Can m20d outputs drive unbalanced inputs?

[vicmedley]

I was wondering if the main & monitor outs on the m20d can be used to drive unbalanced inputs? I believe the manual only specifies balanced ins.

Thanks.

[Rick_Auricchio]

Sure; virtually any balanced output can drive an unbalanced input.

 

You should connect only the ground (pin 1) and hot (pin 2) of the balanced output to the ground and hot of the unbalanced input.

 

You shouldn't generally allow pin 2 (cold) to short to ground, though most modern balanced outputs are OK with that.

 

If the balanced output is transformer-driven, then you must short pin 3 to ground; otherwise you get weak and distorted sound. But most musical-instrument equipment isn't transformer-balanced. You'd know immediately if you need to ground pin 3---not grounding it won't cause damage, but you'll hear the sound isn't good.

 

Here's the connection diagram, taken from http://www.rane.com/note110.html . You can ignore their suggested wire colors; the important thing is how they're connected.

 

Note that this connection will drop 6dB of gain vs. a balanced connection, because it doesn't use both lines (pin 2 and 3). Just bump gains to compensate.

[vicmedley]

Thanks!