seem right but some of the cheaper 500 series chassis can sometimes be a little soft.

 

I'll make sure that the cables I but have the correct XLR male/female terminations. There was a surprising amount of people confusing male vs female XLR ends on the internet haha. I had to double check but I may still have got it wrong.



I mean what the fuck? Every other chart/diagram I see mixes male and female connectors.

 

Exactly, I'm buying 2 of each type. I found some decent cables on Amazon for around $10 to $15 a piece for 6ft.

 

Good point. I can definitely see if the power supply works. I've heard the more common issues are a dead slot or excess noise which I'll probably need the modules to test. Luckily with 2 modules and 2 sets of cables, if there are any issues with the channels I'll be able to troubleshoot without having to buy more equipment.

 

Ok, according to Wikipedia I had it flipped male vs. female. Now I know for future reference!

 

Yeah you are inevitably going to be dealing with some* noise but you'll quickly be able to discern anything abnormal.

 

If you only have 2 modules you only need 2 cables as you can run the modules in serial.