potentially stupid question about TRS vs TS

  • Thread starter Thread starter cstockdale
  • Start date Start date
cstockdale

cstockdale

supafly killa homey
Are all TS cables "mono"? Ie. if a Y cable with a TS at the single end has the other two ends plugged into different things, do those get summed to mono at the other end?

I was wondering if my J-station, which has L/R outs, but only has one TS input could take a stereo signal coming in and keep those two signals separate so that they would still emerge out of the L and R outs as separate signals... I doubt it, but was curious if the J could be used as a two-channel S/PDIF converter (if I was at home right now I would just try it, but I am not at home).
 
no that wouldn't work.

Because when you have a Y cable like you described, the same conductor on the TS plug (namely, the tip) carries the hot signal from both inputs, thus summing them to mono. You can unscrew the connector's shield to verify this.

And yes, TS plugs are always mono.
 
TS is mono... summing with a Y cable or anything like that is unadvisable.


SoMm
 
There's no such thing as "mono cable"...

There single-conductor cable - which can carry 1 signal. There's also 2-conductor cable, which has 2 hot wires and a common ground.

The fact that the signal a cable carries is mono or stereo (or simply mono but balanced) is irrelevant to the cable itself.

That being said, you can't send a 2-channel signal through a single conductor cable without detrimental effects on the signal (ie - losing one of the channels) - there simply isn't anywhere to run the 2nd channel to.

So for 2-channel stereo signals OR for single-channel (ie mono) balanced signals, you need a 2-conductor cable.
 
In a word, no. The output of a device like a J Station is pseudo stereo not true stereo. It takes a mono signal from a guitar and uses time based effects to create a stereo signal.
As to your question about TS connectors, if a Y cable is made up of all TS connectors, it's all mono.
 
That is what I thought, but I am just a damn musician, and not an electrician (although I am beginning to see how a solid understanding of electronics helps here).
 
Blue Bear Sound said:
There's no such thing as "mono cable"...
Click to expand...

If its not stereo... it must be? Quad? 5.1? :)

TRS can be mono, but TS can never be stereo.
Left or right? Huh? mono can be 2 channel, but not stereo?
Who has mono again? Look at the back of some of the efx processors... inputs are labeled as Left(mono) and right. Are these the same guys who label polarity switches with phase?





Mono is just a slang term single channel regardless of the technicalites.



Engineers..... can't live with em..... can't shoot em :)


SoMm
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top