<s>
In	O
audio	B-Algorithm
processing	I-Algorithm
and	O
sound	O
reinforcement	O
,	O
an	O
insert	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
access	O
point	O
built	O
into	O
the	O
mixing	O
console	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
audio	O
engineer	O
to	O
add	O
external	O
line	O
level	O
devices	O
into	O
the	O
signal	O
flow	O
between	O
the	O
microphone	B-Algorithm
preamplifier	I-Algorithm
and	O
the	O
mix	O
bus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inserts	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
an	O
alternate	O
way	O
to	O
route	O
signals	O
such	O
as	O
for	O
multitrack	O
recording	O
output	O
or	O
line	O
level	O
direct	O
input	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inserts	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
balanced	O
or	O
unbalanced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
higher-end	O
mixers	O
will	O
have	O
balanced	O
inserts	B-Protocol
and	O
entry	O
level	O
mixers	O
will	O
have	O
unbalanced	O
inserts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Balanced	O
inserts	B-Protocol
appear	O
as	O
a	O
pair	O
of	O
jacks	O
,	O
one	O
serving	O
as	O
the	O
send	O
(	O
out	O
from	O
the	O
mixer	O
)	O
and	O
the	O
other	O
serving	O
as	O
the	O
return	O
(	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
mixer	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Balanced	O
insert	B-Protocol
jacks	O
can	O
be	O
XLR	B-Device
,	O
1/4	B-Device
"	I-Device
TRS	I-Device
phone	I-Device
connector	I-Device
or	O
Bantam	O
TT	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unbalanced	O
inserts	B-Protocol
can	O
also	O
be	O
a	O
pair	O
of	O
jacks	O
such	O
as	O
RCA	B-Protocol
or	O
1/4	O
"	O
TS	O
(	O
Tip	O
Sleeve	O
)	O
phone	B-Device
connector	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
dual-purpose	O
insert	B-Protocol
jack	O
only	O
has	O
three	O
conductors	O
,	O
and	O
balanced	O
lines	O
need	O
at	O
least	O
two	O
conductors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
two	O
lines	O
share	O
the	O
same	O
three-conductor	O
insert	B-Protocol
jack	O
,	O
its	O
architecture	O
is	O
necessarily	O
unbalanced	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
two	O
circuits	O
sharing	O
a	O
common	O
ground	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
mixers	O
using	O
this	O
kind	O
of	O
dual-purpose	O
insert	B-Protocol
jack	O
,	O
most	O
are	O
designed	O
with	O
Tip	O
Send	O
,	O
Ring	O
Return	O
,	O
though	O
many	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
found	O
with	O
Ring	O
Send	O
,	O
Tip	O
Return	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Insert	B-Protocol
jacks	O
are	O
often	O
normalized	O
so	O
that	O
signal	O
is	O
passed	O
through	O
the	O
jack	O
if	O
nothing	O
is	O
inserted	O
but	O
is	O
interrupted	O
when	O
the	O
jack	O
is	O
holding	O
a	O
plug	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inserts	B-Protocol
with	O
two	O
separate	O
jacks	O
will	O
have	O
normalizing	O
such	O
that	O
the	O
Return	O
jack	O
interrupts	O
signal	O
but	O
the	O
Send	O
jack	O
does	O
n't	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
refinement	O
of	O
the	O
normalization	O
of	O
jacks	O
is	O
the	O
presence	O
on	O
the	O
mixer	O
of	O
an	O
insert	B-Protocol
ON/OFF	O
button	O
which	O
allows	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
patch	O
into	O
or	O
around	O
the	O
inserted	O
devices	O
at	O
will	O
without	O
having	O
to	O
physically	O
disconnect	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
cables	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unbalanced	O
TRS	O
phone	O
inserts	B-Protocol
are	O
normalized	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TRS	O
phone	O
jacks	O
can	O
be	O
specially	O
wired	O
with	O
Tip	O
and	O
Ring	O
connected	O
at	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
end	O
,	O
and	O
both	O
conductors	O
going	O
to	O
Tip	O
at	O
the	O
distant	O
end	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
allows	O
for	O
tapping	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
point	O
for	O
its	O
signal	O
without	O
interrupting	O
signal	O
flow	O
inside	O
the	O
mixer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
less	O
reliable	O
method	O
to	O
achieve	O
the	O
same	O
end	O
is	O
to	O
insert	B-Protocol
a	O
TS	O
or	O
TRS	O
phone	O
plug	O
halfway	O
into	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
until	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
springy	O
"	O
click	O
"	O
feeling	O
