In our church, we have a small mixer that has jack line outs. And we have a speaker with xlr input. So we are using cable jack-xlr. Public Enemy nr.1. In that case, we must use jack cable to di box and then xlr cable to speaker. Just double-checking. great content. I am just going through all your videos
What you are doing is ok! Going from a balanced 1/4" output aka TRS to an XLR input is absolutely fine - the problem is when people try to connect a stereo unbalanced signal into an XLR input using one of these connectors 😨
Thank you!! Another incredibly valuable GLB video. In addition to finally understanding Tip/Ring/Sleeve, a major light bulb went on around the 18 minute mark. I've been wondering where the vocals on the Yardbirds "What do you Want" went....I guess the vocals must be pan-centered in the mix! Unbeknownst to me until now I was summing a stereo signal into mono. Good to hear Keith Relf again. Thank you!
I like your cable sense of humor, it really made things click... I now understand! Thank you so much for your knowledge, this video is like Gold “very valuable”
@@GLBProductions thank you. And thank you for all of your help again I greatly appreciate it! I think I am going to have to use a mixer because I need to hear my guitarist thru my stage monitor.
GLB Productions my friend, can I go from my Yamaha mixer to my kc 880 Roland so I can control the volume etc. from mixer, if so would I need to purchase an female to female xlr cable to make this work?
You should be able to make that connection with a normal guitar cable. Female to female XLRs are very rarely used for standard connections as all outputs are male and all inputs are female.
Thank you for this video. It was very educational and informative I must say. I wanted to understand the difference between TRRS & XLR. I basically wanted to know if was one better than the other. Apparently not.
You're welcome. You mean between TRS and XLR? The main difference is that XLR is a locking connector, which is REALLY important in certain applications. The other is that TRS can be wired mono balanced or stereo unbalanced which makes it more versatile as a connector.
TRRS is a connector used mainly for mobile devices - it is usually wired stereo unbalanced with the additional ring contact being used for the microphone. It is most definitely not comparable to XLR 😉
Thank you for this very informative video. I'm trying to set up a home Karaoke system and you helped me to identify the names and uses for each cable. New sub. #Karaoke here I come.😊
Even I understud a lot of this I am new too this as I am just starting on a home recording set up . I now have some idea as to what these cables are for.
I appreciate all the work you do, thank you. Started a few months ago running the soundboard at work on the weekends for the bands that play and I've learned so much from you. I really could have used this video a month ago. There's a bag of adapters we used that only made things worse. We were showing movies and trying to get sound out from the dvd into soundboard to play though our system. Hum, losing vocals, only getting right. That's where I first found your channel, with the how to connect audio from laptops to mixer. Finally went with the 2 DI boxes and correct cables. Everything went smoothly.
+Chris Fox Thanks for the message Chris, I'm really glad to hear that the videos have been helpful. The right tools are so important to getting the job done! Feel free to get in touch any time you have more questions :)
Also in the era of walkmans and analogue microcassette recorders (dictaphones) you could find this 2.5mm sized microjacks in different cofiguration: TS, TRS or TRRS. Didn't like them much, felt too fragile for the task and most of them I came across were with slightly bent tip... mechanically slightly inadequate for the task I would say.
@@Makak0007 the only application I ever saw as a good use for those, were Walkie-talkie headset connections. As a flat mono voice signal was the only thing those tiny plugs excelled at.
I've had a 2,5mm TRS on several very small audio devices/interfacaces. Quite rare though. At least here in Europe. There is also really no point in these in my opinion since they are only marginally smaller than the common 3,5mm variant.
Thanks for another grate video. Pro Tip - the moment you figure out their is a setting in PowerPoint that allows you to change the dimensions of the slide to be 16/9 or 16/10 complaint - is the moment you don't have black borders any more. 1) Design>Slide Size>Custom Slide Size 2) In the "Slide Sized for For:" drop down box select 16/9 or 16/10 3)press apply
+JOUE BIEN TECH Thank you very much for the tip! Unfortunately the projection screens in the university are all 4:3 aspect ratio and if I change it in the programme the images all become distorted. Nevertheless if I ever do a slideshow specifically for video capture I will most definitely begin with it in the 16:9 ratio :)
This video is SO HELPFUL even at the end of 2017. I have looked for so much of this information all over the internet and not found it in such an informative, straightforward manner as this (when I could find it at all!) Thank you so much!
25 or less students is my optimal class size. I hate my lectures with 300+ students at my big State University. That's the life of a Biology major on the pre-med track though Hopefully, the class size will thin down after my sophomore year. I've heard it will because not many students make it through the classes since they are designed to "thin the pack" my advisor told me. I only have a semester left thankfully. After my summer classes are done I'll be in the upper level classes so wish me well all. I pray the student:teacher ratio is better than before because I do much better in an environment when that ratio is closer to 1:1 as possible. Sorry for my rambling. Great video! It's important information so I really appreciate the time to explain this for myself and everyone else. I am building a very premium home theater system and really upgrading both the input and output audio with my custom PC build so this has really helped. Cheers everyone!
Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video helpful. 300+ is pretty hopeless for any sort of one on one attention although big lectures do have their uses. all the best for your future! (and don't believe the hype about gold-plated everything ;)
This connector can be also be used with certain other types of accessories. While 2.5mm was the original standard for phone headsets, the slightly larger 3.5mm size is standard for music headphones and is now the more common size on phones. See: Headphone Jack (3.5mm)
This is very informative indeed, thank you for the presentation! Was looking for an explanation on TRRS (4-pole) audio/microphone splitter to connect my Zoom H2n microphone and headset to my iPhone 6s so that I can use the app "Sing!". Your video has taught me so much!
Nicely done. From my perspective here in the US, "jack plug" seems to be more common in the UK or Europe. And I was quite confused the first time I encountered it. 2.5mm phone plugs are often encountered on small (and even medium size cameras. For example many Sony (and Canon) cameras have a "Lan-C" remote control connector which typically uses 2.5mm phone.
Yes the terms applied to this particular connector are legion, and all of them have issues! 'Phone' is too easy to confuse with 'phono' and 'jack' does not differentiate between the plug and the socket. Guitar cable is pretty universally understood but does not differentiate between two and three conductor versions ie between TS and TRS. Fortunately most professional sound engineers understand TS and TRS! Those 2.5mm plugs scare me a bit - they seem really easy to bend, and impossible to repair if they go wrong...
In the computer industry in Texas at least, we generally refer to the 3.5mm jacks as eighth inch jacks, and the 6.3mm jacks as quarter inch jacks... for fairly obvious reasons. However, I've never heard anyone add the word "plug" after jack, and I've definitely never heard it called a phone connector, although perhaps the artist/audiophile community might use those terms. Colloquially, I've heard a lot of people call the 3.5mm a headphone jack, or just "jack" with no other descriptors because it's so ubiquitous. Another thing I hear people doing around here is using the word "jack" to replace the word "plug," "port," or "connector." As in telephone jack, RCA jack, Ethernet jack, component jack, etc. I suppose we might call it a jack plug if we were trying to emphasize that we were talking about the male part of the connection, but I hear people use "male jack" and "female jack" to do that fairly often. If you talked to most people around here about a phone connector, they'd probably scratch their heads and think you wanted an RJ11 cable after pondering it for a moment.
Jeremy Andrews Yes there are tons of variations on these names in different parts of the world. The words plug and socket are added after the word jack to differentiate the male and female versions of the quarter inch connector respectively. So jack plug = male jack and jack socket = female jack. However you really should not use the term jack professionally as it doesn't distinguish between balanced and unbalanced versions of the connector. At the end of the day each region has its own norms which is part of the colour of our industry, just like the words tube and valve, sidewalk and pavement etc ;) Being in Singapore I work with artists and engineers from all over the world so need to be versatile.
Very nice video. I have one question thought : I have seen cables that are xlr to 1/4" Jack (TS). Would that be an unbalanced cable? Would a xlr to 1/4" Jack (TRS) be a better option for a balanced output?
Hi Dom, an XLR to TS cable would generally result in an unbalanced signal - an XLR to TRS cable is the correct choice to ensure that the signal is balanced, assuming a balanced output in the first place.
I'm not an audio professional at all, but I've encountered a lot of these connectors by chance, simply because I have tried to attach a stereo system with RCA inputs and a microphone with an XLR output to my PC. I was worried that trying to use adapters to 3.5mm jack inputs would reduce sound quality, so I purchased a Sound Blaster ZxR that had RCA and 6.3mm jacks. I hooked my stereo system directly up to the Sound Blaster using RCA to RCA cables, and it sounds okay. Although since I did this, it seems like most of the information I've found tells me that RCA cable quality isn't much better than 3.5mm jack cable quality, and that I wouldn't have lost much in the conversion anyway. The big problem I'm having is with my ATR1300 Microphone... it came with an XLR to 6.3mm cable. Before I got the card, I tried using it with an XLR to USB cable... but it sounded too quiet. After getting the card, I tried using the cable it came with, and it worked a little better, but I had to max out the volume on the microphone input in the sound card's configuration to be able to use it. I've heard that you're actually supposed to use something called an "amp" with any microphone that uses XLR, but I was really hoping to avoid that because all the good ones that don't use ancient tube technology from the 50's look really expensive, and there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot in between tinny webcam microphones, and professional microphones that require complex and expensive equipment like one of these "amp" things in order to sound good.
