Questions & Answers

Is it safe to connect TR plugs to TRS balanced main outputs (Studio 68c)

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asked Jan 18, 2021 in Studio Series USB Interfaces by nikolaiknopp (120 points)

Hi,

I'm about to buy a Studio 68c interface, and I want to connect the mains outputs to a regular HiFi amplifier that has 2 RCA jacks.

The Studio 68c specs listing says that the outputs are "TRS balanced". Is it safe to plug TS plugs into these, or will this possibly result in shorting some part of the output signal? This Stackexchange post claims that it's fine, but there's also anecdata in various places where people claim that it can overload some circuits.

Note: I'm aware that plugging mono (TS) plugs into stereo (TRS) outputs shorts out one channel and should be avoided, but here I'm dealing with mono outputs and just want to understand whether I can simply "unbalance" them with the plugs I have without breaking anything. :)

Cheers and thanks!

2 Answers

0 votes
answered Jan 18, 2021 by kennynarine (290 points)
Unbalanced(mono) Balanced (Stereo_) wires are different , so could make bad things happen as I have dont this before on my digital mixers and nothing nice came out of it , kinda made mixer freeze up so just invest in what ya specifically using it for as far as wires.

always use balanced and mic make sure if its phantom powered 48 is turned on if not use quarter inch also never have 48phantom on into an instrument ie guitar hoped this helped

Mono- vocals , bass

stereo- drums , acoustic guitar etc.

If your gonna drop over $100 bucks into preamp just spend a couple more for balanced trs
0 votes
answered Feb 20, 2022 by sakuaspelin (140 points)
The question is very valid, and I'm very curious about this also. It's a common need to go from balanced TRS -> RCA, e.g. with most headphone amps with only RCA inputs. There are no adapters/cables readily avaiable that doTRS -> RCA, but TS/RCA adapters are very common. Could someone from Presonus confirm this?
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