Behind The Mixer

Learn Church Audio Artistry | Church Sound

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ipadaudioiPads 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.

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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  2. This is all great, but I want to go the other way, from my mixer to the 1/8 audio IN on the iPad. That way I get the best sound for a live feed to stream audio & video to Facebook etc! Is that possible? Should be really easy, I have plenty of cables! Thanks Randy

    Reply

  3. Hello Chris, I wonder if you can help me.
    We are a singer Saxaphone duo, playing backing tracks, using an iPad Air – forscore app with a track connected to my lyrics, connected to a Yamaha Stagepas 400i system. Using a 3,5 mm jack to 3,5mm jack cable as the Stagepas has the ability to connect 1/4 jack to 1/4 jack, 3,5 mm jack to 2x ¼ jacks or 3,5mm to 3,5mm.
    Have been using this for years without a hitch then suddenly i’m getting distortion on the sound during a gig.

    Luckily it first happened at the end of a gig on the next to last song. I tried unplugging the jacks and plugging them back again thinking perhaps they had wiggled out a bit or were not sitting true. Tried several songs and all the same, i didn’t know what else to do so we apologised and finished the gig. We only had 5 minutes to go anyway thank goodness.

    Then after several nights with no problem, it happened again last night half way through the gig this time.

    Tried the same fixes to no avail so suddenly thought shut the app down, if that doesn’t work shut the iPad down and start again. Luckily after I closed the app down and opened it again that work, we carried on the gig with one prob.

    Apart from asking if you have any thoughts on this, can these cables suddenly have a problem, the jacks wear out or something. Does it matter if I use the 3,5 to ¼ jacks or 3,5 to 3,5? Can a static build up happen in the equipment and affect the jacks inputs?

    Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

    I have recently purchased 2 new cables for the speakers as the old ones were getting ragged after 7 years of use. Could this cause all this?

    Thank you for any help.

    Reply

    • Old cables can cause problems. You said restarting the app appeared to fix the problem. However, that might because you giggled a cable while you were at it. If you have cables 7 years old, I’d start with replacing those. Also make sure the software on the ipad is up to date.

      Reply

      • Hi Chris,
        Thank you for. your help. I tried 3 different the cables for the mixer to iPad, but the issue still continued. Then it stopped for a week and out of the blue at the beginning of a gig this time it happened again. At least now I know to restart the app, strange thing is it didn’t happen again that night or since ( 5 nights now) most odd. I have been in contact with the app developers and we are now at the point of thinking the latest iOS could be the culprit. Will update this if we find a solution.

        Reply

  4. My issue is that I’m 30 foot from the sound desk. I have XLR and 1/4 inch sockets underfoot. I heard that if the sound has to travel too far then the signal will degrade. What is my best solution?

    Thanks for your response.

    Sharon

    Reply

    • Bluetooth using a decent receiver (not a cheap one from China). Another option is to use a headphone amp connected to the iPad. Most have 1/4” outputs and some like the ART Headamp have XLR. My advice is try the simplest way first. Bluetooth might work perfectly. Use the XLR path to the mixer. You can than use the channel gain to adjust for level.

      Reply

  5. I recently bought a Behringer umc404hd mixer with a wall plug to power it. I then bought an iPad gen6 9. 7″ with the Lightning Camera adapter.

    If the Behringer isn’t plugged in from the wall, I get a pop-up on the the iPad saying the Behringer needs more power than the iPad can provide. When the Behringer is plugged in at the wall, the devices connect… HOWEVER…

    The Behringer is a 4 port mixer. I only get input on channel 1. I can’t do any mixing.

    I read something about the iPad putting out very low amps to the peripheral devices. Is this the cause of the other channels not working? When I plug my Note 8 in, it provides all the power and all 4 channels work.

    Thanks in advance for the help.

    Reply

  6. Hello thank you for all of your insight! I am struggling resolve am noise problem with a volume pedal connected to a ipad. If i eliminate the volume pedal and plug directly into the Radial Stage Bug SB-5 all is good no noise no static. When I put the pedal in line a Erine Ball jr. Passive volume pedal it gets noise/static. The reason for the pedal is so the praise and worship leader can play ambient pads and be able to fade it in and out with the volume pedal. This setup works flawss with both of my android devices. We are running a Yamaha tf5 mixer. I even tried a Radial proDI with the same result. Please help my local Gutair Center and Sam Ash have no suggestions for me.

    Reply

  7. Thank you Chris. Would this then go into a stage xlr socket? rather than the keyboard?
    This would mean I would lose a volume control from the keyboard – but maybe that would be ok if there’s no hum.