,	O
at	O
which	O
point	O
the	O
plug	O
is	O
contacting	O
the	O
signal	O
within	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
jack	O
,	O
but	O
is	O
n't	O
breaking	O
the	O
normalized	O
contact	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
half-click	O
"	O
method	O
works	O
fine	O
until	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
cable	O
is	O
jarred	O
or	O
wiggled	O
,	O
causing	O
noise	O
or	O
a	O
loss	O
of	O
signal	O
within	O
the	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Because	O
of	O
the	O
combination	O
of	O
balanced	O
external	O
devices	O
and	O
unbalanced	O
insert	B-Protocol
jacks	O
,	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
inserting	O
involves	O
finding	O
out	O
which	O
devices	O
have	O
which	O
kinds	O
of	O
output	O
configurations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Insert	B-Protocol
jacks	O
themselves	O
can	O
be	O
the	O
source	O
of	O
intermittent	O
signal	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Cross-patching	O
mistakes	O
are	O
possible	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
no	O
signal	O
passing	O
through	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inserts	B-Protocol
on	O
analog	O
mixers	O
appear	O
in	O
various	O
locations	O
in	O
the	O
signal	O
flow	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
vision	O
of	O
the	O
designer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
inserts	B-Protocol
tap	O
the	O
signal	O
after	O
the	O
microphone	B-Algorithm
preamplifier	I-Algorithm
and	O
after	O
the	O
high-pass	O
filter	O
(	O
HPF	O
)	O
(	O
if	O
present	O
.	O
)	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
consoles	O
offer	O
a	O
choice	O
between	O
two	O
,	O
three	O
or	O
four	O
of	O
the	O
possible	O
insert	B-Protocol
points	O
by	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
internal	O
jumpers	O
or	O
links	O
that	O
a	O
skilled	O
technician	O
can	O
modify	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Digital	O
consoles	O
are	O
often	O
designed	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
move	O
the	O
virtual	O
insert	B-Protocol
point	O
before	O
or	O
after	O
the	O
channel	O
EQ	O
and	O
some	O
allow	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
point	O
to	O
be	O
placed	O
after	O
the	O
fader	O
and	O
before	O
the	O
mix	O
buses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
are	O
"	O
soft	O
"	O
changes	O
;	O
the	O
options	O
depend	O
largely	O
upon	O
the	O
design	O
of	O
the	O
mixer	O
's	O
user	O
interface	O
and	O
the	O
breadth	O
of	O
processing	O
power	O
devoted	O
to	O
the	O
insert	B-Protocol
function	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
instance	O
,	O
one	O
could	O
connect	O
a	O
gate	O
,	O
a	O
compressor	O
and	O
an	O
equalizer	O
in	O
series	O
through	O
the	O
same	O
channel	O
's	O
insert	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
digital	O
mixers	O
allow	O
multiple	O
effects	O
to	O
be	O
inserted	O
virtually	O
,	O
still	O
others	O
allow	O
multiple	O
third	O
party	O
plugins	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
as	O
virtual	O
inserts	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Inserts	B-Protocol
might	O
be	O
found	O
on	O
monoaural	O
mixer	O
inputs	O
,	O
monoaural	O
and	O
stereo	O
subgroups	O
,	O
auxiliary	O
inputs	O
,	O
main	O
outputs	O
and	O
matrix	O
outputs	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
rarely	O
found	O
on	O
stereo	O
line	O
level	O
inputs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
input	O
preamplifiers	O
and	O
outputs	O
,	O
insert	B-Protocol
points	O
are	O
found	O
at	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
signal	O
levels	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
balanced	O
inserts	B-Protocol
are	O
at	O
+4dBu	O
nominal	O
level	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
a	O
digital	O
console	O
's	O
inserts	B-Protocol
might	O
be	O
designed	O
such	O
that	O
a	O
+4dBu	O
signal	O
corresponds	O
to	O
a	O
-20dBFS	O
digital	O
representation	O
,	O
effectively	O
yielding	O
20dB	O
of	O
headroom	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
optimal	O
gain	O
staging	O
and	O
the	O
least	O
amount	O
of	O
system	O
hiss	O
,	O
inserted	O
devices	O
should	O
be	O
chosen	O
with	O
regard	O
to	O
the	O
signal	O
levels	O
both	O
they	O
and	O
the	O
mixer	O
can	O
handle	O
,	O
the	O
ideal	O
gain	O
staging	O
being	O
achieved	O
when	O
the	O
levels	O
of	O
both	O
insert	B-Protocol
and	O
inserted	O
device	O
match	O
.	O
</s>
