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Owner’s Manual
Owner’s Manual
“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.
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.
1
⁄4" TRS Phone Plugs
“TRS” stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the
three connections available on a “stereo”
1
⁄4" or “balanced” phone jack or plug. See
Figure B.
TRS jacks and plugs are used in several
different applications:
• 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).
• Stereo headphones, and rarely, stereo
microphones and stereo line connec-
tions.
When wired for stereo, a 1⁄4" TRS jack
or plug is connected tip to left, ring
to right and sleeve to ground (earth).
Appendix B: Connections
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.
You can cook up your own adapter for a
stereo microphone. “Y” two cables out
of a female 1⁄4" TRS jack to two male
XLR plugs, one for the right signal and
one for the left.
1
⁄4" TS Phone Plugs and
“TS” stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two con-
nections available on a “mono” 1⁄4" phone
jack or plug. See Figure C.
TS jacks and plugs are used in many dif-
ferent 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 instru-
ments
• Unbalanced line-level connections
RCA Plugs and Jacks
RCA-type plugs (also known as phono
plugs) and jacks are often used in home
stereo and video equipment and in many
other applications (Figure D). They are
unbalanced and electrically identical to a
1⁄4" TS phone plug or jack (Figure C). Con-
nect the signal to the center post and the
ground (earth) or shield to the surrounding
“basket.”
SLEEVE
TIP
TIPSLEEVE
TIP
SLEEVE
SLEEVE
TIPSLEEVE
TIP
RING
RING
TIP
SLEEVERING
Figure C: TS Plug
2
2
3
1
1
SHIELD
COLD
HOT
SHIELD
COLD
HOT
3
SHIELD
COLD
HOT
3
2
1
Figure A: XLR Connectors
SLEEVE
TIP
TIPSLEEVE
TIP
SLEEVE
SLEEVE
TIPSLEEVE
TIP
RING
RING
TIP
SLEEVERING
Figure B:
1
⁄4" TRS Plugs
TIPSLEEVETIPSLEEVE
Figure D: RCA Plug