    Thanks again.

    Sharon

    Reply

  8. Hi Chris,

    I can see this thread is a long one and you have solved many people’s issues. I only know a little about audio; here’s my set up:

    iPad playing tracks for a choir. The iPad is connect from the earphone socket to a 1/8to1/4 adaptor. This is plugged into the back of the onstage keyboard (for local access to a volume control as the mixer is at the other end of the room and unattended). There is a hum. I’ve tried different cables, different ipad to no avail. I have tried plugging the iPad into the onstage XLR socket (using adaptors) but the sound came out as though half of it was missing. Please can you advise the best solution that will be simple enough for me to work with? With thanks

    Sharon

    Reply

  9. Take a look at the Apple A/V composite cable. For short distance applications it provides simultaneous audio out and charging via a 30 pin connector in a small package. A lightning/30 pin adaptor would be needed. I think the sound is better via the lightning port as opposed to the amplified headphone output.

    Reply

    • Hello Chris,
      I also heard that when not using a D.I. you put a big strain on the iPad OP amp pushing that signal all the way from the stage to the FOH position. Is that true?
      I read that in a blog, S.O.S, Pro Sound Web…. would like clarifications on that my Brother!

      Thank you and be blessed, safe and well!
      Doug. dougfoh@gmail.com

      Reply

      • I’m not sure how literal I’d take their statement. It’s not like the iPad can try to push harder. FOr as many times as I’ve yelled at a computer to run faster, work hard, etc. it never seems to make a difference.

        Reply

  10. yes please bought echo dot to use as a stand alone speaker…amazon was horrible kept insisting that I set up their ‘” app” which would never download… any hoo I bot a stereo dual male plug on each end plugged one end into dot the other into 3.5 jack on I pad , which by the way I can listen to with cheap headphones with 3.5mm connector no prob…. well the connection produces no sound from dot.. I am totally electronically challenged but can certainly follow instructions…
    thankx anyone who can help a lady in distress…

    Reply

  11. Great article. Think It’ll be a keeper for that moment when my pastor asks another, “Can we…?” question. Now for the latest one. Could we use a bluetooth transmitter in the headphone output of the X32/M32 so wireless headphones could be used with an iPad for remote work such as monitors for the performers?

    Reply

  13. Hi Chris, I know it’s been a couple of years since you’ve done this article, but I have a question as well: I want to record from the soundboard to the iPad as I record video into iMovie. Is this possible? And what would I need to accomplish this?

    Reply

  14. How would I connect a laptop (2017 MacBook Pro) using an interface and DI into my churches sound system from the stage?

    Reply

  15. I’m talking about the latest iPad Pro.. want to go into mixer for house volume but lightning connection only required out from iPad Pro. Where do one go or what’s the connect??? Hawk

    Reply

  16. Connected our iPad to sound board using your method so we could live stream. Have found that we can’t disable the iPad’s onboard mic even when it’s plugged into the sound board through the headphone jack. Do you have a suggestion?

    Reply

  17. Never mind previous post. I got more than one email…just downloaded the checklist. Many thanks. Glad I found your site.

    Reply

  18. I signed up for the 24 point audio equipment check. Waited for and received the confirmation email but clicking on the supplied link does not seem to take me to a download site. What am I doing wrong?

    Reply

  19. Chris, I need to connect an iPad Pro to a PC to play music from the iPad on the PC. Tried a M-M stereo 3.5mm plug from the iPad audio out to the PC line-in jack. It works but I can’t get rid of the hiss (and hum if the iPad power is connected). Can you suggest a fix? Much appreciated.

    I already signed up to download your 24 point audio checklist. Thx for that too.

    Reply

    • Could be a number of things. Is that the PC’s front or rear line-in? I find the jacks on the front can do this – no idea what. Also, make sure the audio form the iPad is all the way up so you get the best sound from the source. I’d start with those. When it comes to the power, make sure everything is on the same circuit – put into a plug that’s on the same circuit.

      Reply

  20. First, thanks for this article.

    What about iPod to XLR mic level?

    I want to use an iPod to play music at a venue which has a locked cabinet. The only input that is available is an XLR cable, currently connected to what I believe is a very simple dynamic microphone. Stereo is not an apparent factor; there is one speaker box mounted high in the room, and even if it has right and left outputs, the stereo effect has to be minimal.