Dynamic mics have a very low output signal, anywhere from 0.001 volts to 0.1 volts so they always need what is called a mic preamp - all mixers with XLR inputs have mic preamps built into them, so you don't have to buy anything esoteric or expensive to get great results. You can get stand alone mic preamps but they are not at all necessary. Nowadays the standard way to connect audio to a computer is to use an external USB audio interface - this will have XLR and quarter inch inputs as well as the necessary analog to digital converters, and a USB output to your computer. They are very easy to install and use once you get the hang of them. Given your background I'm sure you'll have no trouble. Let me know if you need more info, either here or via CZcams PM/Facebook.
Thanks. I'm looking at the standalone preamps precisely because I don't have a mixer (the microphone is plugged directly into the sound card right now), and I'm really only looking to record my voice. If I go on Amazon and look up "solid state amplifiers," I'll see devices that are hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, looking up "microphone preamp" after you mentioned the term did bring up one device called a Rolls MP13 that seems perfect for what I want to do, and it's only $60. I'm also wondering what a patch cable is, and whether it can be used for the connections from the Microphone to the preamp, and from the preamp to the sound card. With Ethernet, a patch cable is wired backwards from a normal cable to network two computers directly without a hub or switch between them, and I have no idea what the term means in audio. The two cables I'm planning to get are manufactured by a company called Mogami. A lot of the other brands available looked dodgy, and I really didn't want to get something that doesn't work well. So what I'm thinking about is using these three items... www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BG2QI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E1P2G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2U51KSM586401 www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E28Z4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A24Y81WDV8WLQ2 To connect this thing: www.amazon.com/Technica-ATR-1300-Unidirectional-Instrument-Microphone/dp/B01MFGI639/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1482821347&sr=1-2&keywords=atr1300 To this thing: www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1482821527&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=sound+blaster+zxr The bad thing about the USB stuff is that, from what I gather, it would completely bypass the Sound Blaster I just paid a lot of money for last year and act as a sound card in and of itself. I'd be willing to do that if there's no other reasonable way, but I'd rather not (perhaps a little bit of sunk cost fallacy on my part, I know). Would the setup I'm planning work a lot better than having the microphone directly wired into the Sound Blaster's 6.3mm port with an XLR to unbalanced 6.3mm cable like I have it now?
Jeremy looking at your set up, your soundcard appears to have a microphone input - you mentioned in your post above that you had to max out the input volume in order to use it. When you did, did you get acceptable results? I'm trying to get your existing setup to work without you needing to buy any extra gear.
GLB Productions Well, I've been living with it for about a year like this, so I guess it's tolerable, but I was hoping it could be better. I have to speak pretty loudly and it doesn't pick up whispers or softer speech very well even if my lips are within a centimeter of touching it. I don't mind it not being able to work at a distance, because it's mounted to a short little stand right next to my keyboard/mouse anyway. One of the things I like about the microphone is the fact that it doesn't pick up all the background noise or echo what comes out of my speakers if something else is playing while I'm talking. A lot of computer microphones I've used have that problem (unless I wear a headset with a built-in microphone, but I don't like wearing a headset because they're uncomfortable). And now I have the opposite problem, that it won't pick up anything unless I'm right on top of it.
It sounds to me as though you simply need a bit more gain - in this case, purchasing the Rolls preamp may be the perfect solution - connect the mic to the preamp using an XLR cable and then use the XLR to quarter inch cable to run into your soundcard. You will need to check if the input to your soundcard is balanced or unbalanced - if unbalanced you can use a regular guitar cable to make the second connection. Mogami is a good brand. Dynamic mics have the advantage of picking up less background noise than condensers, which are featured in virtually all headset mics because they can be made very small and light. In audio a patch cable is any short cable, generally one meter or less. They are wired exactly the same as 'normal' cables :)
Thanks Bruno Luse, you are the best teacher i tell you... you really got time to explain and demonstrate. I'm so greatful to have your teachings. Now i need help on how to use the DBX Driverack PA and RKB DX 3.6 processors, for good outdoor sound. I have many more to know and am ready to learn. Thanks Sir.
Hey Bruno, quick question. Does converting mic levels signals to line level through an audio adaptor/cable cause impedance issues? Eg. Connecting a microphone into a line in input on a mixer using an XLR to TRS cable. If so, what would be the use of these kinds of cables? And what are the uses of the adaptors? Great content as always!
A simple adapter with no electronics inside has no effect on the impedance - however connecting a microphone to a line input typically will mean that you do not have enough gain to bring the mic up to a loud enough volume. XLR to TRS cables are typically used to adapt line level signals to different types of inputs and outputs.
Hi Bruno, I have used the combination of mini 1/8" jack and male XLR cable to connect smartphones/laptops to our church's new Yamaha TF3 digital mixer and previously on our old Yamaha EMX 5000 analogue system. I am aware you strongly oppose of it, but will this method damage our devices, because they worked just fine without the disappearance of the mix you mentioned in this video at 18:10. I am not sure what you meant as "ready made karaoke track" but the sound coming out from our FOH speakers from this connection is relatively good.
Hello Hean Lee it depends on how the cables you use are wired and exact topology of the inputs and outputs being connected together. If your church can afford a TF3 I would suggest that you can most certainly afford a couple of Radial ProAV1 or equivalent AV DIs. Better safe than sorry 😉
GLB Productions Quick question I hope you can advise on... is there a TS or TRS câble with RCA connection available in Singapore? TS or TRS câble (I am guessing either would work) from my audio interface then other end plugs into RCA input left and right. Thanks!
That's just where I got the image from 😉 However the connector was originally used for telephones so would probably have been used in railway communications too.
Hello, I have an issue with a device equipped with a TRRS jack plug, maybe you could help me figure this out: it's a gaming chair that has built-in "bluetooth" speakers (they are actually wired to a 3.5mm jack that you plug into a Bluetooth receiver). The sound is good over bluetooth, so listening to music is nice, but as for gaming or watching movies, there is just too much latency with the Bluetooth protocol, so I wanted to plug the 3.5mm jack directly to a sound source (laptop or smartphone). But the output sound is extremely low and goes to the right speaker only. When I slightly pull the plug from the socket (but not totally), the sound gets louder, but still on the right speaker. When toggling the pan settings in Windows, I noticed that both left and right channels output to my right speaker as if it were a mono speaker. When I try another bluetooth receiver, I have the same low sound on the right speaker only. When I plug regular headphones to the bluetooth receiver, the sound is extremely distorted, so I thought maybe it acts as a big-ass amplifier and since the speakers are not self-powered, maybe I just needed an amplifier, but the result is still the same. That's when I wondered why the jack plug is TRRS, which is weird because it's just a set of stereo speakers (so there's no microphone channel or anything else), then I don't understand why there's an additional ring on the plug. I saw that regarding TRRS, there are different wiring standards with ground and mic/video inverted, still, normally left channel should be wired to the tip and right channel to the first ring, is that correct? Nevertheless, the fact that pulling the plug a little from the socket results in better sound makes me think that maybe the right channel is wired to the second ring and not the first one. Is it possible that the wires are totally messed up?
Hi Chris there is clearly something unusual going on here - perhaps the extra terminal is being used for a purpose other than audio eg sensing/switching. I would contact the manufacturer of the chair and ask them the correct way to establish a wired connection to your device and exactly which cable you should use.
Hey bro .. I have JBL 104 Monitors & a Presonus Audio Interface ..! When i Use RCA(JBL) To Headphones(AudioInterFace) , it Sounds very Loud But When I use TRS(JBL) To TRS(AudioInterFace) it Sounds Very Low.. Almost Half Of RCA To Haedphones What Is The Reason ? Please Reply
It's due to the combination of inputs and outputs you are using - the headphones output is designed for headphones, not to connect to the input of a powered speaker ;)
What would be the proper size for a TRS male 1/4 inch connector that goes into a mic interface Focusrite Scarlet Solo 3rd generation), 16AWG, 18AWG, 20AWG, 22AWG, 26AWG, etc?? Thanks a lot!!!
For mic and line level signals the wire gauge size is not important because of the tiny amounts of current involved. You can use any size that you are comfortable working with.
2.5mm connectors are most commonly used here in America for small headsets designed to be connected to two-way radios and older cell phones. Other than that, they are considered rare.
+GLB Productions Glad I could be of help. You mentioned it is a bad idea to use 3.5mm to XLR cables to connect iPods to mic points, but is there a good way to just connect a device such as an iPod directly to a powered speaker w/ an XLR input?
+Blake-Technology! The fundamental issue with this is that the iPod has an unbalanced stereo output, whereas the mic input is balanced and mono. The *best* way to do this is to use a stereo to mono DI box with a mic level output such as the Radial ProAV1 - this will ensure that 100% percent of the original signal gets through. Alternatively you can use a minijack to 2xXLR cable but there are many possible issues here - levels will not match and you will only be getting one side of the stereo signal.
