TRRS input for iPad—works for line in?

dvi

I recently purchased a microfreak (wonderful little machine) as my first foray into hardware. I do not currently own an audio interface, but of course I want to run it through my iPad Air 3 (is microfreak to spectrum the new rings to clouds?).

I thought it would be simply a matter of getting a headphone splitter (this one) which would make use of the TRRS input in the iPad. Sure, the levels would be off since it is not line-in, but a $12 adapter seemed like a good start before spending on a real interface (I’m looking at the U-24, which also has MIDI in so I don’t need a USB hub).

Sadly, it does not work. Both Audiobus and AUM recognize the headphone output, but only offer the iPad microphone as input. It’s strange because any headset with a microphone (B&W P5 here) works as expected. I also tried using the Lightning dongle and it’s the same.

Did I get a faulty headphone splitter, or is this not going to work at all? What makes the splitter different from an iRig (which is discontinued)? I’ll eventually get to that U-24, but I’m itching for some effects on this thing now.

Thanks for any insights!

iansainsbury

I never managed to make it work with a rode trrs cable. I bought a zoom h1n, which is an audio interface, decent stereo mic, has sd storage... it’s probably my most used item of gear. For the money, it’s amazing.

Paulinko

You can use a passive circuit made from inexpensive components to plug a line source or instrument such as an electric guitar into your headphone jack. A headphone splitter or some kind of combination of cables and adapters without such a circuit won’t work.

uncledave

@dvi It'll be up to iOS to detect an external microphone, not the apps (AB or AUM). And it probably works on the impedance of the "mic" source. Not sure what it would be expecting (high, low, medium), though testing a working mic/headset might give a clue.

dvi

@iansainsbury said:
I never managed to make it work with a rode trrs cable. I bought a zoom h1n, which is an audio interface, decent stereo mic, has sd storage... it’s probably my most used item of gear. For the money, it’s amazing.

Thanks for the sobering realization. I’ve borrowed an h1n before and it works perfectly. Although the microphone/standalone recording is a good thing to have, it’s not a priority for me. In my case, having MIDI in the same unit is a big plus. (Other midi/audio interfaces retail for much more than the U-24). The U-44 adds a microphone if you have the exchangeable heads and the best of both worlds, but those are $100 a pop so.

@Paulinko said:
You can use a passive circuit made from inexpensive components to plug a line source or instrument such as an electric guitar into your headphone jack. A headphone splitter or some kind of combination of cables and adapters without such a circuit won’t work.

Thanks for this. So this would be essentially the schematics for an iRig? If so, that would be helpful. I’ve fixed the odd guitar cable before, but this would be beyond my abilities with electronics at the moment. Future project, perhaps!

@uncledave said:
@dvi It'll be up to iOS to detect an external microphone, not the apps (AB or AUM). And it probably works on the impedance of the "mic" source. Not sure what it would be expecting (high, low, medium), though testing a working mic/headset might give a clue.

Now that you mention it, maybe it’s actually a bad idea to feed the microfreak into the ipad which is expecting a much lower impedance? My experiments didn’t fry the port, but I think I’ll stop here until I have the right device.

So this leaves us with three alternatives:

1. Build your own passive circuit.
2. Buy an iRig (sweetwater is actually listing the older model for $39, which is fine).
3. Go all in with the audio interface. There are cheap audio interfaces, especially from B*, but I’d prefer to stay away from that vibe.

I like options 1 and 2 because its the most minimal/portable setup. After that, it’s adding one thing after the other... Thanks all for your input. Hopefully this will help others who, like me, think that some things should be simple...

coolout

TRRS input works perfectly for me with line level sources. I'm using generic versions of the 1st-gen iRig just fine with my Moog Werkstatt and other devices. The iRig adapter uses the TRRS port to give mono in - stereo out. The input can be guitar or line level. You just have to make sure to turn down the input gain in AUM settings as the input gain can only be set in software. This is what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0855SCRKX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Only $11 but you can find them even cheaper on Ebay but they'll ship direct from China and take a month or two to arrive. I've ordered 4 total from both Amazon and Ebay just to use my old iphones and ipads as FX boxes with hardware. Easiest and simplest solution I've found.

dvi

@coolout said:
TRRS input works perfectly for me with line level sources. I'm using generic versions of the 1st-gen iRig just fine with my Moog Werkstatt and other devices. The iRig adapter uses the TRRS port to give mono in - stereo out. The input can be guitar or line level. You just have to make sure to turn down the input gain in AUM settings as the input gain can only be set in software. This is what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0855SCRKX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Only $11 but you can find them even cheaper on Ebay but they'll ship direct from China and take a month or two to arrive. I've ordered 4 total from both Amazon and Ebay just to use my old iphones and ipads as FX boxes with hardware. Easiest and simplest solution I've found.

