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I have an RCA stereo connector with a single 1/8 inch pin. I want to connect to a mixer with a 1/4 to 1/4 mono cable to either a mono channel or stereo channel and would like the best way to do it. Essentially, I need a 1/8 make adapter for one end of the cable and a female 1/8 coupler to connect the rest. Should I use stereo or mono adapter and coupler?


Some more detail from my comment below...

I have a KRX 100 Fender amp. It has 3 separate channels with balanced 1/4 inputs and volume. Chan 1 also has an xlr which I mic the instrument. It also has effects send/return, headphone and RCA unbalanced output.

Fender suggested using the RCA out to channel line in for cleanest sound.

The mixer has TRS balanced stereo and mono channels. I want to be able to mix the amp and pa mix independently. Maybe I should just use a stereo Y (dual male RCA with a 1/4 female and a TRS cable to the mono TRS balanced channel input?

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  • I'm not sure exactly what you are asking. RCA audio would have two connectors that are round with metal on the outside and a pin in the middle, but the pin is not a 1/8 inch headphone jack. If the output from the source is stereo, you will want to keep the channels separate until you get it in to the board and then you can mix it down. If there is a tape in, it would be ideal since that should be a stereo RCA input.
    – AJ Henderson
    Mar 21, 2013 at 20:36
  • I know what an RCA jack is but what I am using is actually an RCA with an iPod jack. I want to run it out of an amp to a 1/4 pa input . I have a mono 1/4 instrument cable and the iPod RCA connector is stereo. I need to connect the two via a female to 1/8 adapter ( for the 1/4 inch cable) and then use an inline 1/8 female coupler to connect the two. Trying to avoid buying special cables.
    – Chris MacKay
    Mar 21, 2013 at 22:37
  • Is there a reason you don't simply use the headphone jack? 1/8 inch stereo to left and right 1/4 inch mono will work well and you can run two lines in to the PA via 1/4 inch.
    – AJ Henderson
    Mar 22, 2013 at 1:23
  • When you refer to "an RCA stereo connector with a single 1/8 inch pin" do you mean a one like this: amazon.com/ER-3-5mm-Mini-Computer-Stereo/dp/B000LMFS7M ?
    – Eugene S
    Mar 22, 2013 at 4:09
  • I tried running a line out of headphone jack but I won't get any sound out the amp, just the pa, Eugene, that is the cable I was using.
    – Chris MacKay
    Mar 22, 2013 at 11:21

2 Answers 2

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Follow the signal flow from input(whatever is amped) to output(mixer/pa) and also tell us explicitly what the output is on the amp. It isn't totally clear. This is assuming Eugene is right about the cable you used, since you didn't specify male or female for RCA to 1/8.

What kind of amp, and is the output: 2 RCA outputs? (Scenario 1) unbalanced signal, stereo is it balanced mono(trs) 1/8 output? (scenario 2) Or 1/8 Headphone out which is stereo unbalanced? (#3) What level is the output? Headphone or line?

Scenario 2 is rare from any amp I can think of. If its scenario 2 try an 1/8 trs male adaptor to 1/4 inch trs female t(plug in amp output), and use a trs 1/4 inch, not instrument (ts) cable to connect to the mixer. If you don't you'll barely get signal from instrument cable

For 1+3

if your mixer takes unbalanced mono inputs and has the gain to make up the level difference from headphone to line level, no problem but noisy.

If it has a stereo 1/4 input, you could use one input instead of splitting to two mono.

Likely your mixer wants to see a balanced mono input from the 1/4 input. This would be a trs cable. If your inputs aren't wired to expect a ts cable you may get nothing in either scenario regardless of how you adapt it. So try these options:

Scenario 1 Take the male trs 1/8 inch end and use a f 1/8 trs (stereo) to 1/4 trs male adaptor. This also requires a stereo 1/4 input on the mixer. If you don't have one, you should use a f 1/8 trs to 2 female ts adaptors and use 2 instrument cables.

For sc 3 you could try to use 2 RCA f (stereo) to ts f adaptors, and plug 2 inst cables into the inputs on the mixer.

If you have a stereo 1/4 input you could use a 2 female RCA to 1/4 inch female adaptor, but you would have to use 1/4 trs cable, not instrument.

The issue is that a balanced input will phase out your unbalanced signal.

If this happens, Mic your amp, buy a headphone amp, or buy a box to convert your unbalanced signal to balanced.

Most importantly be more specific or we have to guess what you mean and spend forever answering your ambiguous question's various possibilities. Don't say mono or stereo say trs or ts, because a trs cable can be unbalanced stereo or balanced mono. I hope this sheds some light on the differences for others seeking help.

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  • I have a KRX 100 Fender amp. It has 3 separate channels with balanced 1/4 inputs and volume. Chan 1 also has an xlr which I mic the instrument. It also has effects send/return, headphone and RCA unbalanced output. Fender suggested using the RCA out to channel line in for cleanest sound. The mixer has TRS balanced stereo and mono channels. I want to be able to mix the amp and pa mix independently. Maybe I should just use a stereo Y (dual male RCA with a 1/4 female and a TRS cable to the mono TRS balanced channel input? Thanks for all the help.
    – Chris MacKay
    Mar 22, 2013 at 12:47
  • @Chris MacKay, Excellent information for a question that was worded as well as I could have made it. I have a Behringer MPA40BT-Pro and have a similar question.
    – PatS
    Sep 25, 2018 at 1:28
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I suggest buying a couple of RCA male to 1/4" male cables. I have a ton of them that I bought from RadioShack a few years ago, and they're still going strong.

When it comes to cabling, I err on the side of less couplings and adapters. This lessens the chance of a bad connection and is easier to troubleshoot when something goes wrong.

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