iPads are turning up in the audio booth as a new sound source. Much like my article on using different types of smart-phones as audio sources, iPads are something you need to consider. Let’s look a how to get the audio out.
The iPad uses a common 3.5mm stereo headphone plug . It also can use the 30-pin connector but let’s hold off on that for now, especially in light of the new Lightning connector which has its own issues. Connecting via the 3.5mm plug is the easiest route to go.
The back of your sound board is filled with 1/4 -inch TRS plugs and RCA plugs. No 3.5mm inputs so we are going to have to do a little conversion work.
A 3.5mm stereo plug and a TRS plus look the same in that they have a tip, a ring, and a sleeve. You must understand, however, that these cables can be used in two different ways. One is to carry a stereo signal and the other is to carry a balanced signal.
In the case of the iPad, it’s got a headphone (stereo-out) plug and the audio mixer channel inputs are for balanced signals. Therefore, while it might be easy to think the cables work the same way because the plugs look the same, it’s like having two plastic pipes where one is used to carry drinking water and the other is to carry waste. Both might be PVC pipe but with different contents.
Time to Convert
There are a few ways you can convert that 3.5mm stereo plug into something usable. You can go the route of an RCA cable or you can use two dual TS unbalanced plugs. Plug the 3.5mm end into the iPad and the other into a stereo channel on the mixer.
- For the 1/4-inch plug, go the route of a 3.5mm stereo jack to dual 1/4-inch mono plugs.
- For the RCA plug, you can use the standard RCA adapter.
 3.5mm to TS cable |
 3.5mm to RCA cable |
The Better (but more expensive) Route
Using adapters, such as I’ve listed, is an effective way to get the signal into the mixer. However, there is a direct box that will help you with your signal levels as well. That’s where the Radial ProAV2 DI box comes into play. Use a 3.5mm male-to-male end cable and plug one end into the iPad and the other end into the Radial DI and it will convert the signal to the right type as well as convert the signal to the proper line level as pro and consumer-grade electronics usually output at different levels. The DI plugs into your board using a right and a left XLR cable.
Summary
Converting audio from an input device, like an iPad, to your board can be easy when you have the right tools at hand…and you know the type of signal that’s coming out of your equipment and the type of signal that’s expected to come in.
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I'm Chris Huff and I've been working behind a mixer for over twenty years. Since 2008, I've been helping other sound techs learn all about the art of church audio through behindthemixer.com.
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A rather noobious question: I have an iPad 2 with the Camera Connection Kit and a Griffin iMic which allows me to connect from the 30-pin dock port via 3.5mm connection to computer/audio interface, etc.
My M-audio 410 firewire audio interface has S/PDIF in & out. Could I connect the iPad to the interface via a TOSLINK –>3.5mm cable and then route this to my computer or sound system? Would this achieve better quality audio, assuming it would work?
Todd
Ever accidentally put phantom power on your iPad with the 3.5 mm minijack to dual XLR mentioned above?? Oh. Just me then…?
It survived – but really didn’t enjoy the experience.
On a practical note though- I’m not sure where I read it, may have been a Dave Rat tweet. Apparently you get a better sound through a dock than through the 3.5mm headphone output?
I looked around for that and found the following explanation…
“When we plug a set of headphones into the headphone socket you can here the music and adjust the volume because the iPad has a DAC ( Digital to Analogue Convertor) and an amplifier. Because of limits in space and price the in built DAC and amp are not the best, they are very good and for most of us they are more than adequate to listen to music through.
The other way to get music out of an iPad is through the 30 pin dock connector. The advantage with this that the music stream is digital, no DAC or amp involved. We the listeners can then decide how we want to process the music so we can hear it. We still need to use a DAC and amp but we can decide the quality and price we are willing to pay.
So what is the best way to connect an iPad to an audio system.
We can use the headphone socket on the iPad and with the appropriate cable connect it to our audio system. The sound will be very good and acceptable for most people. The quality of the music is limited by the iPad DAC and amp as well as the audio system. This is also the cheapest method
We can use a dock connector which has an audio output (the apple dock connector does this) we can then connect this to our audio system. The quality of the music is now limited by the dock connector and the audio system. This is more expensive and is only limited by how deep your pockets are.” – Pagliacci
How to get audio from an #iPad http://t.co/gLbLyiP
Chris,
I thought that the output of the 3.5mm connection was a headphone amp and not a line level that would provide a better quality source? Wouldn’t the best practice be to have a dock connector with right and left out which unfortunately comes in RCA and adapt from there?
How to Get Audio from an iPad http://t.co/ttMIoEL
Chris,
I would caution you and your readers against using a stereo 3.5mm to 1/4″ TRS (stereo) cable to connect an iPad, iPod or anything else to a balanced input. While it does make the physical connection, audio is not entirely like plumbing.
The reason is this: The 1/4″ input on any mixer is going to be balanced. That is, it’s expecting a TRS jack to be plugged into it. While the TRS jack is also used in stereo applications, it is only for headphones (which is an output). On an input, the mixer is expecting to see High (pin 2 on an XLR) on the tip, Low (pin 3 on an XLR) on the ring and ground (pin 1 on an XLR) on the sleeve.
When you connect a stereo TRS to a mixer, you’re giving it Right on the tip (or maybe it’s left, I always have to look it up) and Left (or right) on the ring. While you will get signal, L&R is not the same as High and Low.
The better way to go is to purchase a 3.5 mm (1/8″) mini plug to dual 1/4″ or dual XLR cable. Savvy sound guys will of course buy those at Monoprice. Internally, the mixer will know what to do with a TS (unbalanced) plug, which is what you end up with using said cable.
The even better way to go is to use a Radial ProAV2 DI. This little wonder gives you a 3.5 mm input jack with dual, balanced XLRs out. You also get a bunch of other I/O jacks in case you need them. It’s a bit more money, but well worth it.
mike
Mike, thanks for setting me straight on that. Thanks also for the explanation on the High/Low. Honestly, I can’t believe I got myself hyper-focused on the stereo portion and completely spaced the balance aspect. I’ll re-work the article.
The Radial ProAV2 DI is also a great suggestion. Money…yes but worth every penny.
Article updated.
Driving into work this morning, I was thinking about the original article and how it came to be. I know line-in’s are balanced and I know iPad’s and such use stereo out’s. So what had I done wrong?
It’s just like when something goes wrong during a service. If I hyper-focus on one possibility such as “it must be a problem with the microphone” then I will completely overlook the fact that I’ve got the channel muted. Fortunately, that’s not the type of mistake I’m likely to make anymore. But it is what happened with the article. I was hyper-focused on the stereo out that I completely ignored everything else. My apologies.