Oh thanks for confirming that these work! I’d considered them but I tend to avoid that kind of products. I’ll probably end up ordering them anyway. Simple is simple indeed!

And, if anyone is interested, I can confirm that the headphone splitter linked above (UGREEN TRS to TRRS) works to expose the mic input of the microfreak. I’m getting interesting, unexpected effects by running ios synths through the vocoder, although it’s too bad it cannot be used as a more powerful “ext in” to mix/modulate with the digital osc, run through the analog filter, etc. Maybe it will come in a future update.

coolout

@dvi said:

@coolout said:
TRRS input works perfectly for me with line level sources. I'm using generic versions of the 1st-gen iRig just fine with my Moog Werkstatt and other devices. The iRig adapter uses the TRRS port to give mono in - stereo out. The input can be guitar or line level. You just have to make sure to turn down the input gain in AUM settings as the input gain can only be set in software. This is what you need.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0855SCRKX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Only $11 but you can find them even cheaper on Ebay but they'll ship direct from China and take a month or two to arrive. I've ordered 4 total from both Amazon and Ebay just to use my old iphones and ipads as FX boxes with hardware. Easiest and simplest solution I've found.

Oh thanks for confirming that these work! I’d considered them but I tend to avoid that kind of products. I’ll probably end up ordering them anyway. Simple is simple indeed!

And, if anyone is interested, I can confirm that the headphone splitter linked above (UGREEN TRS to TRRS) works to expose the mic input of the microfreak. I’m getting interesting, unexpected effects by running ios synths through the vocoder, although it’s too bad it cannot be used as a more powerful “ext in” to mix/modulate with the digital osc, run through the analog filter, etc. Maybe it will come in a future update.

Yeah, I couldn't believe how well they work. I've used an IO Dock and various USB audio interfaces with iOS over the years, but these little iRig adapters have been the most simple, trouble free way of getting a mono line-level signal in. I then use a 1/8" stereo to RCA adapter for output. Sounds way more expensive than what I paid. Wish I known about it earlier. It's really the best way to use iOS effects with mono output hardware.

Telefunky

You may check crosstalk by recording your external mono source running idle (just have it connected and powered up) while playing something through headphones at your regular listening level.
Chances are that the playback will be a faint addition to the otherwise silent track.
(results may vary with devices)

Paulinko

@dvi said:

@iansainsbury said:
I never managed to make it work with a rode trrs cable. I bought a zoom h1n, which is an audio interface, decent stereo mic, has sd storage... it’s probably my most used item of gear. For the money, it’s amazing.

Thanks for the sobering realization. I’ve borrowed an h1n before and it works perfectly. Although the microphone/standalone recording is a good thing to have, it’s not a priority for me. In my case, having MIDI in the same unit is a big plus. (Other midi/audio interfaces retail for much more than the U-24). The U-44 adds a microphone if you have the exchangeable heads and the best of both worlds, but those are $100 a pop so.

@Paulinko said:
You can use a passive circuit made from inexpensive components to plug a line source or instrument such as an electric guitar into your headphone jack. A headphone splitter or some kind of combination of cables and adapters without such a circuit won’t work.

Thanks for this. So this would be essentially the schematics for an iRig? If so, that would be helpful. I’ve fixed the odd guitar cable before, but this would be beyond my abilities with electronics at the moment. Future project, perhaps!

@uncledave said:
@dvi It'll be up to iOS to detect an external microphone, not the apps (AB or AUM). And it probably works on the impedance of the "mic" source. Not sure what it would be expecting (high, low, medium), though testing a working mic/headset might give a clue.

Now that you mention it, maybe it’s actually a bad idea to feed the microfreak into the ipad which is expecting a much lower impedance? My experiments didn’t fry the port, but I think I’ll stop here until I have the right device.

So this leaves us with three alternatives:

1. Build your own passive circuit.
2. Buy an iRig (sweetwater is actually listing the older model for $39, which is fine).
3. Go all in with the audio interface. There are cheap audio interfaces, especially from B*, but I’d prefer to stay away from that vibe.

I like options 1 and 2 because its the most minimal/portable setup. After that, it’s adding one thing after the other... Thanks all for your input. Hopefully this will help others who, like me, think that some things should be simple...

The circuit is simple to make. I made one as my first attempt at soldering over 10 years ago and it still works. I initially tried an original iRig and didn’t like it because it was too noisy. The passive circuit has a pot which allows you to manually adjust the input sound so you have no sound when you’re not playing whereas the iRig did not. The cost of materials is a fraction of the cost of the $39 iRig. Line sources are not a problem as once again, you can adjust the pot until the level is appropriate for your DAW. You can also use headphone output jacks as input sources and control the input volume with the output volume of that device too. The only caveat is that the mic input of the Apple headphone jack is always going to be mono which will end up being the left channel on stereo sources.