headphone amp hookup

yes, i was planning on splitting the stereo out. does an insert cable split a balanced stereo signal into two unbalanced mono signals...i mean i kinda get that different parts of the signal are carried on different legs of he cable, but my understanding of all that is pretty much crap.
 
starsxandxslits said:
yes, i was planning on splitting the stereo out. does an insert cable split a balanced stereo signal into two unbalanced mono signals...i mean i kinda get that different parts of the signal are carried on different legs of he cable, but my understanding of all that is pretty much crap.
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No. An insert carries a send and a return signal in the same jack.
 
RAK said:
Why not just get an all male Y-Cable. Single TRS to dual TS. Also known as an Insert cable. That you don't need extra 1/4" cables to run from the splitter cable to the headphone amp.

Also stricly speaking, a headphone amp Input is looking for a line level signal, and you're talking about feeding it from the Tascams headphone out. I'm sure this will work, but it may be too hot.

Also, whenever you see two RCA inputs (usually red and white), that's always stereo analog. S/PDif (usually yellow) carries both channels over 1 connection. It's also called Coaxial, which is what you have on your Tascam.
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then how would this work?
 
starsxandxslits said:
then how would this work?
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I think you need to understand the different ways in how TRS cables are used.

Headphone stereo plug:

Tip = Left
Ring = Right
Sleeve = Ground/Shield


Balanced signal plug:

Tip = + Signal (Hot)
Ring = - Signal (Cold)
Sleeve = Ground/Shield


Unbalanced insert plug:

Tip = Send (output)
Ring = Return (input)
Sleeve = Ground/Shield

An unbalanced insert Y cable is going to have the send signal, return signal, and ground/shield on a TRS connector, the send signal and ground/shield on a TS connector, and the return signal and ground/shield on a TS connector.

A balanced Y cable is going to have the + signal, - signal, and ground/shield on all three connectors.

I wouldn't use the headphone out for anything except a pair of headphones. I would either split the balanced line out signals from the Tascam to your monitors and headphone amp or build (or buy) a switching box that will let you A/B between the two or let you use them at the same time.
 
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One option would be if you can find a S/PDif to Analog converter. Then you could go from the Tascam S/PDif out to the converter and then take that analog output to your headphone Amp. Although off the top of my head I don't know if you can something little like that.

You could also get something like the Mackie Big Knob or other similar master control unit. You can run your Tascam Main Outs into that, and then route them to your monitors, a headphone amp, or a variety of other outputs.

You can also just run the headphone out into the line in of a headphone amp, but you may have to work a little bit to get the signal adjusted properly. This is probably the easiest place to start, and all you need is a single Male TRS to Dual Male TS cable to go from the Tascam Headphone Out to your Headphone Amp's 1/4" inputs.

Or you could get two Y Cables (Male TRS to Dual Female TS cables). Plug each of the Male ends into the Main L&R of the Tascam, then you'd need 4 TS cables to run the signal to both your monitors and a headphone amp.
That should work, but it's kind of messy.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
The way it was explained to me, the signal will not be noticeably degraded unless you split it more than a few times. I've tried it and haven't had any issues. Assuming your headphone amp and monitors have balanced inputs, each y cable would have all trs 1/4" connections.
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One more thing. I didn't have any problems when splitting a line signal between my devices but depending on your device's input impedances, you might have some issues. There are guys here that have built switching boxes and you might be better off asking them about this. My headphone amp has a monitor thru feature and my sound card has 4 stereo outputs so I don't need any kind of splitting or switching device there.
 
Hey Travis

TravisinFlorida said:
One more thing. I didn't have any problems when splitting a line signal between my devices but depending on your device's input impedances, you might have some issues. There are guys here that have built switching boxes and you might be better off asking them about this. My headphone amp has a monitor thru feature and my sound card has 4 stereo outputs so I don't need any kind of splitting or switching device there.
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This isn't about the SG, I promise. :D

What kind of heapdphone amp do you have? I didn't know they made any with a monitor through.
 
RAK said:
Or you could get two Y Cables (Male TRS to Dual Female TS cables). Plug each of the Male ends into the Main L&R of the Tascam, then you'd need 4 TS cables to run the signal to both your monitors and a headphone amp. That should work, but it's kind of messy.
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Why drop the balanced signals to unblanced?
 
So how is going through a headphone amp with a volume control

any less of a signal path for the monitors than my going through the unaffected tape out of a home stereo?
 
notCardio said:
any less of a signal path for the monitors than my going through the unaffected tape out of a home stereo?
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It may or may not be. You'll have to listen for yourself and decide. The HP4 that I have does change the sound some but not enough for me to be concerned with at this point. I record scratch pad song ideas and like to quickly switch back and forth between headphones and monitors. The monitor mute button on the HP4 let's me do that. Your listening needs might be a little more critical than mine. When/if :D I ever reach the point of recording something to share with others, I'll connect a separate pair out outputs from my sound card to my monitors. For now, I rarely go far into the mixing stage and just use my monitors for a reality check on how my tracks sound.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
Why drop the balanced signals to unblanced?
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If you plug a TRS to dual TS cable into each of the Main Outputs, then it should split the signal allowing you to send each Main Output to two locations (monitors and headphone amp).

Main L goes out the TRS line and is split, being sent out each TS end.
Main R goes out the TRS line and is split, being sent out each TS end.

At least I think it should work that way. The cable is just a cable, you can use it anyway you want. I suppose you could get a TRS to Dual TRS cable, but I'm not sure it really matters all that much, and the headphone amps 1/4" inputs are probably unbalanced anyway, but that's just a guess.
 
RAK said:
If you plug a TRS to dual TS cable into each of the Main Outputs, then it should split the signal allowing you to send each Main Output to two locations (monitors and headphone amp).

Main L goes out the TRS line and is split, being sent out each TS end.
Main R goes out the TRS line and is split, being sent out each TS end.

At least I think it should work that way. The cable is just a cable, you can use it anyway you want. I suppose you could get a TRS to Dual TRS cable, but I'm not sure it really matters all that much, and the headphone amps 1/4" inputs are probably unbalanced anyway, but that's just a guess.
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wait, are we talking about the tascam's headphone out or it's line outs?
 
TravisinFlorida said:
wait, are we talking about the tascam's headphone out or it's line outs?
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I was talking about its line outs. Using two Y cables, one for each Main Line Out, to send the signal to both a headphone amp with independant L&R Inputs, and also to monitors.

Sorry for the confusion, my bad.
 
I've never seen a balanced Y cable where all three connectors are balanced.

Yes, an insert cable will split a stereo signal into a pair of unbalanced mono signals. That is, if your TRS output is a stereo signal. ;)

It's how I get from my Soundblaster into my patchbay or mixer. :D
 
c7sus said:
I've never seen a balanced Y cable where all three connectors are balanced.

Yes, an insert cable will split a stereo signal into a pair of unbalanced mono signals. That is, if your TRS output is a stereo signal. ;)

It's how I get from my Soundblaster into my patchbay or mixer. :D
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Here's an example of one from Hosa.

http://www.hosatech.com/hosa/products/cys-100.html

But I was referring to using a TRS to dual TS cable to split the signals. This will also send a mono signal to two places. But you could also do the same thing with all TRS ends.
 
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