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I have a condenser mic that requires phantom power. I have a mixer that provides phantom power, and also a dedicated phantom power box if I need it.

I would like to hook my microphone up to my mixer, and also to my PC, so that I have two feeds that I can mix individually (I'm trying to achieve a very specific setup for Twitch streaming).

Which is the best option?:

1.) Plug an XLR splitter cable to the mic, plug one end to the mixer with phantom power on, the other end to the phantom power box to the PC.

2.) Run the mic to the phantom power box, then split from there to the mixer (phantom power off) and to the PC.

My assumption would be option 2, but I know XLR splitter cables can lose some power when they are split. I don't know if this affects it much. Would a splitter box be better?

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  • Does your PC have a real mic input ? Besides the phantom power issue, you may discover that your PC mic input cannot handle a balanced mic level.
    – audionuma
    Jan 25, 2018 at 18:52
  • It has a 3.5mm mic input, if that's what you mean.
    – Josh Riser
    Jan 25, 2018 at 19:31

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Split it after the phantom power box. This way you have only one phantom source. If you had 2, any difference between them in voltage would create current from one source to the other. I suspect nothing major would happen but it just seems better not to.

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  • That's what I was thinking. I just didn't want to 'trial-and-error' this because I know audio and power don't always mix and could cause damage, even if it makes sense. Thank you!
    – Josh Riser
    Jan 25, 2018 at 19:32

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