+Blake-Technology! 2.5mm connectors also are sometimes used for ir blasters on tv tuners but most use 3.5mm probably because they are more mass produced than they used to be. i know the tv tuner on my computer still uses the micro connector and you can still get radios that use them too. even though they are not common.
2,5 mm connectors are actually also used in some headphones, if they have a removable cable. Some modern senheiser heaphones still have that.(hd 518, 558, 598)
hello , please i want to ask can i connect the TRS to piano or guitar or drum or from speaker to Aux? 2. can i use the ts to put it on insert on mixer without effect the sound on mixer ? 3. what is the different between trs male and ts female ?
Hi there Peter :) 1. I'm not sure I understand your question, but you can use TRS to connect a source to a mixer IF the output of the source is balanced. Likewise you can connect a mixer to powered speaker with TRS if the mixer has a balanced 1/4" output and the speaker a balanced 1/4" input. 2. No - all insert points are wired TRS. Inserting a TS plug all the way will prevent the signal from passing through. 3. One is a 3-pole connector and the other a 2-pole.
@@GLBProductions i need to use ts to connect it to personal moniter mixer so i need to change from insert to be direct output without effect the mixer . can i use it ? 2. so if i used Trs to connect guitar or from power speaker to mixer or from amplifer to mixer will not be effect right ? so i can use it to connect the mixer with Trs ?
@@GLBProductions please i have another question how many meter i can connect from mixer to drum or guitar or sound Ts or XLR like for example can i use like 30 meters
Unbalanced TS connections should not be run more than 5 meters. Balanced connections like XLR can be run very long distances - 100m or more if necessary.
I have QSC speaker and Yamaha MG124 Mixer,i wanna connect my iphone to mixer and listen music,what kind of cable need to connect speaker and mixer?i dont use microphone or music instrument.
i have a pro audio sub that says trs cable but the store i bought the sub from sold me a ts cable can i still use the ts cable ..in place of the trs cable..?..great video...
Hy, how if I wanted to record sound that come out from speaker by connecting the speaker wire to mic wire? So I dont use Speaker and Microphone, just connecting their wire.
You can do that but you need to reduce the speaker level signal by around 40dB in order to connect to the microphone input, otherwise it will be overloaded.
With what cable should I connect digital piano (have two female jacks, l and r) to mixer stereo channel? Should I use two separate stereo balanced cables? How to know is female inserts on piano balanced or not? Is that important? And I dont understand, is there mono balanced cable?
Mono/stereo and balanced/unbalanced are two different things: for your application you can use either a single stereo, unbalanced cable or two mono unbalanced cables. The outputs on most keyboards are unbalanced - if they are balanced they will usually be on XLR. Check your manual to be sure. Mono balanced cable is also known as microphone cable 😁
In most cases it will simply create an unbalanced connection. As I said - check your manual: if the outputs are unbalanced there's no point using balanced cables.
That's a good question - if you look at the B-gauge connectors you'll notice that the tip is tapered and the ring connection is recessed, which means that when used in a normalised patchbay there is no chance of the signal being interrupted whilst inserting the plug. I'm not sure when they were developed but it was definitely around the same time as the more familiar a A-gauge.
Great detailed video as always, Bruno! In regards of 4-pole Speakon connector wiring, if I want to use it in Bridge Mode, do I wire both ends of the cable in +1&+2? Or one end in +1&+2, the other end in +1&-1? If it's the later case, which end goes into speaker and which end goes into the amp? Thanks in advance!
+Apache Cai It depends on the specific amplifier and speaker that you are connecting - check out my video on connecting an amp in bridge mode: czcams.com/video/8XLRvoRdYVE/video.html
Hey Bruno, great video as always but I have a question. You know how you said not to use minijack to trs cables for sending audio from a laptop/smartphone directly into the mixer, what if I used an aux cable with a 1/4 inch adapter on the other side? Eg. Minijack into iPhone connected into a line in point of a mixer using the minijack to 1/4 jack adaptor
The term 'aux cable' is very non-specific. I suggest you watch my video specifically on this topic and it will give you some alternatives: czcams.com/video/ge4Iynh4rcc/video.html
Oh sorry for that, but by an Aux cable, I meant a minijack to minijack cable. But could I connect one end to an iPhone or laptop and the other end into a balanced 1/4 jack adaptor which will then go directly into the line in insert point of a mixing console? I saw the other video but I was just curious if this method would also work without causing any problems with audio quality
John I'm afraid I still don't understand what you're trying to do: first of all what do you mean by a "balanced 1/4 jack adaptor"? Secondly what do you mean by "line in insert point"? The line in and insert points on a mixer are two very different things...
Okay well, this must be frustrating for you, I am truly sorry! Maybe pictures will help. So I have a Minijack cable (1. goo.gl/6hiJBC) and I connect one end to a phone or laptop. I then take the other end of the minijack cable and attach a "3.5mm minijack to a 1/4 inch jack adaptor" (2. goo.gl/t5rQ15). So the final product looks like this (3. goo.gl/e8Ah5j). Now I plug the 1/4 jack into the line input on my mixer. Since the "1/4 inch jack adaptor" has a tip, ring and sleeve, would it carry a stereo audio signal from my phone? Or would there be problems with the audio quality?
Ah ok John now I get it. That will NOT work when connected to a balanced quarter-inch input because a balanced TRS input is wired tip +ve, ring -ve and sleeve ground. When you connect an unbalanced stereo signal using the adapter above your input signal is wired tip left, right right and sleeve ground. The end result of this is cancellation of whatever is common to the left and right channels due the common mode rejection in the balanced input. This is one of the most common errors I see when it comes to audio hookups anywhere. What you need is a minijack to two quarter inch unbalanced connectors as shown in the video, and use TWO channels on your mixer. Hope that helps!
I have a pmp 6000 powered mixer and I goin to buy a set of speakers what speakers you recomend for this mixer if I buy a speakers but its 2 conecctors of 1/4 inch input it work for me? and what cable I need a speakon to ts or speakon to trs?
i have a question? is it bad to mix TRRS to TRS. For instance, I have a good headset with a 3.5mm TRRS connector. I want to buy an extension cable for this particular headset to have more slack. I am mainly going to use this for music audio, should i go with a TRS extension or TRRS extension? p.s. i am worried about bad sound interference and poor audio quality
I ended up getting here in my quest to answer something, maybe you can help me? Is there a way to get my old iphone classic earphones (3 pole, so two rings) (is it TRS?) to a typical samsung galaxy S7 4 pole (3 rings)(is that TRRS?) female socket. Is it possible? I tried a "supposed" 3 pole to 4 pole adaptor but it didnt work, am I missing something? Would like to learn.
Hmm, I'm not sure if I can be of much help here because I don't and have never owned an iphone. However in my experience any set of earphones with a 3-pole/TRS connector will work in the newer 4-pole/TRRS sockets. The reason for this is that the tip and first ring are still audio left and right, the second ring being used for the headset microphone. So connecting a TRS connector to a TRRS socket will just ground the second ring, leaving your audio intact. What happens when you try connecting with no adaptor?
Are twin mono cables any good, to connect keyboard, korg (stereo) to mixer l and r ? Is it better twin cable like Stagg STC6P, or take two indepened cables?
Yes you can use any verbal shorthand that works for your city/region. In my part of the world we often use 'minijack to quarter-inch' because there is only one type of cable that contains these two types of connectors in pro audio. The same type of cable with a TRS in place of the minijack is referred to as an insert cable so there is never any confusion.
I don't know anyone who calls 1/4" male connectors jacks. A 1/4" Male to the same would be called an instrument cable. Usually a TRS to dual TS cable will be called a Send/Return Cable despite it's use. Sub Mini Jacks or TTS cables are also used in some patch bays today because of their small size.
Hey bruno have a korg workstation hooked to mixer...... the outputs from the keyboard are unbalanced should i be using regular ts cables...and not trs ...please respond thx....im a noob
I have two female 2,5mm TS mounts on my over-ear-headphones (Wood on ear by inLine). They connect to a single male 3,2mm TRRS plug (this cable has a little microphone and a Play/Pause control)
Thanks for the video! Very informative. Is it possible for you to make a tutorial video explaining how to connect a single TRS stereo output signal to a mono input. For example, I have a Avantone mix cube in my studio and i use it to check tonality in my mixes and individual tracks. But because I only have one mix cube I was wondering if there was a way I could connect it straight form my interface (RME babyface) so that its receiving a mono signal. I know it could be done if I bought a monitor controller, but good ones that don't colour the sound slightly are quite expensive so I want to avoid that until I can buy a very good one.
+Nikos-A-Music Thanks for getting in touch! The best way to do this is through a stereo to mono DI box such as the Radial ProAV1. My video review shows how this works and the results: czcams.com/video/iDtSSRefIak/video.html
thanks for the video its very helpful, small request can you pls explain is there any +4, -4 audio level different in XLR and jack connector,overview of sennheiser microphone and and how to do internal setup wireless microphone ,
great video sir.... thank you... i wanna ask one thing , can i use stage mic for my smartphone vid recording. how can make a cable with 3.5 mm jack and xlr jack... ??
I don't recommend that as typically you won't have enough gain and the smartphone input is not designed to work as a mic preamp - either use a USB microphone or run the mic through a mixer first.