    Reply

  21. What an interesting thread! I would like to add another scenario:

    I have an iConnectAudio4 interface, which takes audio from the iPhone or iPad via the lightening port. I want to be able to send/receive Skype calls through Ableton Live, in order to mix the incoming calls for a radio show, and then send the caller back the complete mix without their voice so they can follow along and still talk without the latency of their own voice. Whereas music apps output via the lightening port, Skype doesn’t seem to do this. I haven’t tried the phone app but I suspect the same problem. The Skype iOS app doesn’t support alternative input/ouput audio devices as does the desktop version. If analog is the only route, what is the best way to split the signal to receive a mono signal from the phone’s mic to the audio interface (1/4″ balanced), and send the mix stereo signal from the audio interface (1/4″ balanced) back to the iPhone or iPad? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Sounds like you need to sum a stereo signal to a mono signal and on the output, take a mono signal and send it to stereo. The first is easy, the latter would be taking a mono signal and sending it out ot a left/right mono that then sums to stereo. There are other services than skype that might be worth a look.

      Reply

      • Thanks Chris, I’m just not sure of the plugs: I have no problem sending and receiving audio once it is in Ableton Live. I knowt there are splitters that separate the audio out from the iPhone into mic and headphones, but I would like to know specifically what plugs are involved so I can do it the best possible way.

        Reply

    • I use the original irig and a mixer to do the call thing. The caller hears all the hosts voices from their respective mics and we hear the caller in our headphones. All is mixed into the finished product. Took years of banging my head to come up with this solution but it works great.

      Reply

  22. I would like to use my iPad to dubb music from you tube onto a vhs camcorder. The camcorder does have an audio dubbing function. Can you tell me what cables I will need to plug into the camcorder. Thank you.

    Reply

  23. I want to use my iPad and record our church services. What cable is needed to record from the mixer? Is there a certain app that needs to be used? Thanks

    Reply

  24. The Behringer Mixers have an input channel preamp, which with a single knob can trim any input signal you plug into it. low impedance, high impedance, low level or high level.

    more and more mixers are entering the market with similar structures and functions.

    you do not need DI boxes….

    Reply

    • Unless you’re on stage and need to convert it to a balanced signal. Outside of the normal guitar use, I’ve seen that with keyboardists and computers. I have seen such functionality in newer console with a single channel that had that feature. Didn’t know the x32 had it.

      Reply

  26. Thanks for the post! Question: Would the Radial AV2 DI work if I’m playing audio through an iPad on stage (sending the signal to the board through the snake)? I tried this last Sunday through a Radial Pro DI, and it was distorting slightly. However, we did the 3.5 to TS into the mixer like you suggested and it worked great. Ideally, we’d like to run it from the stage though. Any thoughts? Thanks!

    Reply

  27. Hello there, is there any way of recording sound coming out from the mixer right into the iPhone or iPad? Just the way its normally done with sound from the mixer to the computer through Adobe audition and hey that reminds me, is there an app that can do something like that? Please help, thanks in advance.

    Reply

  28. Can we now up the ante and take the question to a new level? I use iPads and MacBooks for recording telephone interviews but have never owned or used an iPhone. I’ll purchase one immediately if I can accomplish the following. I want to phone someone ‘normally’ with the iPhone (using the number pad, not Skype) and record his voice onto another device (iPad or MacBook Pro). Here’s the setup: I’d be speaking to the person using the internal mic of the iPhone. I fully understand how to capture the speaker’s voice from the headphone output and record it to another device [by using a 1/8″ TRS rather than TRRS male plugged into the headphone output, feeding it into a DI box and then into one channel of an analog to digital preamp and then into the USB input of a MacBook Pro or into the USB>lightning or USB>30 pin adaptor of an iPad/iPhone}. My microphone feeds into the other channel of the analog to digital preamp. (I’m speaking into both my mic and the internal mic of the iPhone). Thus, I record my own voice on one channel and the voice of the person at the other end of the line on the other channel. [With iPad, I use an audio recorder app; with MacBook Pro, I use either Audacity or Audio Hijack].

    My question is, instead of taking the iPhone’s audio output from the headphone out , can I obtain the iPhone’s audio output during the call from the lightning output? Remember, I’d be speaking to the person using the internal mic of the iPhone (with NOTHING plugged into the headphone jack). If it is possible to output the audio from a telephone call through lightning rather than through the headphone output, here’s where the audio is routed: I’d use a lightning>USB adaptor and input to Radial USB Pro. This unit is a digital to analog converter, which provides 2 balanced (XLR) outputs (L & R channels) that I can feed into my recording device via the aforementioned analog to digital preamp.

