Tapco BLEND16, Owner'S Manual

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Appendix B: Connections 

XLR Connectors

Channels 1 and 2 use 3-pin female XLR 

connectors on the MIC inputs. They are wired as 
follows, according to standards specified by the AES 
(Audio Engineering Society).

XLR Balanced Wiring
Pin 1 = Shield
Pin 2 = Hot (+)
Pin 3 = Cold (–)

1/4" TRS Phone Plugs and Jacks

“TRS” stands for Tip-Ring-Sleeve, the three 

connections available on a stereo 1/4" or balanced 
phone jack or plug. TRS jacks and plugs are used for 
balanced signals and stereo headphones:

  Balanced Mono

1/4" TRS Balanced Mono wiring:
Sleeve = Shield
Tip = Hot (+)
Ring = Cold (–)

  Stereo Headphones

1/4" TRS Stereo Unbalanced Wiring:
Sleeve = Shield
Tip = Left
Ring = Right

1/4" TS Phone Plugs and Jacks

“TS” stands for Tip-Sleeve, the two connections 

available on a mono 1/4" phone jack or plug. They 
are used for unbalanced signals.

1/4" TS Unbalanced Wiring:
Sleeve = Shield
Tip = Hot (+)

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. They are 
unbalanced and electrically equivalent to a 1/4" TS 
phone plug.

RCA Unbalanced Wiring:
Sleeve = Shield
Tip = Hot

1/4" TRS Insert Plugs and Jacks

When patching an external device into a 

channel’s insert jack, or the main insert jacks, you 
may need to use a special 1/4" TRS connector 
called an “Insert plug.” These use the 

tip

 to send the 

signal to the external device, and the 

ring

 to return 

the signal to the mixer. The sleeve is the common 
ground (earth) for both signals. These are both 
unbalanced signals.

“tip”

This plug connects to the 

Channel Insert jack

“ring”

tip

ring

sleeve

SEND to processor

RETURN from processor

(TRS plug)

1/4" TRS Insert Wiring:
Sleeve = Ground
Tip = Send
Ring = Return

2

2

3

1

1

SHIELD

COLD

HOT

SHIELD

COLD

HOT

3

SHIELD

COLD

HOT

3

2

1

SLEEVE

TIP

TIP

SLEEVE

TIP

SLEEVE

SLEEVE

TIP

SLEEVE

TIP

RING

RING

TIP

SLEEVE

RING

TIP

SLEEVE

TIP

SLEEVE

SLEEVE

TIP

SLEEVE

TIP

RING

RING

TIP

SLEEVE

RING