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Mono/stereo channel question


doppelkorn

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I have this synth right, and its audio output are two 1/4" jacks for left and right.

 

The left one also says "mono". S far so good. If you want stereo you use both and if you want mono you use the left one.

 

I wanted to test the synth but didn't have the right cables so I just plugged my headphones into the mono jack but only get one channel (left). Is that normal? I don;t get why it's happening.

 

The headphones have a 3.5mm stereo jack which screws into a 1/4" stereo jack adapter which is plugged into the mono socket.

 

I can;t get my head around why I'm only getting one channel. I'm sure the synth can't be at fault and I know the phones work so it's just me being dim with the setup. How do the phones "know" to only send the audio to one side if the jack is stereo and both bits of the jack are touching the socket?

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Guest Symatic

its a mono output so the contacts are set up for that.

 

someone else decribes it better than me:

 

The mono jack has a tip and a ring, and where that ring is overlaps two of the stereo jack's rings, so plugging a stereo jack into a mono plug effectively shorts your right channel to ground at the source, giving you a left channel only. Similarly plugging a mono jack into a stereo socket will allow you to hear your left channel only as your right channel in the amp will be grounded.

 

http://avp.stackexchange.com/questions/5156/stereo-and-mono-cables-and-jacks-what-happens-when-you-cross-them

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Guest rasteri

If you plug a mono jack into a stereo output socket it can actually damage the device you're plugging it into. Most devices aren't designed to have their outputs shorted, and so it can blow the opamps (although a well-designed device will have some degree of protection, like a fuse or something).

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