Appendix B: Connections - Mackie Onyx Blackbird Owner's Manual

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.
Figure A: XLR Connectors
⁄ " TRS Phone Plugs and Jacks
1
4
"TRS" stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the three
connections available on a "stereo"
phone jack or plug. See Figure B.
TRS jacks and plugs are used in several different
applications:
Figure B: ⁄ " TRS Plugs
1
4
• Balanced mono circuits. When wired as a
balanced connector, a 1⁄4" TRS jack or plug
is connected tip to signal high (hot), ring to
signal low (cold), and sleeve to ground (earth).
• Stereo Headphones, and rarely, stereo
microphones 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 micro phones. They
must be separated into a left cord and a right
cord, which are plugged into two mic preamps.
28 Onyx Blackbird
2
SHIELD
HOT
3 1
COLD
SHIELD
1
COLD 3
2
HOT
SHIELD
1
3
COLD
2
HOT
SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP
TIP
⁄ " or "balanced"
1
4
TIP
SLEEVE
RING SLEEVE SLEEVE RING TIP
TIP
RING
TIP
SLEEVE
• 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).
⁄ " TS Phone Plugs and Jacks
1
4
"TS" stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections
available on a "mono" 1⁄4" phone jack or plug. See
Figure C.
Figure C: TS Plug
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 Send/Receive Insert Jacks
Mackie's single-jack inserts are the three- conductor,
TRS 1⁄4" phone type. They are unbalanced, but have
both the mixer output (send) and the mixer input
(return) signals in one connector. See Figure D.
ring
(TRS plug)
tip sleeve
This plug connects to one of the
mixer' s Channel Insert jacks.
Figure D
The sleeve is the common ground (earth) for both
signals. The send from the mixer to the external unit is
carried on the tip, and the return from the unit to the
mixer is on the ring.
SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP
TIP
TIP
SLEEVE
RING SLEEVE SLEEVE RING TIP
TIP
RING
TIP
SLEEVE
SEND to processor
"tip"
"ring"
RETURN from processor