Newbie here.
Have a 7u 104hp case with an Audio I/O 1U.
Thinking about buying a Focusrite clarett-2pre-usb sometime in the future.
How do you connect 2 L/R balanced jacks into an Audio interface? Do I use up both inputs on the Clarett?
Is there a Y cable you can buy to combine into 1 output?
Would this work?
Can you use TS Mono cables? Thought the Case I/O is Balanced and has to use TRS cables.
The whole Balanced/unbalanced Mono/stereo thing is pretty confusing.
I think this video walks you through all the connections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MSFW4xBCcY
Good interface choice! To answer your questions:
Yes, for stereo you would need 2 channels. Out L to In 1, Out R to In 2. Balanced 1/4" TRS is ideal to eliminate noise.You could use a Y-Cable like you described, but then you would be recording in mono, not stereo, and might experience more noise.
So Audio interfaces only record mono then per jack?
For example, I also have the Headphone 1U. Thats 2 mono into a headphone TRS jack. if I plug that into the Audio interface it will still only record mono? Even though through headphones its stereo?
Correct.
Unless the interface specifies that it has a stereo input, it will be mono.
If you connect the Headphones 1U with a TRS cable to one input of your interface it will be mono. You could use the Y-Cable to connect the Headphones 1U to both inputs of your interface to record in stereo.
One more question.
I’m getting a Kilpatrick redox reverb. It’s a desktop device. The device uses unbalanced 1/4 inputs. I’m using them as a stereo send and return to my WMD performance mixer in my rack. Do I still go with balanced cables?
That’s where things become more nebulous and you just have to try both types of cables and see what works as it depends on how the device is manufactured. I’ve had some synths where balanced cables just don’t work or are more noisy, and some where balanced cables are cleaner. It’s always good to have spare cables of both types available in the studio for situations like this.
Another question.
I want to hook up an OP-Z or OP-1 through the Audio I/O In.
Since the inputs on the 7u Case is Balanced Mono L/R, Do I just buy a normal splitter?
Usual TRS Stereo 3.5mm to 1/4" mono converts them to TS MONO plugs.
So would I need to get something like this so I can connect them with TRS balanced cables to the case?
Yeah I would just use a regular 1/8" mini TRS to dual 1/4" TS cable. The output of the OP is ungrounded so there’s no point in going to a balanced connection.
It works in theory, but I bought one of those, and it went bad in 2 days - one of the female jacks stopped making a tight connection. I think it’s better to go with a dual-channel cable (1/8" stereo plug on one end, 2x 1/4" TS male plugs on the other). Each individual channel will be thinner gauge than a regular patch cable, but I think it’s more robust overall. Hosa makes such a cable, but I’d rather spend more money and order a custom cable from Redco with Mogami cable and Switchcraft plugs.
Yeah the reason I ask is when I plug in the OP-Z to Audio I/O with TRS Stereo to DUEL 1/4" TS, the sound is loud enough, but it sounds… a little muffled. Like there is no body to the sound.
It just doesn’t sound the same when I just plug in headphones directly to the OP-Z and listen.