Hi everyone,
My girlfriend (hopefully soon to be fiancee) became deaf in one ear about a year ago. I am hoping to make her something at the headphone line level that will downmix a stereo stream to be mono so that she can hear both sides of her music. Ideally this would be unpowered and quite small.
Any ideas? I was thinking that you could just wire the left and right channels of a headphone output together with a few resistors, but I'm not really not sure at all 🙂.
My girlfriend (hopefully soon to be fiancee) became deaf in one ear about a year ago. I am hoping to make her something at the headphone line level that will downmix a stereo stream to be mono so that she can hear both sides of her music. Ideally this would be unpowered and quite small.
Any ideas? I was thinking that you could just wire the left and right channels of a headphone output together with a few resistors, but I'm not really not sure at all 🙂.
You only have to connect a small jumper between the L & R leads (tip and ring) inside the headphone plug (or jack). I often listen this way because of a bad stereo mix and I enjoy the "center of the head" sound also.
UHHH no! Shorting the L and R channels together migh not be a problem on your personal portable stereo, but some equipment really will not like this. Better to sum the channesl with low value resistors. So one resistor from each channel and the point where they connect is goes to feed both sides of the headphone. I would be tempted to do this in a small project box so it could be used with different amps/heanphones. Try values from 8 ohms up to mabe several hundred ohms.
if the output from the two channels of amplification have current limiting/stabilising resistors then there is no problem with linking the two Headphone terminals together (tip to ring).
Most headphones are designed to work with a significant output impedance. That limiting resistor is the cheap and easy and adequate way to achieve the high output impedance.
Measure the output stage to see if the resistors are fitted.
Part of the reason for having the limiting resistors on the outputs is due to the inherent design of the TRS plug/socket. It shorts out the various switches as it is inserted and removed.
Most headphones are designed to work with a significant output impedance. That limiting resistor is the cheap and easy and adequate way to achieve the high output impedance.
Measure the output stage to see if the resistors are fitted.
Part of the reason for having the limiting resistors on the outputs is due to the inherent design of the TRS plug/socket. It shorts out the various switches as it is inserted and removed.
just use SSM2141 or THAT1240/1250, you can make a summing amplifier for mix L and R, then make a distributor amplifier output mono signal to physics LO and RO.
Viking Zhang
Viking Zhang
Hello,
My wife of 34 years is also deaf in one ear and does not hear well in the other. This is the solution we worked out for TV watching. We tried personal head phones. That did not work out well especially when she would forget to turn back on the real speakers for the rest of us to hear. We have an L shaped sectional sofa she sits at the elbow there is a small mission table at the side of the sofa near her good ear. We have placed a pair of small KEF bookshelf speakers side by side in the near field position. She can adjust the sound level with remote control for her comfort without blasting out the rest of the household. The small speakers are connected to a dedicated stereo receiver. I get to use the TV remote for general room sound. She is in charge of her stuff not cut off from the rest of the room. The near field solution really works well for us.
DT
All just for just for fun!
My wife of 34 years is also deaf in one ear and does not hear well in the other. This is the solution we worked out for TV watching. We tried personal head phones. That did not work out well especially when she would forget to turn back on the real speakers for the rest of us to hear. We have an L shaped sectional sofa she sits at the elbow there is a small mission table at the side of the sofa near her good ear. We have placed a pair of small KEF bookshelf speakers side by side in the near field position. She can adjust the sound level with remote control for her comfort without blasting out the rest of the household. The small speakers are connected to a dedicated stereo receiver. I get to use the TV remote for general room sound. She is in charge of her stuff not cut off from the rest of the room. The near field solution really works well for us.
DT
All just for just for fun!
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