Radian Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 Hello to all the wonderful and great audio people, If a cable is used with balanced 1/4" connectors at one end and XLR connectors at the other end, would it be any different than using an XLR to XLR cable?
Tedster Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 Yes. You'll lose a lot of signal. I generally don't use that type of cable at all. You need an impedance transformer (available for about 15 bucks at Radio Shack if nowhere else) and XLR to XLR...then use the impedance transformer (female XLR to male 1/4") to run it into whatever...portastudio or whatever that has a female 1/4" (high impedance input). The only thing those other cables are good for is if you have a high impedance mic. Running a low impedance mic into a high impedance input will rob you of a lot of your signal. Someone who's an electronic type can explain it better. Here's a picture of Shure's A85F impedance matching transformer: [img]http://www.shure.com/photos/a85f.jpg[/img] "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
Salyphus Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 Eh? If the 1/4" connector is a balanced TSR and he plugs it into a balanced 1/4" input then it should make no difference at all, right?
Salyphus Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 Damn, I always say TSR when I mean TRS ;) Must be my misspent youth playing D&D coming back to haunt me.
Tedster Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Sal Ivory: [b]Eh? If the 1/4" connector is a balanced TSR and he plugs it into a balanced 1/4" input then it should make no difference at all, right?[/b][/quote]Oh, balanced. Teach me to read the question more carefully. "Cisco Kid, was a friend of mine"
Radian Posted January 4, 2003 Author Posted January 4, 2003 Yes, coming 1/4" balanced out of a mixer into XLR-in of audio monitors. I just wanted to make sure if it was indeed just a case of different connectors and no effect whatsoever on the signal. The audio monitors also have 1/4" balanced in. So should I go with 1/4" to 1/4" cables or the 1/4" to XLR cable. Makes no difference at all right?
Salyphus Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Radian: [b]Yes, coming 1/4" balanced out of a mixer into XLR-in of audio monitors. I just wanted to make sure if it was indeed just a case of different connectors and no effect whatsoever on the signal. The audio monitors also have 1/4" balanced in. So should I go with 1/4" to 1/4" cables or the 1/4" to XLR cable. Makes no difference at all right?[/b][/quote]Yes, as long as everything is balanced you're cool. Better to use a cable like that than an adapter.
Radian Posted January 4, 2003 Author Posted January 4, 2003 Thanks, yeah I try not to go with adapters to avoid any signal loss. IMHO adapters are meant for on location quick fixes or crunch time.
mte Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 ok, but there must be a difference, although little, am I right? if not, why then would we even use different connectors?
DSD Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 [b]ok, but there must be a difference, although little, am I right? if not, why then would we even use different connectors? [/b] 1/4 " TRS and XLR accomplish the same thing with no difference in signal quality.(as far as I've ever known). Some manufactuers use 1/4" because they take up less space and they are cheaper than XLR's.
Dwarf Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by mte: [b]ok, but there must be a difference, although little, am I right? if not, why then would we even use different connectors?[/b][/quote]As DSD said, there's no difference in the signal between a balanced 1/4" and an XLR plug. They are interchangable. One of the reasons that manufacturers use 1/4" instead of XLR is that it offers the customer the chance to run 1/4" unbalanced without any adaptors. A normal mono 1/4" will work very well although the output level drops a little and you lose the noise cancelling benefits of running balanced. Not recommended but it's done all the time. -- Rob I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
not Cereal Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 just for the record, i run the outputs of my audiomedia3 card into a balancing amplifier about 6 inches from the card.. the amplifier has xlr balanced outs at +4. my mixer has mic inputs and line inputs at +4 trs. i use an xlr > trs balanced cable to run from the amp to my mixer in the line inputs. also, i run from the mixer to the amp at +4 xlr > xlr. i think there is NO difference in xlr > xlr and xlr >trs cables. there is however a difference in the connector. xlr connecters have a lock on them so you cannot pull them out. also, the only trs connectors that do not "snap" when you insert them are switchcraft jacks. all other trs jacks "crack" the connection when you insert them (a noisy BANG when you put in a jack). this is because jacks other than switchcraft jacks short the recepticle out when you put the jack in.
fantasticsound Posted January 4, 2003 Posted January 4, 2003 Another advantage to XLR connectors is the male/female connections. In audio, we almost universally use the male connector as the "supply" or continuation of signal. Therefore, male plugs into inputs, female plugs into outputs. 1/4" connectors do not provide any way to ensure you plug an output to an input. It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman Soundclick fntstcsnd
Radian Posted January 5, 2003 Author Posted January 5, 2003 Nice tidbits from fantasticsound and coaster. Switchcraft is fine I think but I've grown to be loyal to Neutrik over the years. It's great that they're growing and expanding their factories, more power to them.
Hazy Hill Posted January 5, 2003 Posted January 5, 2003 Signal wise, there is absolutely no difference between an XLR-XLR cable and XLR-1/4 TRS cable. :thu: Just different type of connectors and that's all. Ufuk Onen www.UfukOnen.com Ankara, Turkey
Hazy Hill Posted January 5, 2003 Posted January 5, 2003 [quote]Originally posted by Radian: [b]Switchcraft is fine I think but I've grown to be loyal to Neutrik over the years.[/b][/quote]Nothing beats Neutrik. Besides being very high quality their connectors are also rock solid. We do live sound as well and the other connectors seem to fall apart in short periods of time. Neutrik connectors are so heavy duty. Abuse them still nothing happens to them. First they seem to be more expensive than other brands of connectors but considering the time they last they are real value for money. Ufuk Onen www.UfukOnen.com Ankara, Turkey
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.