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There are several ways to listen to a stereo recording using the OOPS technique. Some are safer to your equipment than others. If you're thinking about doing any of these hookups, please read this page carefully!

Method #1: Buy New Equipment

SAFE	MOST EXPENSIVE

Commercially made Surround-Sound amplifiers and adapters use enhanced Left-Minus-Right circuits to create the same thing as the OOPS effect, and they're coming down in price, so if you can find one, that would probably be the easiest way to hear OOPS.

To hear OOPS, hook up the rear speakers to the surround-sound unit, turn off the "front" speakers and listen to the "rear" speaker(s) only.

Method #2: Connect Outputs

DANGEROUS

CHEAPEST

You can use your existing stereo system to listen to a stereo recording using OOPS without purchasing any new equipment. To do so, you need to make a special physical speaker hook-up.

WARNING! I have gotten one report from a user who said following the below procedure permanently damaged his amplifier. Although I cannot guarantee your system will suffer no damage when doing this, I have never personally had such a problem doing this physical hookup on many different systems. If you're at all in doubt about trying this, please try one of the other "safe methods" listed below.

Using one speaker, hook up one speaker lead to the positive (+) connection of the left channel, and hook up the other speaker lead to the positive (+) connection of the right channel.

Now, put on your stereo recording. Use the BALANCE control of your stereo amplifier to adjust the signals so that they cancel out the most of the common sounds and you hear the most OOPSed sound.

Using the above hookup, a third speaker can be used in conjunction with your standard two speakers still connected in the normal manner to create "surround-sound" for your home stereo, without having to buy any other equipment.

Method #2A: Headphones

You can do the same physical hookup as above but using your headphones instead of your speakers. To do so, you need to disconnect the "SLEEVE" portion of the stereo headphone plug. (This is the connection closest to the handle of the plug.)

A good way to accomplish this without permanently destroying your headphones is to make (or modify) a headphone extension cable that is missing the sleeve connection. Another easy way to do this is by covering the sleeve portion of the plug with scotch tape. Please note this is as potentially dangerous as the speaker hookup described above.

Method #3: Connect Inputs

SAFE

INEXPENSIVE

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Two isolation transformers, which can be bought at any electronics supply store, can be used to safely combine the signals of the stereo channels in a much more safer way than Method #2 above. In addition, you can also use this method to record the OOPS effect on tape!

Use two 600 ohm 1:1 (that's pronounced "one to one") isolation transformers (Radio Shack Part #273-1374; $3.99 at radioshack.com).

Connect the output wires of the left channel of the casette deck, cd player or tuner (hereinafter known as "deck") to the input wires of one of the transformers. Connect the output wires of the right channel of the deck to the input wires of the second transformer. You can then connect the output wires of the transformers together, and then connect this pair of wires to the input of an amp or a tape recorder, etc.

Connect the output wires together in one polarity and you get a mono signal. Turn one of the pair of output wires around so now they are out of phase with each other, and you get OOPS!

If your deck has output level controls (many don't), adjust them while listening to a stereo recording so that they cancel out the most of the common sounds and you hear the most OOPSed sound.

Method #3A: Turntable

A turntable can also be hooked up via an input adapter as described above, but it must first be connected through a turntable pre-amp.

Method #4: Process a Computer Sound File

SAFE	SOUNDBOARD/SOFTWARE REQUIRED

This requires the use of a computer that can record and play back sounds, and associated software that can manipulate these sound files.

First, record all or part of the stereo recording you want to hear in OOPS on your computer in stereo, and save it as a file.

Next, use your sound editing software to read the file. The first thing you need to do is select one channel only, so that the next change will be made to one channel and not the other. Then select the "editing" or "special effects" option known as "invert", and invert the selected channel.

Next, reselect both channels, and use the function in your software to pan both channels into one, making it into one mono signal. Since one of the channels was inverted before you did this, when you listen back to this mono signal, you'll now hear the track with the OOPS effect!

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This page last updated February 21, 1997.
Radio Shack info updated April 30, 2006.