Mono Male
January 14th, 2008 | 
Author:
How to convert stereo sound to mono sound?
My iPod gives out stereo sound but guitar amp can only play mono sound. If I use plug 3,5mm stereo male --> plug 6,3mm mono male, will it do the trick? Does it play both channels from one speaker or does it remove one channel? And should I plug it into "input high" or "input low"?
None of the above, I'm afraid.
That adapter is intended to let you use stereo headphones with a 3.5mm plug in a 6.3mm mono headphone jack. (such as is found on communications receivers and not much else these days)
Such an adapter, used the way you propose, will connect both of the iPod's outputs to the guitar amp input, just as a "Y" adapter would. But you should not EVER use "Y" adapters to combine audio signals.
If you want to know why not, read "below the line" below.
The right answer is a mixer. You can use a simple passive mixer (a few resistors), or a cheap small active mixer like one of the little Behringers (under $50).
The article I've linked below shows how to make resistive mixers, and also goes into more detail as to why what you're thinking of should not be done. Note that Rane Audio is one of the oldest and most respected names in pro audio - they know what they're talking about.,
By the way, a guitar speaker cabinet isn't really made for full-range sound. Without midrange or high frequency drivers it's basically terrible as far as reproducing music is concerned - it's intended to *make* music. It's designed to complement an electric guitar, and even to provide a distinctive sound of its own. It's not a substitute for a proper hi-fidelity speaker.
But if you insist... you'd use "input high". The headphone output from an iPod is very definitely "high level" as far as a guitar amp is concerned.
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Why not:
The reason has to do with impedance. Your iPod's outputs (L and R) are each low impedance - very low, probably below well 10 ohms as they are intended to drive headphones. Your guitar amp's input is high impedance - probably at least 10K ohms, maybe higher as it is an "instrument" input. That is how things work in audio - low level outputs driving high level inputs. This is called a "bridging" connection. It maximizes voltage transfer to the input.
( No, we don't match impedances from output to input, not anywhere in audio connections. Not from mic to preamp, not from instrument to amp, not at line level. Nor even with amps driving speakers: The amp output is of very low impedance, typically 1/25 to 1/50 that of the speaker - that's where "damping factor" comes from. It is true that this does not result in maximum power transfer, but amplifier power is so cheap these days that the other benefits of a "bridging" connection are more important than maximizing power transfer. And as for standing waves and "reflections", the signals are of extremely long wavelength compared to the cable length, so transmission line theory just doesn't apply here. Unless you are dealing with analog long-distance telephone lines... )
What that adapter will do is connect both outputs in parallel with each other and with the amp input. Each output channel is then driving the other output channel as well as the amp input. But the output channels have an extremely low impedance. In effect, each output shorts out the other, drawing far more current than the outputs are designed to supply. That causes voltage sag, which in turn causes clipping distortion. It might even damage the iPod's outputs.
In cases where the outputs are so designed (with a LOT of current drive ability... like headphone jacks) that it sounds ok, you are still risking damage. In fact, more so, since you're dealing with high current outputs! That very high current from each outout is now being run through the other output! Resulting in overheating. Particularly at moments where the waveform in one channel is going positive and in the other channel it's going negative.
You wouldn't connect two amplifiers' outputs to the same speaker, would you? I hope not. That's essentially what you're proposing here.
You need to isolate the channels so that they don't drive each other while they both drive the amp input. That's what a mixer does (besides its obvious job of mixing the signals).
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