Yamaha EMX5014C Owner's Manual - Page 12

Mixer Basics Making the Most of Your Mixer An Introduction You've got yourself a mixer and now you're ready to use it. Just plug everything in, twiddle the controls, and away you go ... right? Well, if you've done this before you won't have any problems, but if this is the first time you've ever used a mixer you might want to read through this little tutorial and pick up a few basics that will help you get better performance and make better mixes. A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place A Plethora of Connectors-What Goes Where? Questions you're likely to encounter when setting up a system for the first time might include "Why all these different types of connectors on the back of my mixer?" and "What's the difference?". Let's start by taking a look at the most common connector types. The Venerable RCA Pin Jack This is the "consumer connector," and the one that has been most commonly used on home audio gear for many years. Also known as "phono" jacks (short for "phonogram"), but the term isn't used much these days-besides, it's too easily confusable with "phone" jacks, below. RCA pin jacks are always unbalanced, and generally carry a linelevel signal at -10 dB, nominal. You're most likely to use this type of connector when connecting a CD player or other home audio type source to your mixer, or when connecting the output of your mixer to a cassette recorder or similar gear. The Versatile Phone Jack The name "phone jack" arose simply because this configuration was first used in telephone switchboards. Phone jacks can be tricky because you can't always tell what type of signal they're designed to handle just by looking at them. It could be unbalanced mono, unbalanced stereo, balanced mono, or an insert patch point. The connector's label will usually tell you what type of signal it handles, as will the owner's manual (you do keep your manuals in a safe place, don't you?). A phone jack that is set up to handle balanced signals is also often referred to as a "TRS" phone jack. "TRS" stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, which describes the configuration of the phone plug used. Sleeve Ring Tip Stereo/TRS phone plug Mono phone plug The Sturdy XLR This type of connector is generally referred to as "XLR-type," and almost always carries a balanced signal. If the corresponding circuitry is designed properly, however, XLR-type connectors will also handle unbalanced signals with no problem. Microphone cables usually have this type of connector, as do the inputs and outputs of most professional audio gear. Male Female 12 EMX5014C Owner's Manual