TRS cable from Nord headphone jack to FOH board instead of DI to XLR to FOH

[sagetunes]

Why not?

[mate stubb]

No. Impedances are wrong, levels are wrong, there is no isolation from ground loops, and no protection for your Nord from phantom power, not to mention no protection for FOH from your hot HP outputs.

[Sean M. H.]

Also, in this case, the output at the headphones out is TRS to carry stereo, not for a balanced mono signal...so you'd be trying to route a stereo signal to a mono input.  You could use a TRS to dual TS (Y-cable), routed to two separate inputs at FOH and it would "work"...but wouldn't address any of the issues Moe mentioned above....plus--whose sitting that close to FOH?

[ElmerJFudd]

Throw your Nord into mono and use a proper line out to DI  like everyone else. 😉
 

One of the reasons you want to switch from 1/4” line level unbalanced -> DI -> XLR balanced for the FOH is the distance the signal needs to travel.  There is great potential for the  introduction of noise along the way and the balanced signal will reduce noise that wasn’t present at the start. 
 

 

[Tom Williams]

Excepting the XLR part (bad idea as discussed above):

 

I've done that with my PX-5S when I had mechanical troubles with the right output jack: split the TRS headphone jack into two TS plugs, and run each of them a short distance to the mixer as line-level inputs, adjusting volume and gain accordingly.

 

Optimum?  No.  Better than mono?  Yup.

[Baldwin Funster]

I've used the HP output. If it's a 12 ft distance to the board or at least the stage snake, it can be ok. I use a trs to tip and ring breakout cable and use the tip side because it sounds better usually. That's why stage snakes have 1/4" line inputs. Why I sometimes prefer the HP to the normal line outs is now I have an extra knob to crank if I need a soloboost. I always sound check with that knob no higher than halfway up. I also have run that HP out to a di box or an inline imp trans and then xlr to the snake or board. Or sometimes I use the regular line outs on the board. It just depends.

I'm not a touring pro so there's that to consider. 

 

Edit. One time I emailed Roland asking tech support if it would be damaging to use the HP out on my JDXI instead of the line out and he indicated it wasn't a concern.

[erik_nie]

I use a local keyboard mixer from AliExpress (12USD) with headphones our going through a 10m sneak to our FOH mixer (that is on stage). Used to be a 01V96 Yamaha, now a Behringer XM-18. Never had any problems with groundloops or other bad signals
 

This is the mixer, it has great sound and drives even my AKG headphones:

 

I use two of them in series: One to mix down my keys and backing from iPad, this goes FOH

Other to mix the key-mix, FOH-return and Click from FOH.

Before this I passively summed the keys with some resistors or used the audio-input of one of my board to pre-mix.

 

I used the balanced outputs from my previous rack-mixers that I had: Samson SM-10, Rolls PM351.

Perhaps the quality of the mains is better and more stable here in the Netherlands. Never used a power-conditioner

 

My point: If you use short wires and know your setup, everything will work. If the wires are longer, there are many unknowns and older equipement play it save.

 

I'm a weekend Warrior with one band where we measure power before plugging in, we distribute power into three groups, one instruments, mixers, one lights and one for PA. If it would have been my job, I would most likely invest in a decent power-conditioner and DI-out. Just to be save.

[analogika]

Apart from needing to split the TRS into separate unbalanced L/R signals (a standard insert cable will work): 

 

Let's put it this way: Before you have to cancel the gig, sure, this is an option. 

But really only then. 

[Reezekeys]

Over 20 years of using a laptop, now iPad & iPhone and it's almost always been the headphone out direct to PPAs or a DI box, with zero issues. "Almost" because I flirted with a MOTU Fastlane audio interface for a short spell (until it disconnected in the middle of a show).

 

Cables are easy to source on Amazon and cheap, I have a spare I bring - 1/8" mini stereo to two XLR or two 1/4". I keep my runs around 15' (4.5 m) or less. No humming, buzzing, or other weird noises (except for the notes I'm playing). 🙂 

[ElmerJFudd]

I remembered this being summed up in a Sweetwater article some time back and found it again.  
 

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/headphone-outputs-used-line-outputs-for-line-level-gear/

[Docbop]

1 hour ago, ElmerJFudd said:

I remembered this being summed up in a Sweetwater article some time back and found it again.  
 

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/headphone-outputs-used-line-outputs-for-line-level-gear/

 

The thing to keep in mind in that article they keep saying headphone out to Line level input.    But many times people are plugging into an Instrument level input like an amp or into a mixer expect mic level input.      You take a headphone out a power signal and plug it into a instrument/microphone level input unless turned way down you going to overdrive that input.