Wiring a 3-pin mini-Din?

[Jim R.]

I'm considering mounting a 3-pin mini-Din connector to my Crack but I don't know how to identify the pins and what gets connected to R, L, and ground,.  Also, would it hurt anything to run the headphone connections to the stock jack through both sides of that jack and then onto the mini-Din?  I'd make good mechanical connections, so not just running through the solder eye, but looped around it.

Thanks,

Jim

[Paul Birkeland]

Hello Jim,

What is hooking into the DIN jack?

[Jim R.]

PB,

Well, either a homemade cable for my HD-600s, but also planning for the possibility of some AT pro cans down the road.

-- Jim

[ironbut]

Hey Jim,
You should probably check with Audio Technica to find out the convention of the pin assignments and build your HD600 cables to the same.
Normally, an XLR for a balanced connection:

Pin 1 ground/shield
Pin 2 Hot
Pin 3 Cold

If it's a stereo plug, the normal conventions is Pin 2 is left and Pin 3 is right channels.

That isn't to say that everybody follows that convention. Some microphones and other pro gear will have pins 2 and 3 switched but pin 1 is always the ground/shield since it's actually made differently. Since XLR's are often used to carry voltages such as stage lighting, pin 1 is made a tiny bit longer on both the male and female connectors. It's designed that way so the last thing to be disconnected is the ground to avoid arching across the gap. It also helps when the cable connector is submerged (think Woodstock) where the ground will be the last good connection.
So, email Audio Technica pro support and they can send you a pdf.

BTW the numbers are on the inside and outside of every connector but it's super tiny. I don't know whether it's a male or female connector so I don't want to confuse you.

[Jim R.]

Steve,

Ok, I'll check with AT and then I'll try to sort out the numbering as I have both male and female ends.

Thanks for the suggestions.  Hope to have my Crack making music, in more or less stock form, by this weekend.

-- Jim

[Jim R.]

Just an update -- it looks as there are very few things that use these 3-pin mini-DINs, so for now I'm just going to leave well enough alone and stick with the stock jack.  My long term plan is to get some HD-800s to pair with the Crack and try some AKG 501/601s with it in the mean time and leave the HD-600s with the s.e.x. (also driving zigmahornets) in the bedroom.

-- Jim

[ironbut]

Just wondering,.. which headphones is it that use that connector?
Maybe some of the folks here that are more familiar with the Pro audio environment can chime in here regarding the kinds of gear that use this on the cans output (mixers etc.?)

[Jim R.]

Steve,

That's just it, I couldn't tell if any of them used this on the output, but it seems that several of their models use a 3 pin connector on the earpiece connection.  At least that's what I can figure from the info I can find and access (i.e. no pictures.)

-- Jim

[ironbut]

The headphone manufacturers use all kinds of wacky connectors to attach the cord to the earcups. Most of the time if they use a 3 pin connection (instead of 2 conductor) it's a cable that attaches to only one of the earcups (left). That connector/cable carries 1) left signal 2) right signal and 3) a common return/ground. Then there's a cable that goes through the headband to the right earcup and another that returns to the left earcup for the common ground.
Those usually terminate to a TRS (tip-ring-sleeve) 1/4 or 1/8th inch connector that we're all familiar with. The tip of the TRS is left signal, the ring is right signal and the sleeve is ground. Sometimes when you pull a TRS connector out of it's chassis jack slowly, you'll first hear the left channel in mono through both earpieces. That's because the sleeve is designed to be long enough so that the ground is the last intact connection and at one point of pulling the plug out, the tip (left channel) is in momentary contact with both the right and left connections on the chassis jack.
You've really gotta admire the design of these pro connectors. Decades of use in the field (think outdoor concerts, theater and crazy location film/video use) and competition have honed TRS and XLR connectors to a fine edge,.. IMHO.