FX Send question / TS TRS connector question

Y

Yasoo

New member
Hi. I'm looking for some advice, please. The scenario is that I want to sometimes use headphones to monitor from my Eurorack UB802 mixer. When I do, I want my main monitors to not play (this way I can record vocals in front of my computer without the mic picking up the mix from the room monitors). On the UB802, I have to use the main mix volume AND the headphones volume to hear anything in the headphones, which means I get sound out of the room monitors and the headphones simultaneously. So before I try (and risk possible damage), I thought I'd ask what are the ramifications of plugging my headphones in the FX send and monitoring from there? I was thinking that this way I could turn the mains down and use the FX send knobs to change my headphone level.

In the manual for the UB802, here are the specs:

Aux Sends
----------
Type 1/4 " TS connector, unbalanced
Impedance approx. 120 Ohm
Max output Level +22 dBu

Headphones output
------------------
Type 1/4 " TRS connector, unbalanced
Max output level +19 dBu / 150 Ohm (+25 dBm)


I noticed one main difference: TS vs. TRS connector
What are the differences between these connectors?

Thank you.
 
mikey@thecave said:
don't you have an amp after your mixer?
Click to expand...

Nope. Powered monitor speakers. I suppose I could walk over to each one and hit the power button, but I'll want to A/B between them and the headphones. I could always get a small 2 channel mixer... But I thought I'd try to make do with what I have.
 
If your powered monitors and board are xlr, you can get mic cables with on/off switches. If not, just unplug them from the mixer when you need to.

In any case, fx sends are not designed to run headphones. You will get crappy sound, and could damage your mixer or phones.
 
Yes, you can use the effects send for phones but it will only play in one ear. Just plug into the FX SEND jack and turn up the red FX knob on each channel that you want to hear.

TRS stands for Tip Ring Sleeve. This refers to the different parts on the 1/4" plug. The tip (of the plug) is connected to one conductor within the headphone cable, perhaps the + conductor for the right ear. The ring is connected to a second conductor, perhaps the + for the left ear. And, the sleeve may carry a common ground conductor for both ears. Thus, we can get a stereo signal thru only a three conductor cable. The TRS connector can be used in other ways too, such as in an insert cable. One conductor serves as send, one return, and one common ground. In the case of a balanced signal, two conductors are used for signal send, (a mirror image of one another,) and the third for ground. Balanced was invented to filter out interference from long cable runs.

TS stands for Tip and Sleeve. Meaning the plug is attached to a two conductor cable. One is + signal and the other is ground. This can only carry a mono signal.

Some folks buy a studio control unit to solve speaker A/B switching problems. Like the Central Station or The Big Knob. They work like a hub so you can simply switch between all incoming and outgoing hardware including headphones. But then, if you want to keep your setup small and simple, you’ve gotta make do with what you have. (even if it's only one ear)

Happy recording.
 
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