    Too complex going from digital output to analog and back to digital input? There’s method to my madness. Assuming that it IS possible to obtain the voice at the other end of the telephone call from the lightning output of the iPhone, then by using the Radial USB Pro, I will have a digitized signal that I can feed EITHER into a desktop device (Mac or PC) directly via the Radial Pro’s USB output OR into an iPad via USB>lightning or USB>30 pin adaptor.

    If for some reason, the iPhone’s telephone circuitry does not allow me to output the voice at the other end of the call via lightning during a ‘normal’ telephone call, would I still be able to output that voice via lightning during a Skype or Facetime call; ie using the ‘computer’ part of the iPhone rather than the ‘telephone’ part (again with NOTHING plugged into the iPhone’s headphone/mic jack)?

    Reply

    • An update: An Apple support person opined that if nothing is plugged into the headphone out, the audio from either a normal telephone call or from a Skype/Facetime call will be accessible via lightning out. I hope he’s right, because that will trigger the purchase of both the iPhone 6 and the Radial USB Pro. Now, if he’s wrong, the alternative and slightly cheaper solution doesn’t use the lightning output at all. Instead, I revert to taking the audio from the headphone out of the iPhone using TRS jack, routing it to the 1/8″ input of Radial ProAV1, and then inputting that analog output into my analog to digital pre-amp. But I’d like to avoid this because I’ve always assumed that the analog output from the iPhone’s headphone jack is far inferior to the digital output from lightning. Does anyone have any information of the quality of output from the headphone out?

      Reply

      • Found the note trying to get my phone audio to play over lightning out – didn’t work this morning on the first try, not to say it won’t! :)

        I have used the same iphone to play music in my car using either the headphone jack or the lightning – both are exactly the same, very good. Putting the headphone volume to 95% produces approximately line level and sounds very good.

        Reply

        • The problem with the Radial Pro AV DI box, when used with the iPad, is that it acts like a major pad. When the DI box is interfaced between the headphone Output of the iPad and the Input of my JuicedLink CX231 preamp (which feeds into a camcorder), the volume into the camcorder is decreased by about 20 dB. Since the trim on my CX231 is already set to full for the direct (1/8″ TRS to XLR with pins 1 & 3 wired together) connection between iPad and CX231, I can’t get a decent sound level if I use the DI box as well.

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  29. the XLR input on your mixer is a balanced 3 wire connector… +signal, -signal, common … one signal

    the mixer also has a 1/4 inch input connector, a balanced TRS 3 wire connector +signal, -signal, common… one signal

    the 1/4 TRS -Tip Ring Sleeve – is often called a stereo connector….. Left, Right, common… but this cable/input is not used as a stereo connector…… this cable is used as a balanced mono connector…. one signal

    the mixer’s 1/4 inch TRS input connector will take a TS 1/4 plug…….. this will cause the input to become a single unbalanced input…. the signal voltage will appear to the input op-amp as a perfectly usable signal of half the signal strength of a balanced signal. this will require boosting the trimmer or fader to a desired sound level…..

    if you split a 1/8 mini TRS cable into two 1/4 TS cables one of the TS plugs will be the left signal the other will be the right signal…. and this then requires using two input channels on your mixer, one for the left signal and one for the right signal…… here you get all the tone controls and balance control working for you….. which is much much better than using RCA plugs into a tape or aux input….. where you have no tone controls or low filter or effects, or L/R balance control.

    your mixers 1/4 TRS balanced input, will also accept a 1/4 TS unbalanced signal….

    impedance…. the balanced 1/4 TRS or XLR input has twice the input impedance of the 1/4 unbalanced input……. both measure in the thousands of ohms……. your signaling source is usually a low impedance microphone or ear phone signal from a MP3 or CD player -less than 300 ohms-…….. the difference in input impedance will not amount to anything significant……. in both cases there is an impedance mis match….. neither are significant….. the input op-amps will do a fine job in both scenarios…..

    adjust the gain, the trim, the fader to dial it in. it will not cause any noticeable distortion either..

    caution if you use phantom power never wire an balanced XLR cable signal for an unbalanced signal….. will cause huge noises in system, it is okay to do this on the 1/4 TRS input even when phantom power is on….. because phantom power is not connected to the TRS input, only to the XLR inputs….

    turn off phantom power if you are not using it…….

    using phantom power at any time will not cause a problem, except when pulling mics in and out the board or using a mute switch on a DJ microphone in which case you will hear pops….. things get worse however if your DL microphone is wired as an unbalanced signal to an XLR connector and pluged into your board….. these do not get along with phantom power at all. don’t do it, loud noises will result, check your DJ mike make sure it is wired to the XLR connector as a balanced signal…..

