Appendix B Connections, XLR Connectors

Appendix B: Connections

“XLR” Connectors

Mackie mixers use 3-pin female “XLR” connectors on all microphone inputs, with pin 1 wired to the grounded (earthed) shield, pin 2 wired to the “high” (”hot” or positive polarity) side of the audio signal and pin 3 wired to the “low” (“cold” or negative polarity) side of the signal. See Figure A.

Use a male “XLR”-type connector, usually found on the nether end of what is called a “mic cable,” to connect to a female XLR jack.

SHIELD 2

HOT

COLD 3 1

SHIELD 1

COLD 3 2

HOT

1SHIELD

3COLD

You can cook up your own adapter for a stereo microphone adapter. “Y” two cables out of a female 1⁄4" TRS jack to two male XLR plugs, one for the Right signal and one for the Left.

•Unbalanced Send/Return circuits. When wired as send/return “Y” connector, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug is connected tip to signal send (output from mixer), ring to signal return (input back into mixer), and sleeve to ground (earth).

1⁄4" TS Phone Plugs and Jacks

“TS” stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections avail- able on a “mono” 1⁄4" phone jack or plug. See Figure C.

SLEEVE

TIP

SLEEVE

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Figure A: XLR Connectors

HOT

Figure C: TS Plug

1⁄4" TRS Phone Plugs and Jacks

“TRS” stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the three connections available on a “stereo” 1⁄4" or “balanced” phone jack or plug. See Figure B.

RING SLEEVE

SLEEVE RING TIP

TIP

RING

TIP

SLEEVE

Figure B: 1⁄4" TRS Plugs

TS jacks and plugs are used in many different applications, always unbalanced. The tip is connected to the audio signal and the sleeve to ground (earth). Some examples:

•Unbalanced microphones

•Electric guitars and electronic instruments

•Unbalanced line-level connections

•Speaker connections

Don’t use guitar cords for speaker cables! They’re not designed to handle speaker-level signals and could overheat.

TRS jacks and plugs are used in several different ap- plications:

•Balanced mono circuits. When wired as a bal- anced connector, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug is con- nected tip to signal high (hot), ring to signal low (cold), and sleeve to ground (earth).

•Stereo Headphones, and rarely, stereo micro- phones and stereo line connections.

When wired for stereo, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug is connected tip to left, ring to right and sleeve to ground (earth). Mackie mixers do not directly accept 1-plug-type stereo microphones. They must be separated into a left cord and a right cord, which are plugged into the two mic preamps.

RCA Plugs and Jacks

RCA-type plugs (also known as phono plugs) and jacks are often used in home stereo and video equip- ment and in many other applications (Figure D). They are unbalanced and electrically identical to a 1⁄4" TS phone plug or jack. See Figure C. Connect the signal to the center post and the ground (earth) or shield to the surrounding “basket.”

SLEEVE TIP SLEEVE TIP

Figure D: RCA Plug

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