Thank you for this information, it has really been helpful not just for me, but for my church as well!! I do, however, have a question regarding balanced/unbalanced speaker cables since I'm a bit confused on the topic and after watching some of your videos, I do have great trust in your knowledge and information. They say unbalanced cables aren't recommended for lengths longer than 15ft due to noise and interference. However, for passive speaker cabinets that only take 1/4" jacks and speaker level inputs being mono (I suppose), how do I make a 50ft 1/4" mono speaker cable balanced so that it doesn't become susceptible to noise and interference? I've looked in many places for this information but can't seem to find an answer! Please help!
Hi Jegs nice to hear from you. The balanced/unbalanced requirement applies only to cables carrying low levels signals ie mic and line level. Speaker cables are almost always unbalanced, having only a hot and ground connection. There is generally no need to have a balanced connection at this point in the signal chain because there is no signal gain applied at the speaker end - it has already been done by the power amplifier. Hence any noise picked up will not be amplified further. In addition, as the signal strength here is very high, any interference picked up will generally be inaudible due to the very high signal to noise ratio. So don't worry about it :)
awesome explanation. I have trs y cable to xlr. Can I use this for my mixer that has 1/4" L R output to xlr recorder? I bought the wrong cable and hope it works....ugggh. thank you
It depends if the cable is TRS to XLR male or female - for mixer to recorder you'll need a TRS output and an XLR input on the recorder. Remember that this is usually NOT a stereo connection, so you'll need two such cables if you want to record in stereo.
At 11:22 on sub-mini jack, I used to have a Palm Centro phone many years ago. It had one of those damn sub-mini headphone jacks. I had to use an adapter to use ordinary 3.5mm headphones. It was before Android/iPhone days.
Thank for the video every helpful. Small question, I have a mixer without subgroup insert. Is it OK to modify four insert trs jack to two ts (tip & ring) jack?. needed to connect one compressor to four vocal mics.
I'm using Mackie VLZ4 1642. I'm connecting 4 microphones to chanel 1-4. I want to insert a compressor to those microphone channels. The problem is my mixer doesn't have subgroup insert and I only can buy one compressor at the moment. I was thinking about soldering 4 Y-cables together. Will this be OK to do?
No I don't think that would work! The best approach for you would be to insert the compressor on the main mix inserts. Alternatively you could connect the compressor inline between your mixer and your amplifier.
Very informative video. I only have a question that I can't answer yet. I just bought a pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors and I don't know which plug would be better for those, XLR or TRS? What's the difference? Thanks
+Javier Ferrari (JavoK's) Thanks for watching! XLR and TRS are both balanced so the only difference is that one is a locking connector and the other is not. Personally I prefer XLR because I make my own cables and they are much easier to solder ;)
DO THEY MAKE AND RCA TO 1/4 BALANCED CABLE? I KEEP GETTING BUZZ FROM MY DIGIDESIGN 003 RACK TO MY STEREO RCA IN USING 1/4 TO RCA MAYBE BAD CABLES OR CHEAP BRAND?
+Daniel Walters No Daniel they do not - an RCA connector is unbalanced by definition so in order to balance it you would need to run through a DI box. You can then convert the output of the DI box to TRS or just use an XLR cable to make your connection.
Thank you Bruno for your awesome videos, very informative and detailed. I have a question. How can I connect from a balanced stereo output (I.e. Yamaha Mixer MG06X) to my power amplifier unbalanced input (RCA)? Can I just get 2 cables with TS (1/4”) jack at one end and a RCA jack on the other end to connect to each L and R channel? I am a little confuse about the balanced stereo output of the mixer.
On that mixer the quarter inch main outputs can be balanced or unbalanced depending on which connector you use, so what you suggest above is the solution I would recommend :)
Sure!Actually there are several ways to achieve that...first of all you have to take the audio apart from the video...then you could use a DAW or audio editor either with a notch filter eq on the incriminated noises or use a FFT based noise capture in a small portion where is only present the noise... :) Ok,but if I connect it to 2 mono channels,I,ll have to pan hard left and hard right though? And do you know if exists an unbalanced stereo input?in order to avoid splitting if possible...
+Cris Valk Haha actually I was trying to avoid having to record the audio separately - it makes for more post-production work! However there is no doubt that that gives the best quality. If you connect to two mono channels you must pan them hard left and right IF you are running a stereo PA system - if mono they they should both panned centre. Yes, some mixers have unbalanced stereo inputs on RCA connectors - however they still use a separate connector for the left and right channel. No way to get around that I'm afraid ;)
+GLB Productions Actually,you don't have to record audio separately...you can simply extract it from the video and then do the editing...once you're done reattach it to the video :) Ok but why with all headphones output you can use only one cable to connect them?or maybe the signal splits internally?
i have a question i have a headphone with a microphone built in with a jack that is 3.5 mm and my sound card plug in is 6.5 mm. How can I use it without messing up the sound and mic? Do i get the trs or the trrs?
Extremely useful video on audio connectors. Most important, no annoying background music. Amazing and Thank You !
You're welcome Rak!
When the male connects with the female they make sweet music 🎵
A million youtubes later ...here I am....Finally a decent explanation for complete explanation of the cables I was looking for...BIG THANK YOU
You're most welcome Rosi, welcome to the channel!
I was just sitting minding my business and I decided to look up how audio connectors work. Thanks this is very informative.
Glad the video was helpful :)
In our church, we have a small mixer that has jack line outs. And we have a speaker with xlr input. So we are using cable jack-xlr. Public Enemy nr.1. In that case, we must use jack cable to di box and then xlr cable to speaker. Just double-checking. great content. I am just going through all your videos
What you are doing is ok! Going from a balanced 1/4" output aka TRS to an XLR input is absolutely fine - the problem is when people try to connect a stereo unbalanced signal into an XLR input using one of these connectors 😨
Bruno is the BEST!!! He really knows his stuff. Very knowledgeable in many different aspects of audio gear and accessories .. Peace Bruno!!
Thank you!! Another incredibly valuable GLB video. In addition to finally understanding Tip/Ring/Sleeve, a major light bulb went on around the 18 minute mark. I've been wondering where the vocals on the Yardbirds "What do you Want" went....I guess the vocals must be pan-centered in the mix! Unbeknownst to me until now I was summing a stereo signal into mono. Good to hear Keith Relf again. Thank you!
Isn't it great when that kind of thing clicks in your brain? 😊
That is pleasure to hear your pronunciation and voice. The speech is like a song. Thank you!
Btw, English is not my mother tongue, mine is Russian :-)
Very glad to hear that, thank you for watching!
Thank you for featuring the Cannon XLR. Great video
You're welcome! You have a liking for that particular connector?
@@GLBProductions i am working for Cannon. ;)
Aha! Does your company have any plans to start manufacturing audio connectors again?
I like your cable sense of humor, it really made things click... I now understand! Thank you so much for your knowledge, this video is like Gold “very valuable”
That's great - all the best with building your system and with your music!
@@GLBProductions thank you. And thank you for all of your help again I greatly appreciate it! I think I am going to have to use a mixer because I need to hear my guitarist thru my stage monitor.
GLB Productions my friend, can I go from my Yamaha mixer to my kc 880 Roland so I can control the volume etc. from mixer, if so would I need to purchase an female to female xlr cable to make this work?
You should be able to make that connection with a normal guitar cable. Female to female XLRs are very rarely used for standard connections as all outputs are male and all inputs are female.
GLB Productions thank you very much I will give this a try tomorrow, I appreciate your time.
Excellent video!! Thanks so much for this clear information. I needed a quick laugh too.
Glad it was helpful!
Thank you for this video. It was very educational and informative I must say. I wanted to understand the difference between TRRS & XLR. I basically wanted to know if was one better than the other. Apparently not.
You're welcome. You mean between TRS and XLR? The main difference is that XLR is a locking connector, which is REALLY important in certain applications. The other is that TRS can be wired mono balanced or stereo unbalanced which makes it more versatile as a connector.
@@GLBProductions I see....is a TRRS 3.5mm connector balanced or unbalanced? I know XLR is balanced.
TRRS is a connector used mainly for mobile devices - it is usually wired stereo unbalanced with the additional ring contact being used for the microphone. It is most definitely not comparable to XLR 😉
@@GLBProductions I understand now. Your quick responses and answers are very much appreciated. Thank you!
You're welcome Keith!
Thank you for your valuable information I'm from india i love your videos
You're welcome :)
Thank you for this very informative video. I'm trying to set up a home Karaoke system and you helped me to identify the names and uses for each cable.
New sub.
#Karaoke here I come.😊
All the best with your new system!
Even I understud a lot of this I am new too this as I am just starting on a home recording set up .
I now have some idea as to what these cables are for.
Glad the video was helpful :)
I appreciate all the work you do, thank you. Started a few months ago running the soundboard at work on the weekends for the bands that play and I've learned so much from you.
I really could have used this video a month ago. There's a bag of adapters we used that only made things worse. We were showing movies and trying to get sound out from the dvd into soundboard to play though our system. Hum, losing vocals, only getting right. That's where I first found your channel, with the how to connect audio from laptops to mixer. Finally went with the 2 DI boxes and correct cables. Everything went smoothly.
