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How do I connect my Casio Privia PX-150 to an amp/D.I. box?


morphiah

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Do I use a patch cord? What jack to I connect the patch cord to on the keyboard, either of the headphone jacks? Do I need an adapter for the patch cord to fit? My friend told me that I'd need to connect a patch cord to a "Line Out" or "L/Mono + R" port, but the Privia PX-150 doesn't seem to have those ports.

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You will have to run out of the headphone jack. 1/4" to whatever the DI box or amp needs. 

Is there any downside to doing this? Do other keyboards have a better option, or is it all the same? And does it matter which headphone jack I use, since the keyboard has two of them?

 

Thanks.

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Higher level keyboards will have line outs. Just watch the volume on as headphone outs can run a little hot. Doesn't matter which jack you use - they are both the same.

Ah I see. What is the benefit of having line outs versus a headphone jack when connecting a patch cord? (I'm a complete amateur when it comes to this stuff!)

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Line level outputs typically have a source impedance of 50 to a few hundred ohms. They are intended to drive loads that have a high input impedance, usually greater than 5k ohms. They are typically optimized for very low noise and low distortion when used with high impedance loads.

Headphone outputs typically have a source impedance less than a hundred ohms and the better ones have a source impedance of a few ohms or less. They are intended to drive the lower impedances presented by headphones which typically range from 16 ohms to 300 ohms. They are optimized for being able to drive higher current and for delivering reasonable distortion and noise with low impedance loads.

Line level outputs usually do poorly when driving headphones because their higher source impedance will not properly damp the driver at low frequencies and they can suffer from high frequency rollof when loaded with significant capacitance.

Headphone outputs can be used to drive line level loads and can provide good noise and distortion performance but are typically not as good as line level outputs.

I know I made a lot of generalizations here and that there will always be exceptions, but these are just some rules of thumb.

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Line level outputs typically have a source impedance of 50 to a few hundred ohms. They are intended to drive loads that have a high input impedance, usually greater than 5k ohms. They are typically optimized for very low noise and low distortion when used with high impedance loads.

Headphone outputs typically have a source impedance less than a hundred ohms and the better ones have a source impedance of a few ohms or less. They are intended to drive the lower impedances presented by headphones which typically range from 16 ohms to 300 ohms. They are optimized for being able to drive higher current and for delivering reasonable distortion and noise with low impedance loads.

Line level outputs usually do poorly when driving headphones because their higher source impedance will not properly damp the driver at low frequencies and they can suffer from high frequency rollof when loaded with significant capacitance.

Headphone outputs can be used to drive line level loads and can provide good noise and distortion performance but are typically not as good as line level outputs.

I know I made a lot of generalizations here and that there will always be exceptions, but these are just some rules of thumb.

Have you ever tried using the Privia PX-150 on stage with a DI box/amp? How does it sound in your opinion?

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Thanks for all your help Scott! I have yet another question, having some trouble. I recently bought an adaptor to use my headphones with my Privia PX-150. With whatever pair of headphones I use, I seem to get sound only in the left headphone, and no sound from the right one. I've tried several pairs of headphones, and I made sure the adaptor and headphones were inserted firmly. Could it be because of the adaptor? Or maybe the keyboard itself?

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The headphone outputs on the PX-150 are _stereo_ outputs -- three contacts:

 

. . . tip (probably right-channel)

. . . ring (probably left-channel)

. . . sleeve ( = ground) -- common ground for both right-channel and left-channel.

 

If you're only getting sound in one ear, it's possible that you're using a monophonic 1/8"-to-1/4" adapter.  Check the 1/8" end; if it only has "tip" and "sleeve", it's mono.

 

I don't know if there's a way to tell the PX-150 to produce monophonic sound.  If I remember right, on the left channel, the bass is a little stronger, and on the right channel, the treble is a little stronger.   

 

If there's a _line-level_ unbalanced input to your amp, you can run the PX-150's headphone signal (either channel) right into it.  As Scott says, don't overload the amp's input.

 

If there's a "mic" input on the amp, you can use a DI box.  Feed the PX-150 headphone output to the DI box "unbalanced" side (usually a 1/4" mono jack), and feed the balanced output to the amp.

 

 

.           Charles

 

 

 

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  • 2 years later...

So.....I have a question.....I use a Casio Privia PX-100 which I hook to the PA mixer for live gigs....when we had a snake I used to run it into a DI box and then an xlr mic cord to run it long distances. I recently bought a Behringer XR18 so the keyboard is now 20 feet from the mixer.....with the output on the Casio being limited to 1/8 stereo headphone jacks what is the best way to hook this up to the PA. For the last gig I used a Hosa cord with 1/8 TRS on one end and 1/4 TS on the other end, and hooked it into the mixer....I wasn't to impressed though....just looking for the best way to do this.....????....

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You can buy a good DI box from a company like Radial or Switchcraft (beware of cheap brands, those can be hit or miss) and then run to an XLR that runs to the mixer. Long cable runs of unbalanced cable can suck for your sound and I'm guessing that's what you're experiencing.

 

Another option if you use multiple keyboards or sound sources is the Key Largo from Radial. I know - you just bought a mixer! But depending on your situation, it might be useful so I wanted to cover everything.

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