L/R Balanced Signals to Stereo Jack

peeej1978 · 3 Weeks Ago

Hi Guys,

Sorry if I'm not in the right forum, but I'm new to this posting etc. Here's my question...

Is it possible to take two Balanced cables (L and R signals for stereo) from my Audio interface and 'Sum' them to a Stereo 1/4" Jack input on my headphone amp?

There seems to be many answers about summing to mono, or summing balanced to balanced. But can't find anywhere that advises how to get two independent Balanced L and R signals into a Stereo jack input.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Pete

Bill@WelcomeHome · 3 Weeks Ago

No.

You can convert the balanced signals to unbalanced, but as balanced requires a + a - and a shield for L and the same for R and there are only three wires in standard headphones (L, R, common ground), there is no way to make that work.

peeej1978 · 3 Weeks Ago

Bummer! How best to take my L and R balanced outputs from my Audio Interface and get the signal into my Headphone amp (that only accepts Stereo Jacks)?? I'm a bit stuck as to how this is possible.

psycho_monkey · 3 Weeks Ago

Quote:

Originally Posted by peeej1978

Bummer! How best to take my L and R balanced outputs from my Audio Interface and get the signal into my Headphone amp (that only accepts Stereo Jacks)?? I'm a bit stuck as to how this is possible.

Vast majority of balanced jack outs will accept unbalanced connections. So first thing to try is a standard stereo 1/8" jack to two 1/4" mono jacks and try that. Most likely it'll work just fine.

Xander · 3 Weeks Ago

Insert cable. Your audio interface outputs should be able to output an unbalanced signal if you plug a TS cable into them. The insert cable will take the two unbalanced mono outputs and covert it to an unbalanced stereo signal on a TRS plug, which you can plug into your headphone amp.

peeej1978 · 1 Week Ago

Thanks for the replies, particularly the helpful suggestion from Xander. I've actually decided to invest in a Tascam MH8 headphone amp which has a stereo input to each discrete headphone amp on L&R balanced XLR inputs. This is ideal for me sending stereo monitor mixes to my musicians. Should I need more than 4 individual mixes (my interface only has 8 physical outputs), I shall have to send mono mixes to the tascam unit. Unlikely to have 8 musicians all insisting on utterly different mixes though. Thanks again.

3 Weeks Ago	#1
peeej1978 Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 12 Thread Starter	L/R Balanced Signals to Stereo Jack Hi Guys, Sorry if I'm not in the right forum, but I'm new to this posting etc. Here's my question... Is it possible to take two Balanced cables (L and R signals for stereo) from my Audio interface and 'Sum' them to a Stereo 1/4" Jack input on my headphone amp? There seems to be many answers about summing to mono, or summing balanced to balanced. But can't find anywhere that advises how to get two independent Balanced L and R signals into a Stereo jack input. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Pete

3 Weeks Ago	#2
Bill@WelcomeHome Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 3,579	No. You can convert the balanced signals to unbalanced, but as balanced requires a + a - and a shield for L and the same for R and there are only three wires in standard headphones (L, R, common ground), there is no way to make that work. __________________ "We have a situation where somebody has learned that 'tape' sounds good. Tape doesn't sound good. Tape sounds like crap. But sometimes good stuff gets put on tape." "Putting crap to tape...sounds like crap." Show business: we're all here because we're not all there. Resistance is not futile. It is voltage divided by current.

3 Weeks Ago	#5
Xander Gear addict Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 319	Insert cable. Your audio interface outputs should be able to output an unbalanced signal if you plug a TS cable into them. The insert cable will take the two unbalanced mono outputs and covert it to an unbalanced stereo signal on a TRS plug, which you can plug into your headphone amp. __________________ http://www.xandermoser.com

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1 Week Ago	#6
peeej1978 Gear interested Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 12 Thread Starter	Thanks for the replies, particularly the helpful suggestion from Xander. I've actually decided to invest in a Tascam MH8 headphone amp which has a stereo input to each discrete headphone amp on L&R balanced XLR inputs. This is ideal for me sending stereo monitor mixes to my musicians. Should I need more than 4 individual mixes (my interface only has 8 physical outputs), I shall have to send mono mixes to the tascam unit. Unlikely to have 8 musicians all insisting on utterly different mixes though. Thanks again.