The design begins with a ¼” stereo TRS input on one side that accepts a standard headphone mix along with a level control. On the output side, a choice of standard ¼” headphone or 3.5mm (1/8″) ear bud outputs provide instant connectivity without the need of a special adaptor. A mono switch enables the artist to sum the left-right stereo playback track to mono so that all instruments are routed to both sides of the headphones. Then, depressing the ‘off’ switch mutes the left ear of the headphones to eliminate bleed while leaving the right side unaffected. One simply adjusts the on-board level control to suit. Because the SB-7 Earmuff is completely passive, no power is needed nor will it introduce any distortion or artefact into the signal path. Plug it in and it is basically ready to go.
In the studio, many vocalists and instrumentalists prefer to slip one side of their headphones off their ear to hear the natural sound of their instrument or other performers in the room. The Earmuff provides a mute for this side, preventing bleed in surrounding microphones.
When only listening to one side of your headphones, you lose half the mix! The Earmuff provides a mono-sum button to make sure everything is heard.
Larger recording studios generally employ a stereo power amplifier to drive serveral sets of headphones at the same time. Using the Earmuff as a simple volume control enables each musician to set the level so that it is set to a comfortable listening level to better match their instrument and playing style.