+Chris Fox Thanks for the message Chris, I'm really glad to hear that the videos have been helpful. The right tools are so important to getting the job done! Feel free to get in touch any time you have more questions :)
4 pole 2.5mm trrs are use for balanced headphone cables sometimes too
The 2.5 mm plugs were used on video game controllers for microphone, also cell phone headsets some years ago
Yes I remember those - thanks for the comment!
Also in the era of walkmans and analogue microcassette recorders (dictaphones) you could find this 2.5mm sized microjacks in different cofiguration: TS, TRS or TRRS. Didn't like them much, felt too fragile for the task and most of them I came across were with slightly bent tip... mechanically slightly inadequate for the task I would say.
@@Makak0007 the only application I ever saw as a good use for those, were Walkie-talkie headset connections. As a flat mono voice signal was the only thing those tiny plugs excelled at.
Very informative and useful,
Thanks for watching :)
Great explanation! Thank you for posting.
You're welcome Anthony.
Great content sir. Very helpful!
Thanks for watching, Mayur!
Always enjoy your presentations. At 72, I learn something because I can understand them. Thanks. JimE
+Jim E You're welcome Jim, glad you are a lifelong learner!
Thank you very much for the excellent explanation
You're welcome Javier!
I've had a 2,5mm TRS on several very small audio devices/interfacaces.
Quite rare though. At least here in Europe. There is also really no point in these in my opinion since they are only marginally smaller than the common 3,5mm variant.
Thanks for the contribution :)
Thanks for another grate video.
Pro Tip - the moment you figure out their is a setting in PowerPoint that allows you to change the dimensions of the slide to be 16/9 or 16/10 complaint - is the moment you don't have black borders any more.
1) Design>Slide Size>Custom Slide Size
2) In the "Slide Sized for For:" drop down box select 16/9 or 16/10
3)press apply
+JOUE BIEN TECH Thank you very much for the tip! Unfortunately the projection screens in the university are all 4:3 aspect ratio and if I change it in the programme the images all become distorted. Nevertheless if I ever do a slideshow specifically for video capture I will most definitely begin with it in the 16:9 ratio :)
L
My Bose quiet comfort has the 2.5 at the headphone and 3.5 for the computer.
Yes it's the same for my Audio-Technicas.
This video is SO HELPFUL even at the end of 2017. I have looked for so much of this information all over the internet and not found it in such an informative, straightforward manner as this (when I could find it at all!) Thank you so much!
You're welcome, glad the video was helpful. We're fortunate that in the pro audio industry connectors don't change all that frequently :)
25 or less students is my optimal class size. I hate my lectures with 300+ students at my big State University. That's the life of a Biology major on the pre-med track though Hopefully, the class size will thin down after my sophomore year. I've heard it will because not many students make it through the classes since they are designed to "thin the pack" my advisor told me. I only have a semester left thankfully. After my summer classes are done I'll be in the upper level classes so wish me well all. I pray the student:teacher ratio is better than before because I do much better in an environment when that ratio is closer to 1:1 as possible. Sorry for my rambling. Great video! It's important information so I really appreciate the time to explain this for myself and everyone else. I am building a very premium home theater system and really upgrading both the input and output audio with my custom PC build so this has really helped. Cheers everyone!
Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video helpful. 300+ is pretty hopeless for any sort of one on one attention although big lectures do have their uses. all the best for your future! (and don't believe the hype about gold-plated everything ;)
Wow, outstanding!!
Thanks for watching Scott!
Very well explained. You just saved me from making mistakes in my connections thanks
+Larry Rufus Glad to hear that, thanks for watching!
great job as always Bruno... very well done. Thank you my friend.
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Do you have a video explaining the difference between balanced/unbalanced jacks or inputs? I’m not quite understanding this. Thank you.
Have a look at my video series on DI boxes: czcams.com/video/2SBGSDKgKHo/video.html
This connector can be also be used with certain other types of accessories. While 2.5mm was the original standard for phone headsets, the slightly larger 3.5mm size is standard for music headphones and is now the more common size on phones. See: Headphone Jack (3.5mm)
Well done, Sir! Very helpful inforrmation & excellent delivery!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
This is very informative indeed, thank you for the presentation!
Was looking for an explanation on TRRS (4-pole) audio/microphone splitter to connect my Zoom H2n microphone and headset to my iPhone 6s so that I can use the app "Sing!". Your video has taught me so much!
+Kjjers Brow That's great, thanks very much for watching and supporting the channel!
Excellent video. I'm saving this for future reference. Many thanks.
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Nicely done. From my perspective here in the US, "jack plug" seems to be more common in the UK or Europe. And I was quite confused the first time I encountered it. 2.5mm phone plugs are often encountered on small (and even medium size cameras. For example many Sony (and Canon) cameras have a "Lan-C" remote control connector which typically uses 2.5mm phone.
Yes the terms applied to this particular connector are legion, and all of them have issues! 'Phone' is too easy to confuse with 'phono' and 'jack' does not differentiate between the plug and the socket. Guitar cable is pretty universally understood but does not differentiate between two and three conductor versions ie between TS and TRS. Fortunately most professional sound engineers understand TS and TRS!
Those 2.5mm plugs scare me a bit - they seem really easy to bend, and impossible to repair if they go wrong...
In the computer industry in Texas at least, we generally refer to the 3.5mm jacks as eighth inch jacks, and the 6.3mm jacks as quarter inch jacks... for fairly obvious reasons. However, I've never heard anyone add the word "plug" after jack, and I've definitely never heard it called a phone connector, although perhaps the artist/audiophile community might use those terms. Colloquially, I've heard a lot of people call the 3.5mm a headphone jack, or just "jack" with no other descriptors because it's so ubiquitous.
Another thing I hear people doing around here is using the word "jack" to replace the word "plug," "port," or "connector." As in telephone jack, RCA jack, Ethernet jack, component jack, etc. I suppose we might call it a jack plug if we were trying to emphasize that we were talking about the male part of the connection, but I hear people use "male jack" and "female jack" to do that fairly often. If you talked to most people around here about a phone connector, they'd probably scratch their heads and think you wanted an RJ11 cable after pondering it for a moment.
Jeremy Andrews Yes there are tons of variations on these names in different parts of the world. The words plug and socket are added after the word jack to differentiate the male and female versions of the quarter inch connector respectively. So jack plug = male jack and jack socket = female jack. However you really should not use the term jack professionally as it doesn't distinguish between balanced and unbalanced versions of the connector. At the end of the day each region has its own norms which is part of the colour of our industry, just like the words tube and valve, sidewalk and pavement etc ;)
Being in Singapore I work with artists and engineers from all over the world so need to be versatile.
Sir, you did not discuss the split type of 1pc 1/4 Inch TRS and 2pcs. 1/4 TS
Ah yes those are called insert cables - I cover them in this video: czcams.com/video/RLf8jXGtF8w/video.html
@@GLBProductions okay.
worth watching for audio techie
Very nice video. I have one question thought : I have seen cables that are xlr to 1/4" Jack (TS). Would that be an unbalanced cable? Would a xlr to 1/4" Jack (TRS) be a better option for a balanced output?
Hi Dom, an XLR to TS cable would generally result in an unbalanced signal - an XLR to TRS cable is the correct choice to ensure that the signal is balanced, assuming a balanced output in the first place.
Whoah! Thanks a lot! Very comprehensive and understandable for non-technical people like me.
You're welcome, glad it was easy to understand :)
I'm not an audio professional at all, but I've encountered a lot of these connectors by chance, simply because I have tried to attach a stereo system with RCA inputs and a microphone with an XLR output to my PC. I was worried that trying to use adapters to 3.5mm jack inputs would reduce sound quality, so I purchased a Sound Blaster ZxR that had RCA and 6.3mm jacks. I hooked my stereo system directly up to the Sound Blaster using RCA to RCA cables, and it sounds okay. Although since I did this, it seems like most of the information I've found tells me that RCA cable quality isn't much better than 3.5mm jack cable quality, and that I wouldn't have lost much in the conversion anyway.
The big problem I'm having is with my ATR1300 Microphone... it came with an XLR to 6.3mm cable. Before I got the card, I tried using it with an XLR to USB cable... but it sounded too quiet. After getting the card, I tried using the cable it came with, and it worked a little better, but I had to max out the volume on the microphone input in the sound card's configuration to be able to use it.
I've heard that you're actually supposed to use something called an "amp" with any microphone that uses XLR, but I was really hoping to avoid that because all the good ones that don't use ancient tube technology from the 50's look really expensive, and there just doesn't seem to be a whole lot in between tinny webcam microphones, and professional microphones that require complex and expensive equipment like one of these "amp" things in order to sound good.
Dynamic mics have a very low output signal, anywhere from 0.001 volts to 0.1 volts so they always need what is called a mic preamp - all mixers with XLR inputs have mic preamps built into them, so you don't have to buy anything esoteric or expensive to get great results. You can get stand alone mic preamps but they are not at all necessary.
