Mackie ProFX12 Owner's Manual - Page 27

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. This is all totally aboveboard and in full accord with the hallowed standards dictated by the AES (Audio ­Engineering S­ ociety). 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. SHIELD 2 HOT COLD 3 1 SHIELD 1 Figure A: XLR Connectors COLD 3 2 HOT 1 3 2 SHIELD COLD HOT SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP 1⁄4" TRS Phone TIPP lugs andTIP Jacks "TRS" stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the thSLrEeEVeE ­connections available on a "stereo" 1⁄4" or "­balanced" phone jack or plug. See Figure B. RING SLEEVE SLEEVE RING TIP • 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). • 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). 1⁄4" TS Phone Plugs and Jacks "TS" stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections available on a "mono" 1⁄4" phone jack or plug. See Figure C. SLEEVE SLEEVE TIP TIP TIP SLEEVE Figure C: TS Plug TS jacks and plugs are used in many different ­applications, always unbRINaGlaSnLEcEVeEd. TShLEeEVEtiRpINGisTcIPonnected to the audio signal and the sleeve to ground (earth). Some examples: TIP RING • Unbalanced microphones TIP SLEEVE • Electric guitars and electronic instruments • Unbalanced line-level connections RCA Plugs and Jacks TIP Figure B: 1⁄4" TRS Plugs RING TIP SLEEVE TRS jacks and plugs are used in several d­­ ifferent applications: • 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 micro­phones. They must be separated into a left cord and a right cord, which are plugged into the two mic preamps. RCA-type plugs (also known as phono plugs) and jacks are often used in home s­ tereo and video equipment and in many other applications (Figure D). They are u­ nbalanced and electrically identical to a 1⁄4" TS phone plug or jack (see Figure C). Connect the signal to the center post and the ground (earth) or shield to the surrounding "basket." SLEEVE TIP SLEEVE TIP Figure D: RCA Plug Owner's Manual 27