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Quite often you need to split or copy a signal to send to more than one destination. This is commonly done with a multiple (“mult” for short) where you plug one source in, and then plug in additional patch cables to go off to multiple destinations.

Multiples come in a few different variations:

  • passive multiples, where the jacks are hardwired together (either behind a panel, inside a widget, or even inside special patch cables) with no buffering or active electronics between connections; these are sometimes referred to as simple splitters
  • buffered or active multiples that include a buffer circuit between the input and output, making sure the signal does not lose its strength or integrity by being split too many times
  • logic multiples, which are specialized active mults that only pass along binary high-or-low gate signals rather than continuously variable voltages

For more detail, I’ve written an entire article on the subject.

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