Nowadays the standard way to connect audio to a computer is to use an external USB audio interface - this will have XLR and quarter inch inputs as well as the necessary analog to digital converters, and a USB output to your computer. They are very easy to install and use once you get the hang of them. Given your background I'm sure you'll have no trouble. Let me know if you need more info, either here or via CZcams PM/Facebook.
Thanks. I'm looking at the standalone preamps precisely because I don't have a mixer (the microphone is plugged directly into the sound card right now), and I'm really only looking to record my voice. If I go on Amazon and look up "solid state amplifiers," I'll see devices that are hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, looking up "microphone preamp" after you mentioned the term did bring up one device called a Rolls MP13 that seems perfect for what I want to do, and it's only $60.
I'm also wondering what a patch cable is, and whether it can be used for the connections from the Microphone to the preamp, and from the preamp to the sound card. With Ethernet, a patch cable is wired backwards from a normal cable to network two computers directly without a hub or switch between them, and I have no idea what the term means in audio. The two cables I'm planning to get are manufactured by a company called Mogami. A lot of the other brands available looked dodgy, and I really didn't want to get something that doesn't work well.
So what I'm thinking about is using these three items...
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002BG2QI/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E1P2G/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A2U51KSM586401
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002E28Z4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A24Y81WDV8WLQ2
To connect this thing:
www.amazon.com/Technica-ATR-1300-Unidirectional-Instrument-Microphone/dp/B01MFGI639/ref=sr_1_2?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1482821347&sr=1-2&keywords=atr1300
To this thing:
www.amazon.com/Creative-Blaster-Audiophile-Performance-Headphone/dp/B00AQ5PK6I/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1482821527&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=sound+blaster+zxr
The bad thing about the USB stuff is that, from what I gather, it would completely bypass the Sound Blaster I just paid a lot of money for last year and act as a sound card in and of itself. I'd be willing to do that if there's no other reasonable way, but I'd rather not (perhaps a little bit of sunk cost fallacy on my part, I know). Would the setup I'm planning work a lot better than having the microphone directly wired into the Sound Blaster's 6.3mm port with an XLR to unbalanced 6.3mm cable like I have it now?
Jeremy looking at your set up, your soundcard appears to have a microphone input - you mentioned in your post above that you had to max out the input volume in order to use it. When you did, did you get acceptable results? I'm trying to get your existing setup to work without you needing to buy any extra gear.
GLB Productions Well, I've been living with it for about a year like this, so I guess it's tolerable, but I was hoping it could be better. I have to speak pretty loudly and it doesn't pick up whispers or softer speech very well even if my lips are within a centimeter of touching it. I don't mind it not being able to work at a distance, because it's mounted to a short little stand right next to my keyboard/mouse anyway. One of the things I like about the microphone is the fact that it doesn't pick up all the background noise or echo what comes out of my speakers if something else is playing while I'm talking. A lot of computer microphones I've used have that problem (unless I wear a headset with a built-in microphone, but I don't like wearing a headset because they're uncomfortable). And now I have the opposite problem, that it won't pick up anything unless I'm right on top of it.
It sounds to me as though you simply need a bit more gain - in this case, purchasing the Rolls preamp may be the perfect solution - connect the mic to the preamp using an XLR cable and then use the XLR to quarter inch cable to run into your soundcard. You will need to check if the input to your soundcard is balanced or unbalanced - if unbalanced you can use a regular guitar cable to make the second connection. Mogami is a good brand.
Dynamic mics have the advantage of picking up less background noise than condensers, which are featured in virtually all headset mics because they can be made very small and light.
In audio a patch cable is any short cable, generally one meter or less. They are wired exactly the same as 'normal' cables :)
thanks so much for making this topic...... elementary!
+Kat Moore You're welcome, thanks for watching!
Thanks Bruno Luse, you are the best teacher i tell you... you really got time to explain and demonstrate. I'm so greatful to have your teachings. Now i need help on how to use the DBX Driverack PA and RKB DX 3.6 processors, for good outdoor sound. I have many more to know and am ready to learn. Thanks Sir.
Sorry Charles I don't have any videos on the DBX driveracks. Thanks for watching and supporting the channel!
GLB Productions oo ok thank you much but you need to do us that favor please.
Alright! Video to go with all the interested/learning reads....!!
Hey Bruno, quick question. Does converting mic levels signals to line level through an audio adaptor/cable cause impedance issues? Eg. Connecting a microphone into a line in input on a mixer using an XLR to TRS cable. If so, what would be the use of these kinds of cables? And what are the uses of the adaptors?
Great content as always!
A simple adapter with no electronics inside has no effect on the impedance - however connecting a microphone to a line input typically will mean that you do not have enough gain to bring the mic up to a loud enough volume. XLR to TRS cables are typically used to adapt line level signals to different types of inputs and outputs.
Thank you .
You're welcome Nay Tin!
Hi Bruno, I have used the combination of mini 1/8" jack and male XLR cable to connect smartphones/laptops to our church's new Yamaha TF3 digital mixer and previously on our old Yamaha EMX 5000 analogue system. I am aware you strongly oppose of it, but will this method damage our devices, because they worked just fine without the disappearance of the mix you mentioned in this video at 18:10. I am not sure what you meant as "ready made karaoke track" but the sound coming out from our FOH speakers from this connection is relatively good.
Hello Hean Lee it depends on how the cables you use are wired and exact topology of the inputs and outputs being connected together. If your church can afford a TF3 I would suggest that you can most certainly afford a couple of Radial ProAV1 or equivalent AV DIs. Better safe than sorry 😉
Very useful thanks!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
GLB Productions Quick question I hope you can advise on... is there a TS or TRS câble with RCA connection available in Singapore? TS or TRS câble (I am guessing either would work) from my audio interface then other end plugs into RCA input left and right. Thanks!
Ready made cables like that are a but difficult to find so people will normally buy an RCA to RCA cable and then use RCA to TS adapters on one end.
Useful
Thanks so much, very helpful!
You're welcome, thanks for watching!
love all your videos!!!
+Robert Kleiner Thanks for watching, really appreciate your support :)
What does this have to do with railroads at 10:18? Did railroads, at one time, use these for communications, too?
That's just where I got the image from 😉 However the connector was originally used for telephones so would probably have been used in railway communications too.
@@GLBProductions Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense :-)
Hello,
I have an issue with a device equipped with a TRRS jack plug, maybe you could help me figure this out: it's a gaming chair that has built-in "bluetooth" speakers (they are actually wired to a 3.5mm jack that you plug into a Bluetooth receiver).
The sound is good over bluetooth, so listening to music is nice, but as for gaming or watching movies, there is just too much latency with the Bluetooth protocol, so I wanted to plug the 3.5mm jack directly to a sound source (laptop or smartphone).
But the output sound is extremely low and goes to the right speaker only. When I slightly pull the plug from the socket (but not totally), the sound gets louder, but still on the right speaker.
When toggling the pan settings in Windows, I noticed that both left and right channels output to my right speaker as if it were a mono speaker.
When I try another bluetooth receiver, I have the same low sound on the right speaker only.
When I plug regular headphones to the bluetooth receiver, the sound is extremely distorted, so I thought maybe it acts as a big-ass amplifier and since the speakers are not self-powered, maybe I just needed an amplifier, but the result is still the same.
That's when I wondered why the jack plug is TRRS, which is weird because it's just a set of stereo speakers (so there's no microphone channel or anything else), then I don't understand why there's an additional ring on the plug.
I saw that regarding TRRS, there are different wiring standards with ground and mic/video inverted, still, normally left channel should be wired to the tip and right channel to the first ring, is that correct?
Nevertheless, the fact that pulling the plug a little from the socket results in better sound makes me think that maybe the right channel is wired to the second ring and not the first one.
Is it possible that the wires are totally messed up?
Hi Chris there is clearly something unusual going on here - perhaps the extra terminal is being used for a purpose other than audio eg sensing/switching. I would contact the manufacturer of the chair and ask them the correct way to establish a wired connection to your device and exactly which cable you should use.
Hey bro .. I have JBL 104 Monitors & a Presonus Audio Interface ..!
When i Use RCA(JBL) To Headphones(AudioInterFace) , it Sounds very Loud But When I use TRS(JBL) To TRS(AudioInterFace) it Sounds Very Low.. Almost Half Of RCA To Haedphones
What Is The Reason ? Please Reply
It's due to the combination of inputs and outputs you are using - the headphones output is designed for headphones, not to connect to the input of a powered speaker ;)
What would be the proper size for a TRS male 1/4 inch connector that goes into a mic interface Focusrite Scarlet Solo 3rd generation), 16AWG, 18AWG, 20AWG, 22AWG, 26AWG, etc?? Thanks a lot!!!
For mic and line level signals the wire gauge size is not important because of the tiny amounts of current involved. You can use any size that you are comfortable working with.
Congratulations, you have a nice pronunciation. You could easly read for radio or tv.
Thanks for watching Mario :)
2.5mm connectors are most commonly used here in America for small headsets designed to be connected to two-way radios and older cell phones. Other than that, they are considered rare.
+Blake-Technology! Thanks for the information - thinking back I do recall seeing these small plugs used on 2-way radios!
+GLB Productions Glad I could be of help.
