Here's the overview: - 30-40 electret mics; each connected to a 2 conductor wire about 6-8 feet in length - the wires go into the ever-popular "magical black box" - one balanced or unbalanced, line or mic level signal comes out of the box to be plugged into an audio mixer The problem I've had is answering the question, "what's in the black box?" I need to create a circuit which will mix all the signals and send them out as one. I've also wondered if I can get away with using strips of ribbon cable for the 2 conductor wire and not receive much in the way of interference, or is that not possible? My goal is to have a circuit with as few components as possible, and I just can't seem to put together the information I found on op amps and other audio preamp-related ICs to feel confident. Can someone out there help me? j.