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Don Benoit
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles

I have an Omni I/O breakout box and it seems like the 1/4 inch mic plugs do
not fit snug and are therefore noisy. Anyone else had this problem? Anyone
know the cost to have M-Audio repair the unit?
steelguitarist at shaw.ca

--
Don

Please check www.steelguitar.ca for British Columbia steel guitar
activities.


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Mike Rivers
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles


Don Benoit wrote:
I have an Omni I/O breakout box and it seems like the 1/4 inch mic plugs do
not fit snug and are therefore noisy. Anyone else had this problem? Anyone
know the cost to have M-Audio repair the unit?


It used to be that only the little mini jacks that you find on portable
recorders and players didn't fit very well, but now it seems that we
have a generation of crappy 1/4" jacks as well. They're ****in'
everywhere. Even the headphone jack on my Mackie Onyx mixer is sloppy.

M-Audio can't fix it. The best they can do is replace your unit and
maybe the next one will have jacks that are a little snugger. But I'll
bet they won't. (neither offier to swap it or the jacks on the
replacement unit will be any better)

A somewhat clever defense against this creeping connector disease is a
plug made by the Planet Waves division of D'Addario. It has a spring
arrangement on the sleeve of the plug that's designed to apply some
pressure to the sides of the hole of the jack and at least keep the
sleve contact secure. I tried to find a clear photo of one on their web
site and couldn't, but go to a music store that carries the line and
look at one.

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Richard Crowley
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles

"Mike Rivers" wrote ...
It used to be that only the little mini jacks that you find on
portable
recorders and players didn't fit very well, but now it seems that we
have a generation of crappy 1/4" jacks as well. They're ****in'
everywhere. Even the headphone jack on my Mackie Onyx mixer is sloppy.


Metric vs. English? we've had discussions before about
whether 3.5mm and 1/8inch are really interchangable.
Same with 1/4inch variety?

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Mike Rivers
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles


Richard Crowley wrote:

Metric vs. English? we've had discussions before about
whether 3.5mm and 1/8inch are really interchangable.
Same with 1/4inch variety?


We used to think that when Radio Shack was about the only common source
for non-Switchcraft jacks, figuring they were some metric equivalent of
1/4." Seems like the industry would have figured out that this is
something that they have to standardize on.

I think the problem is that there isn't enough springiness in the tip
and ring contacts and they just don't put enough pressure on the plug
to make good contact and keep it pressed against the ring firmly. Most
of the problem ones are the enclosed jacks that mount directly to a
circuit board or have a plastic bushing that mounts through a hole in
the chassis. I don't know what's with the Onyx - the jacks look better
than they work. The insert jacks work OK with a TRS plug all the way in
like they're supposed to be used, but try to plug a TS plug halfway in
to use it as a direct output and it wobbles around. The ring contact of
the jack (which contacts the tip in this kludge) just doesn't come in
far enough to be secure in the notch of the tip of the plug. The
headphone jack is just a little sloppy.

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Scott Dorsey
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles

Richard Crowley wrote:
"Mike Rivers" wrote ...
It used to be that only the little mini jacks that you find on
portable
recorders and players didn't fit very well, but now it seems that we
have a generation of crappy 1/4" jacks as well. They're ****in'
everywhere. Even the headphone jack on my Mackie Onyx mixer is sloppy.


Metric vs. English? we've had discussions before about
whether 3.5mm and 1/8inch are really interchangable.
Same with 1/4inch variety?


No. While the 3.5mm nonsense is a nightmare, there really IS a standard
for the quarter phone, that really IS a quarter inch. (Actually there
are two standards, one for long frame and another for short frame.)

The problem is poor manufacturing tolerances on cheap gear.
--scott

Now, it's true that there is _also_ a .175 phone plug, which looks like
a long-frame quarter-inch but isn't. Those turn up on aircraft radios
and Bell and Howell projectors, among other places. I always keep a
couple adaptors in the adaptor box.
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."


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Don Benoit
 
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Default M-Audio Omni I/O Mic receptacles

Thanks for the comments. I have emailed m-audio to see what they say.

--
Don

Please check www.steelguitar.ca for British Columbia steel guitar
activities.
I can be be reached on Skype by calling the user name steelguitars
I sell Steel Guitar amplifiers and accessories.
"Scott Dorsey" wrote in message
...
Richard Crowley wrote:
"Mike Rivers" wrote ...
It used to be that only the little mini jacks that you find on
portable
recorders and players didn't fit very well, but now it seems that we
have a generation of crappy 1/4" jacks as well. They're ****in'
everywhere. Even the headphone jack on my Mackie Onyx mixer is sloppy.


Metric vs. English? we've had discussions before about
whether 3.5mm and 1/8inch are really interchangable.
Same with 1/4inch variety?


No. While the 3.5mm nonsense is a nightmare, there really IS a standard
for the quarter phone, that really IS a quarter inch. (Actually there
are two standards, one for long frame and another for short frame.)

The problem is poor manufacturing tolerances on cheap gear.
--scott

Now, it's true that there is _also_ a .175 phone plug, which looks like
a long-frame quarter-inch but isn't. Those turn up on aircraft radios
and Bell and Howell projectors, among other places. I always keep a
couple adaptors in the adaptor box.
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."



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