hi, why does the headphone out on my motif xs sound so good through my headphones , but when I use my mixer (allen and heath) headphone out it sounds so bad. It sounds like it is coming out mono despite the fact that Im coming out of the back of keyboard with stereo. Ive made sure to pan the left and right to their max. The whole eq sounds bad too. this seems to happen no matter what mixer I use, also volume is quite low. Thanks

Welcome to the Forum!

You don’t say:  Are you going into a stereo input?  If so, the pan (balance) should be centered, to maintain equality between L & R.  You would pan L & R if going into (2) mono inputs.

The headphone out of the mixer is a result of how it has been mixed.  You don’t say, but I am assuming that there is an EQ section integral to the mixer.

The headphone result from the mixer can bear little resemblance to the direct headphone result from the instrument, depending on how much the mixer may be set to alter the original sound.

jazzbo - 17 January 2019 03:39 PM

hi, why does the headphone out on my motif xs sound so good through my headphones , but when I use my mixer (allen and heath) headphone out it sounds so bad. It sounds like it is coming out mono despite the fact that Im coming out of the back of keyboard with stereo. Ive made sure to pan the left and right to their max. The whole eq sounds bad too. this seems to happen no matter what mixer I use, also volume is quite low. Thanks

How does the mixer output sound on speakers?

What model and impedance are the headphones?

What model is the Allen & Heath mixer?

thanks for the reply guys .
I have the the stereo input centered, and have also tried to input right and left in individual channels and panned them left and right , still sounds bad.  The mixer is zed 10fx. The sound out of my powered speakers sounds much better than the mix out of the headphones. All the eq is set to 12 oclock . I have tried messing with the eq , still not what I like.

I have a two sets of great headphones . Sony professional 7508. The headphones sound great in any other application.

Hi guys,
I just discovered something else , when I pan the stereo input left or right , it does nothing in the headphones . Also a dynamic mic requires I turn on phantom power to work . I think I got a bad mixer ? What do you think ?

jazzbo - 17 January 2019 11:27 PM

Also a dynamic mic requires I turn on phantom power to work .  What do you think ?

Ouch. I think you should stop what you’re doing. Power down the unit and mixer then unplug the Motif from the mixer. Your instrument does not appreciate receiving +48v of phantom power. With the XF unconnected from the mixer, power up the XF and turn the Master Volume slider all the way down and insert your headphones into each of the 4 output jacks in the rear of the unit and listen for any pops or clicks. The presence of either would point to damaged outputs of the instrument.

If your Motif is undamaged perhaps some of us could review the specs on your mixer and assist you in that regard. You should never introduce phantom power to your Motif. Bad stuff happens.

... and my apologies, welcome to Motifator, a very good place.

jazzbo - 17 January 2019 10:41 PM

thanks for the reply guys .
I have the the stereo input centered, and have also tried to input right and left in individual channels and panned them left and right , still sounds bad.  The mixer is zed 10fx. The sound out of my powered speakers sounds much better than the mix out of the headphones. All the eq is set to 12 oclock . I have tried messing with the eq , still not what I like.

The ZED-10FX has built-in effects. If the effects are turned up the sound might be what you want on speakers, but be inappropriate for headphone listening. See if it makes a difference with headphones if you turn effects on the mixer all the way down.

 
 

jazzbo - 17 January 2019 10:43 PM

I have a two sets of great headphones . Sony professional 7508. The headphones sound great in any other application.

I can’t find any information on Sony 7508. The closest to such a model I’ve located is the MDR-7506.

 
 

jazzbo - 17 January 2019 11:27 PM

Hi guys,
I just discovered something else , when I pan the stereo input left or right , it does nothing in the headphones . Also a dynamic mic requires I turn on phantom power to work . I think I got a bad mixer ? What do you think ?

As to the headphone issue, I can think of one possibility…
A broken common ground connection to the sleeve contact of the mixer’s headphone jack can cause only the difference between the left and right channels to be heard, and that will be the same sound in both sides of the headphones. With a stereo source, the sound will be strange and low in level. With a mono signal with exactly matched levels for left and right applied, there would be full cancellation of the sound in the headphones if such a defective connection existed. However, you previously posted that “this seems to happen no matter what mixer I use”, and that kind of problem on multiple mixers is unlikely.

As to the need to turn on phantom power when using a dynamic mic, that can be caused by using an incorrect mic cable or problem with the mixer.

As stoneb3 mentioned, if phantom power is applied to the output of the XS, damage can occur. If that happens, one of the symptoms can be crosstalk between the output channels, reducing stereo separation. Make sure that the ZED-10FX doesn’t apply phantom power to its line inputs.

Thanks guys for the heads up on the phantom power and the motif. wow, I had no idea , could have been bad.  And yes the headphones are model 7506. I’ll check out the advice you gave me . thanks.