    Reply

  30. Hi Chris,
    You may have answered my problem already in this thread but I’m a little unclear.
    Running my ipod into a Mackie mixer, it works fine with 1/4 in speaker cable with a minijack adaptor on the ipod end.
    Wanted to change to a mini cable with a 1/4 inch adaptor to ease the pressure off my ipod jack. But trying several cables and several 1/4 in adaptors, I only seem to be getting one channel output from the iPod. Do I need the 1/4 in splitter?
    I use a 1/4 in adaptor for headphones coming out of the mixer and that works fine.
    Thanks for any insight.

    Reply

    • Anne, the iPod is sending out a stereo signal. The mixer, on a mono channel, takes in a mono signal via a balanced cable. The plugs used for both are the same. The mixer isn’t expecting a stereo signal. A balanced cable carries a ground wire and a mono signal, carried on two wires. One is a mirror image of the other. This is so the mixer can eliminate any interference. (This is a simplified description of a balanced cable.) When a mixer’s mono channel received a stereo signal, it may or may not process it. Really, it should not, but many still do.

      You need to either sum the stereo signal into a mono signal or split the stereo signal into left and right cables and either plug them into two mono channels or one stereo channel. This is why I mention direct boxes, for summing, in this article.

      Reply

      • Chris, thanks for your reply. I had a 1/4 splitter in my bag of adaptors and that worked. Had to plug it into the mini-1/4 ” adaptor but at least I found the solution. I’m losing some signal with that setup, but I just amped up the volume. It’s good enough till I get something better.

        Thanks again. Great site!

        Reply

  31. Chris, I will be coming out of my stagebug with the xlr out to a mic xlr on stage to one channel on the mixer at the back of the church, is this ok?

    Reply

    • Yes. The mono out in the stagebug sums the stereo signal into a balanced signal. So, while you lose the stereo image, you are converting it to the right signal the mixer needs.

      Reply

    • Chris, I have a cable with 1/8 trs stereo to dual 1/4 “- one is tip, which is gray, the other is ring, which is orange and I just have one input on a Samson DI box, which should plug into that input, tip or ring?

      Reply

  32. Is there a way I can use the microphones that are connected to the audio mixer to record stuff in my ipad/iphone?

    Reply

  33. I plug my mp3 player thru a stage mic xlr jack that then plays my soundtracks thru the sound system. Am I doing something wrong? It has good sound. I run a 1/8 trs out of my mp3 with 1/4 trs on the other end into a xlr adapter.

    Reply

    • You are sending out a stereo signal from the mp3 player via the TRS into the XLR. The problem is if you are plugging the other end of that XLR into a regular mixer channel. The non-stereo mixer channels are expecting a balanced signal. You are sending a stereo signal. Depending on the design of the mixer, it might work but that doesn’t mean it’s right. For example, I know a tech who was doing the same thing and then started experiencing volume fluctuations in that channel. As soon as he ran it through a stereo to mono (balanced) DI, the problem went away. You should run the mp3 player into a DI box for converting the stereo to mono and then sending that to the mixer.

      Reply

  34. I have a question about hooking up an iPad to the mixer from the stage. Is it possible to use two the 3.5mm to 1/4″ cable to connect the iPad to two separate plain old passive direct boxes or would it cause problems? I’m not against getting the Radial ProAV2 but I’d rather try it out with the gear I have to see if using the iPad would even work and be useful before spending $170 of the church’s money.

    Reply

    • It’s possible but then you are eating up two channels on the console. If $170 is a bit much, look at the Radial stagebug or a different brand. Just remember you get what you pay for.

      Reply

  35. iPad connection to my passport fender 300 I used a 3.5 Jack and the two other ends into the amplifier now everything alright Until you red protection light Comes on then The volume goes up and down then it will play again then the red light come back on and we are also using microphones to for Church ministry can someone please help me out

    Reply

  36. Thanks Chris. Mistakes and reworks aside, this was very helpful to me. Learning is always good!

    Take care and happy mixing

    Reply

  37. 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

    Reply

  38. 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?

    Reply

    • 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

      Reply

  40. 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?

    Reply

    • I bluetooth my I pad to the long range bluetooth reciever. Then connect the reciever to the direct box then connect to the pa via xlr. Seems to work good! Is that a good way?

      Reply

  42. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

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      • 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.

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