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

Appendix B: Connections

"XLR" Connectors
Mackie interfaces 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).
14 Onyx Blackjack
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
• 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 interfaces 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.
• 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 interface), ring to signal return (input
back into interface), 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.
SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP
TIP
TIP
SLEEVE
RING SLEEVE SLEEVE RING TIP
TIP
RING
TIP
SLEEVE