You mentioned it is a bad idea to use 3.5mm to XLR cables to connect iPods to mic points, but is there a good way to just connect a device such as an iPod directly to a powered speaker w/ an XLR input?
+Blake-Technology! The fundamental issue with this is that the iPod has an unbalanced stereo output, whereas the mic input is balanced and mono. The *best* way to do this is to use a stereo to mono DI box with a mic level output such as the Radial ProAV1 - this will ensure that 100% percent of the original signal gets through. Alternatively you can use a minijack to 2xXLR cable but there are many possible issues here - levels will not match and you will only be getting one side of the stereo signal.
+GLB Productions
Thanks for the advice, maybe I will consider the DI or just getting a decent compact mixer.
+Blake-Technology! 2.5mm connectors also are sometimes used for ir blasters on tv tuners but most use 3.5mm probably because they are more mass produced than they used to be. i know the tv tuner on my computer still uses the micro connector and you can still get radios that use them too. even though they are not common.
2,5 mm connectors are actually also used in some headphones, if they have a removable cable. Some modern senheiser heaphones still have that.(hd 518, 558, 598)
Excellent points, thanks for your contribution!
hello , please i want to ask can i connect the TRS to piano or guitar or drum or from speaker to Aux? 2. can i use the ts to put it on insert on mixer without effect the sound on mixer ?
3. what is the different between trs male and ts female ?
Hi there Peter :)
1. I'm not sure I understand your question, but you can use TRS to connect a source to a mixer IF the output of the source is balanced. Likewise you can connect a mixer to powered speaker with TRS if the mixer has a balanced 1/4" output and the speaker a balanced 1/4" input.
2. No - all insert points are wired TRS. Inserting a TS plug all the way will prevent the signal from passing through.
3. One is a 3-pole connector and the other a 2-pole.
@@GLBProductions i need to use ts to connect it to personal moniter mixer so i need to change from insert to be direct output without effect the mixer . can i use it ?
2. so if i used Trs to connect guitar or from power speaker to mixer or from amplifer to mixer will not be effect right ? so i can use it to connect the mixer with Trs ?
@@GLBProductions please i have another question how many meter i can connect from mixer to drum or guitar or sound Ts or XLR like for example can i use like 30 meters
Unbalanced TS connections should not be run more than 5 meters. Balanced connections like XLR can be run very long distances - 100m or more if necessary.
I have QSC speaker and Yamaha MG124 Mixer,i wanna connect my iphone to mixer and listen music,what kind of cable need to connect speaker and mixer?i dont use microphone or music instrument.
This video will give you more info: czcams.com/video/ge4Iynh4rcc/video.html
i have a pro audio sub that says trs cable but the store i bought the sub from sold me a ts cable can i still use the ts cable ..in place of the trs cable..?..great video...
Yes you can, although you may have noise issues due to the unbalanced connection.
Hy, how if I wanted to record sound that come out from speaker by connecting the speaker wire to mic wire? So I dont use Speaker and Microphone, just connecting their wire.
You can do that but you need to reduce the speaker level signal by around 40dB in order to connect to the microphone input, otherwise it will be overloaded.
With what cable should I connect digital piano (have two female jacks, l and r) to mixer stereo channel? Should I use two separate stereo balanced cables? How to know is female inserts on piano balanced or not? Is that important? And I dont understand, is there mono balanced cable?
Mono/stereo and balanced/unbalanced are two different things: for your application you can use either a single stereo, unbalanced cable or two mono unbalanced cables. The outputs on most keyboards are unbalanced - if they are balanced they will usually be on XLR. Check your manual to be sure.
Mono balanced cable is also known as microphone cable 😁
@@GLBProductions Thank you. What will happen if I insert two mono balanced 1/4 cable in digital piano?
In most cases it will simply create an unbalanced connection. As I said - check your manual: if the outputs are unbalanced there's no point using balanced cables.
@@GLBProductions Ok, Thank you. Piano is older, Ill try to find manual on internet.
Totorial cara mengurotkan gelang hansed hp
Maaf tapi saya bukan ahli elektronik konsumen.
جميل جدا
Very nice. Thanks!
+Fabio Kasper You're welcome, thanks for watching.
What about the ‘B’ gauge connectors? Did they come along after the invention of regular 1/4 phone connectors?
That's a good question - if you look at the B-gauge connectors you'll notice that the tip is tapered and the ring connection is recessed, which means that when used in a normalised patchbay there is no chance of the signal being interrupted whilst inserting the plug. I'm not sure when they were developed but it was definitely around the same time as the more familiar a A-gauge.
Great detailed video as always, Bruno! In regards of 4-pole Speakon connector wiring, if I want to use it in Bridge Mode, do I wire both ends of the cable in +1&+2? Or one end in +1&+2, the other end in +1&-1? If it's the later case, which end goes into speaker and which end goes into the amp? Thanks in advance!
+Apache Cai It depends on the specific amplifier and speaker that you are connecting - check out my video on connecting an amp in bridge mode: czcams.com/video/8XLRvoRdYVE/video.html
Hey Bruno, great video as always but I have a question. You know how you said not to use minijack to trs cables for sending audio from a laptop/smartphone directly into the mixer, what if I used an aux cable with a 1/4 inch adapter on the other side? Eg. Minijack into iPhone connected into a line in point of a mixer using the minijack to 1/4 jack adaptor
The term 'aux cable' is very non-specific. I suggest you watch my video specifically on this topic and it will give you some alternatives: czcams.com/video/ge4Iynh4rcc/video.html
Oh sorry for that, but by an Aux cable, I meant a minijack to minijack cable. But could I connect one end to an iPhone or laptop and the other end into a balanced 1/4 jack adaptor which will then go directly into the line in insert point of a mixing console? I saw the other video but I was just curious if this method would also work without causing any problems with audio quality
John I'm afraid I still don't understand what you're trying to do: first of all what do you mean by a "balanced 1/4 jack adaptor"? Secondly what do you mean by "line in insert point"? The line in and insert points on a mixer are two very different things...
Okay well, this must be frustrating for you, I am truly sorry! Maybe pictures will help. So I have a Minijack cable (1. goo.gl/6hiJBC) and I connect one end to a phone or laptop. I then take the other end of the minijack cable and attach a "3.5mm minijack to a 1/4 inch jack adaptor"
(2. goo.gl/t5rQ15). So the final product looks like this (3. goo.gl/e8Ah5j). Now I plug the 1/4 jack into the line input on my mixer. Since the "1/4 inch jack adaptor" has a tip, ring and sleeve, would it carry a stereo audio signal from my phone? Or would there be problems with the audio quality?
Ah ok John now I get it. That will NOT work when connected to a balanced quarter-inch input because a balanced TRS input is wired tip +ve, ring -ve and sleeve ground. When you connect an unbalanced stereo signal using the adapter above your input signal is wired tip left, right right and sleeve ground. The end result of this is cancellation of whatever is common to the left and right channels due the common mode rejection in the balanced input. This is one of the most common errors I see when it comes to audio hookups anywhere. What you need is a minijack to two quarter inch unbalanced connectors as shown in the video, and use TWO channels on your mixer. Hope that helps!
I have a pmp 6000 powered mixer and I goin to buy a set of speakers what speakers you recomend for this mixer if I buy a speakers but its 2 conecctors of 1/4 inch input it work for me? and what cable I need a speakon to ts or speakon to trs?
Please watch my video on this subject: czcams.com/video/l9L7uK7Xy0w/video.html
i have a question? is it bad to mix TRRS to TRS. For instance, I have a good headset with a 3.5mm TRRS connector. I want to buy an extension cable for this particular headset to have more slack. I am mainly going to use this for music audio, should i go with a TRS extension or TRRS extension?
p.s. i am worried about bad sound interference and poor audio quality
If you don't need the mic feature then a TRS extension will work fine.
thanx
I ended up getting here in my quest to answer something, maybe you can help me? Is there a way to get my old iphone classic earphones (3 pole, so two rings) (is it TRS?) to a typical samsung galaxy S7 4 pole (3 rings)(is that TRRS?) female socket. Is it possible? I tried a "supposed" 3 pole to 4 pole adaptor but it didnt work, am I missing something? Would like to learn.
Hmm, I'm not sure if I can be of much help here because I don't and have never owned an iphone. However in my experience any set of earphones with a 3-pole/TRS connector will work in the newer 4-pole/TRRS sockets. The reason for this is that the tip and first ring are still audio left and right, the second ring being used for the headset microphone. So connecting a TRS connector to a TRRS socket will just ground the second ring, leaving your audio intact. What happens when you try connecting with no adaptor?
Are twin mono cables any good, to connect keyboard, korg (stereo) to mixer l and r ? Is it better twin cable like Stagg STC6P, or take two indepened cables?
Both work well as long as you use quality shielded cable.
@@GLBProductions how to know that? How to read specification of cable?
You just look at the end of the cable to see if it has a braided or spiral copper shield.
@@GLBProductions Oh Thank you! I just find cable that says "oxygen free copper" I guess thats a quality one?
Can you say: "minijack to jack plug pair"?
Yes you can use any verbal shorthand that works for your city/region. In my part of the world we often use 'minijack to quarter-inch' because there is only one type of cable that contains these two types of connectors in pro audio. The same type of cable with a TRS in place of the minijack is referred to as an insert cable so there is never any confusion.
