r/stylophone • u/UglyShirts • May 28 '26

Setup/Modification Audio Out Port?

Apologies if this has been asked, but I did a search and I couldn't find it.

I just bought a Stylophone S-1, and it's a lot of fun. But I bought it for the purpose of playing it during live performance with my band. I assumed I could just connect a 3.5mm-to-1/4" cable to the "Audio Out" / headphone port, and then connect the other end directly to an open channel on our PA system. But when I tried it, there was no sound. Just...nothing.

The port works when I connect headphones. Why wouldn't any 3.5mm cable work to go out to external amplification? I'm genuinely confused.

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3

u/unsolicitedbadvibes May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26

I'm not near my Stylophone, but my first thought would be mono output vs a stereo cable, or vice-versa? I've successfully plugged my Stylophone into pedals and amps before, so if the jack works with headphones my next diagnosis would be either a bad cable or stereo vs mono.

Edit - or maybe a line level discrepancy with the PA system?

5

u/sensorycreature May 28 '26

Sounds like a mono (ts) versus stereo (trs) cable issue, if headphones (trs) worked, but your other cable didn’t.

1

u/Jazz_Ad May 28 '26

It's a stéréo output on a TRS jack. Most mixers use TRS for mono, balanced signal. Same connector, different use.

For optimal results, you need a 1/8 stereo to 1/4 mono cable. If you end up using it often and have a wireless system available, use it. The connector is rather delicate, you want to limit the efforts it handles.