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Galaxy Audio is located in Wichita, Kansas. They’ve been in business since 1977. The product that brought them the most noteriety is the “Galaxy Audio Hot Spot”, a compact stage monitor speaker that mounts on a mic stand and brings the on-stage monitor speaker closer to the performer’s head. Over the years they’ve grown into providing a variety of products to make life easier for performing musicians.
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WHAT IS THE JIB/S 4-WAY SPLITTER
The JIB/S is a utility box which can be used to split a single output to multiple inputs. Each of the jacks is TRS so if you use a balanced source the four “splits” will also be balanced. If any of the five jacks is populated with an unbalanced connector then all the others will also be unbalanced.
The JIB/S is NOT a mixer and should not be used to combine multiple signals into a single feed. If you use it to mix signals together you may cause damage to your source-audio devices.
USES FOR JIB/S
In the world of Galaxy Audio, users often need to split the monitor output from a mixer to feed several wireless in-ear or powered monitor systems simultaneously with the same mix. The JIB/S can receive input on one of its five TRS jacks and provide four balanced outputs to drive in-ear or powered monitor speaker systems. Keeping the JIB/S near the mixer output and keeping cables as short as possible can help minimize ground loops and problems.
If you feed the JIB/S with a balanced audio signal then the other jacks will also be balanced as long as ALL the connections are balanced. If one of the five jacks is used unbalanced it will unbalance all of the others and may cause a ground-loop hum.
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Y-CONNECTIONS
Y-connectors and Y-connections in general are frought with technical problems that can mean intermittent audio, hum and distortion. Wire-based Y-connections and Y-connectors are notorius for using inexpensive female jacks that don’t properly grip plugs and don’t maintain tight, highly reliable audio connections. The Galaxy Audio JIB/S solves this problem by providing a highly stable and reliable Y-connecting scheme.
MONO SEND FOR STEREO REVERB
I use a couple of Lexicon reverb systems which have two (stereo) input jacks. If you want to use the reverb with mono-input and stereo output then you must split the mono-source into two so it can feed both reverb inputs. The JIB/S can easily provide a very high quality Y-connection and effectively split a mono aux send into two balanced feeds to plug in to the reverb inputs.
HOW IT’S MADE
The Galxy Audio JIB/S splitter box is made from folded steel which provides excellent protection from induced noise. The five TRS female audio jacks are all wired in parallel. No power supply is needed for this box to function.
LIKES
Passive, no power supply required
Steel enclosure, provides excellent shielding
Isolated TRS jacks
Easy to use
Low priced
DISLIKES
None to speak of
EPILOGUE
Galaxy Audio made the JIB/S to make connecting multiple monitor systems together and feed them from a single mixer source. In the process they’ve provided the pro-audio industry with a versatile and rugged means of electrically Y-connecting the audio feeds of balanced and unbalanced signals.
The list price for the JIB/S is approximately $43 but I have found them online ranging in purchase price from $29.99 to $34.95. Currently I own four JIB/S and have been using them around the studio for a variety of balanced and unbalanced Y-connections. The jacks have been reliable and the connections have been solid. This is an excellent “problem solver” device from the good folks at Galaxy Audio.
Good Music To You!
©2022 by Mark King for High on Technology
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