I don't know anyone who calls 1/4" male connectors jacks. A 1/4" Male to the same would be called an instrument cable. Usually a TRS to dual TS cable will be called a Send/Return Cable despite it's use. Sub Mini Jacks or TTS cables are also used in some patch bays today because of their small size.
Yes the terms for these connectors differ around the world, just like sidewalk and pavement, truck and lorry etc :)
Hey bruno have a korg workstation hooked to mixer...... the outputs from the keyboard are unbalanced should i be using regular ts cables...and not trs ...please respond thx....im a noob
Correct, TS not TRS, ie you can use normal guitar cables.
I have two female 2,5mm TS mounts on my over-ear-headphones (Wood on ear by inLine). They connect to a single male 3,2mm TRRS plug (this cable has a little microphone and a Play/Pause control)
Can i used TRS connector to Gopro ? I will use earphone for my audio. Any idea?
What audio input connector does your GoPro use?
@@GLBProductions mic adaptor
Yup, but mic level only - line level will likely cause distortion. Do some test recordings to verify.
Thanks for the video! Very informative. Is it possible for you to make a tutorial video explaining how to connect a single TRS stereo output signal to a mono input. For example, I have a Avantone mix cube in my studio and i use it to check tonality in my mixes and individual tracks. But because I only have one mix cube I was wondering if there was a way I could connect it straight form my interface (RME babyface) so that its receiving a mono signal.
I know it could be done if I bought a monitor controller, but good ones that don't colour the sound slightly are quite expensive so I want to avoid that until I can buy a very good one.
+Nikos-A-Music Thanks for getting in touch! The best way to do this is through a stereo to mono DI box such as the Radial ProAV1. My video review shows how this works and the results: czcams.com/video/iDtSSRefIak/video.html
Thanks a lot, I'll check the video out now. Keep up the awesome work, you have my support. :)
Why can’t I get my lavalier mic out into a mono input?
I'm sorry I don't understand your question.
@@GLBProductions I think he means that his lavalier mic system has a stereo out.
I just bought a mixer with all RCA connectors” I’m in trouble 😳
Not necessarily - just use the mixer for the purpose for which it was designed 😉
@@GLBProductions then it becomes limited 😳, I think it’s best to buy a better one🤔 so I have options” with those connections you mentioned.
thanks for the video its very helpful,
small request can you pls explain is there any +4, -4 audio level different in XLR and jack connector,overview of sennheiser microphone and and how to do internal setup wireless microphone ,
+arbin sharma Thanks for the suggestions. I already have a video on the Sennheiser Evolution 100 wireless system, just search my channel :)
ok thanks
great video sir.... thank you...
i wanna ask one thing , can i use stage mic for my smartphone vid recording. how can make a cable with 3.5 mm jack and xlr jack... ??
I don't recommend that as typically you won't have enough gain and the smartphone input is not designed to work as a mic preamp - either use a USB microphone or run the mic through a mixer first.
Thank you for this information, it has really been helpful not just for me, but for my church as well!! I do, however, have a question regarding balanced/unbalanced speaker cables since I'm a bit confused on the topic and after watching some of your videos, I do have great trust in your knowledge and information. They say unbalanced cables aren't recommended for lengths longer than 15ft due to noise and interference. However, for passive speaker cabinets that only take 1/4" jacks and speaker level inputs being mono (I suppose), how do I make a 50ft 1/4" mono speaker cable balanced so that it doesn't become susceptible to noise and interference? I've looked in many places for this information but can't seem to find an answer! Please help!
Hi Jegs nice to hear from you. The balanced/unbalanced requirement applies only to cables carrying low levels signals ie mic and line level. Speaker cables are almost always unbalanced, having only a hot and ground connection. There is generally no need to have a balanced connection at this point in the signal chain because there is no signal gain applied at the speaker end - it has already been done by the power amplifier. Hence any noise picked up will not be amplified further. In addition, as the signal strength here is very high, any interference picked up will generally be inaudible due to the very high signal to noise ratio. So don't worry about it :)
Ahhh! Well that makes more sense! Thank you for the fast response!! You do a great job man! Keep it up!
So say your headset microphone doesn’t work, is it mostly the mic itself, or the jack?
Could be either one.
Thanks a lot, pal! :)
+ыпвп ыпывкпвч You're welcome, thanks for watching!
awesome explanation. I have trs y cable to xlr. Can I use this for my mixer that has 1/4" L R output to xlr recorder? I bought the wrong cable and hope it works....ugggh. thank you
It depends if the cable is TRS to XLR male or female - for mixer to recorder you'll need a TRS output and an XLR input on the recorder. Remember that this is usually NOT a stereo connection, so you'll need two such cables if you want to record in stereo.
Thanks bro.
+Putraz Audio Team You're most welcome.
how do i hook these two ends to not buy extra long head phones and hook them up to my tv aux port dirictly
Thank you much
You're most welcome.
sub minis are used on older nokia phones
At 11:22 on sub-mini jack, I used to have a Palm Centro phone many years ago. It had one of those damn sub-mini headphone jacks. I had to use an adapter to use ordinary 3.5mm headphones. It was before Android/iPhone days.
Yes I'm glad that's a standard that seems to have passed into obsolescence!
Thank for the video every helpful. Small question, I have a mixer without subgroup insert. Is it OK to modify four insert trs jack to two ts (tip & ring) jack?. needed to connect one compressor to four vocal mics.
Hello Eddy, I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you mean by "modify four insert trs jack to two ts (tip & ring) jack". Which mixer are you using?
I'm using Mackie VLZ4 1642.
I'm connecting 4 microphones to chanel 1-4. I want to insert a compressor to those microphone channels. The problem is my mixer doesn't have subgroup insert and I only can buy one compressor at the moment. I was thinking about soldering 4 Y-cables together. Will this be OK to do?
No I don't think that would work! The best approach for you would be to insert the compressor on the main mix inserts. Alternatively you could connect the compressor inline between your mixer and your amplifier.
Thank you for your help
Good thing I ask you first.
You're most welcome, let me know how it works out!
Very informative video. I only have a question that I can't answer yet. I just bought a pair of Yamaha HS5 monitors and I don't know which plug would be better for those, XLR or TRS? What's the difference? Thanks
+Javier Ferrari (JavoK's) Thanks for watching! XLR and TRS are both balanced so the only difference is that one is a locking connector and the other is not. Personally I prefer XLR because I make my own cables and they are much easier to solder ;)
DO THEY MAKE AND RCA TO 1/4 BALANCED CABLE? I KEEP GETTING BUZZ FROM MY DIGIDESIGN 003 RACK TO MY STEREO RCA IN USING 1/4 TO RCA MAYBE BAD CABLES OR CHEAP BRAND?
+Daniel Walters No Daniel they do not - an RCA connector is unbalanced by definition so in order to balance it you would need to run through a DI box. You can then convert the output of the DI box to TRS or just use an XLR cable to make your connection.
you are the best!
+meir Thanks for watching!
Thank you Bruno for your awesome videos, very informative and detailed. I have a question. How can I connect from a balanced stereo output (I.e. Yamaha Mixer MG06X) to my power amplifier unbalanced input (RCA)? Can I just get 2 cables with TS (1/4”) jack at one end and a RCA jack on the other end to connect to each L and R channel? I am a little confuse about the balanced stereo output of the mixer.
On that mixer the quarter inch main outputs can be balanced or unbalanced depending on which connector you use, so what you suggest above is the solution I would recommend :)
Thank you very much Bruno, you are the best.
Sure!Actually there are several ways to achieve that...first of all you have to take the audio apart from the video...then you could use a DAW or audio editor either with a notch filter eq on the incriminated noises or use a FFT based noise capture in a small portion where is only present the noise... :)
Ok,but if I connect it to 2 mono channels,I,ll have to pan hard left and hard right though?
And do you know if exists an unbalanced stereo input?in order to avoid splitting if possible...
+Cris Valk Haha actually I was trying to avoid having to record the audio separately - it makes for more post-production work! However there is no doubt that that gives the best quality.
If you connect to two mono channels you must pan them hard left and right IF you are running a stereo PA system - if mono they they should both panned centre.
Yes, some mixers have unbalanced stereo inputs on RCA connectors - however they still use a separate connector for the left and right channel. No way to get around that I'm afraid ;)
+GLB Productions Actually,you don't have to record
audio separately...you can simply extract it from the video and then do the editing...once you're done reattach it to the video :)
Ok but why with all headphones output you can use only one cable to connect them?or maybe the signal splits internally?
+Cris Valk Yes, that is an unbalanced stereo output - you asked about unbalanced stereo inputs ;)
Ops,sorry Bruno!
***** No worries my friend :)
i have a question i have a headphone with a microphone built in with a jack that is 3.5 mm and my sound card plug in is 6.5 mm. How can I use it without messing up the sound and mic? Do i get the trs or the trrs?
+Tria Clontz You'll need to keep the same type of connector, so if your mic is TRS get a 3.5 to 6.5mm TRS adapter. These are quite common.
+GLB Productions thank you for the help :)
+Tria Clontz You're welcome :)