Discuss Studio 2|4 / 24c, 2|6 / 26c, 6|8 / 68c, 18|10 / 1810c, and 18|24 / 1824c USB 2.0 Interfaces Here
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Sorry for the question, I'm very new here, and I'm confused about mic inputs. As far as I know, mic level is the lowest level. But when I switch on a phantom power, my mic's output must now send line level output. Am I right? If yes, how can mic input handle line level signal?

And I also have a similar question about a DI-Box. What kind of levels are sent by both active and passive di-boxes? Am I right supposing that active di-box sends out a line-level, whereas a passive one sends mic-level signal?

And actually my questions started with a "line" trigger on my PreSonus Studio 6|8. Is the line/inst switcher affects only the TRS input? Does this mean, that XLR inputs are ALWAYS mic level inputs?

I hope I could express my worries well, so you can understand me. It's driving me insane, literally.
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by SwitchBack on Thu Jan 03, 2019 1:56 pm
Hi and welcome :)

Phantom power is needed for some types of microphones (condensers mostly) and for some types of active DI boxes. Connection is always with standard balanced XLR cabling. Dynamic microphones and passive DI boxes usually don't need or even care about phantom power but it is always good to check (in the gear's manual).

Active and passive DI boxes with XLR outputs produce a balanced microphone output level which is low level and low impedance. This combination offers plenty enough power to drive a microphone input, with a minimum amount of cable noise. This makes this type of signal very suitable for long cable runs. The difference between the various types and models of DI boxes is mostly on the input side (line level / instrument level / speaker level / ...) and in quality.

On the interface the jack part of the combo sockets is only for line output signals (higher levels, higher impedance) or instrument output signals (even higher levels, very high impedance). The jack part does not share contacts with the mic part. And there’s no phantom power on the jack contacts so no need to worry if phantom power is on or off.

Hope that helps :)

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