Why use xlr cables

However, mixer inputs have female XLR connectors for receiving audio. You get the point. They are also one of the most used audio connectors out there. TS is an abbreviation for Tip-Sleeve. As you can see from the image, there are two sections of this connector. The tip of the connector is referred to as the Tip of course , and the black line on the second section is known as the Sleeve.

The tip of the connector remains the Tip. And on the second section, there are two lines. The first line is the Ring , and the second line is the Sleeve. There are three wires in TRS cables — ground, left or hot, and right or cold. This is the big difference between the two. It has only one wire which is able to deliver only one signal.

The other wire is just ground. Long cables only complicate things because they are vulnerable to interference and noise.

They are:. Back in the days, speakers and mics used XLR connectors and this is the root cause of this confusion. Today, almost no one uses XLR cables to hook up modern speakers. Instead, XLR cables have become the industry standard for connecting mic and line-level audio equipment. In addition, speaker cables have evolved in a very different direction.

Speaker cable is the wire applied for connecting speakers to the amplifier. It has three fundamental properties: capacitance, impedance, and inductance. All these properties are critical to consider before buying the cable. Speaker cables usually have two to four identical medium to bulky gauge wires. Speaker cables have two connectors — positive and negative — that match the jacks of speaker input with amplifier output.

Unlike mic cables, they are unbalanced cables that are designed with a heavier gauge conductor than other types of cables i. They need a heavy gauge and bigger wires as they carry significantly higher voltage signals. It is uncommon to find a powered mixer with XLR outs nowadays. Nevertheless, if you have one of those old school mixers, then you must use XLR speaker cables. Shielding and wire gauge are the key differences between the two subtypes.

This extends to the type of interconnects you use, which makes for a very potent question:. All cables of various styles and lengths are generally made with copper and act much like an antenna and unbalanced cables can be more prone to picking up errant interference compared to balanced cables. Balanced cables have a very low signal to noise ratio which helps over longer cable lengths. Balanced interconnects generally do have some sonic benefits over unbalanced cables.

However its vital that the internal electronics cabling etc. Fully shielded, with minimal interference from the cable, the XLR will ensure that signal makes its way to the speakers unaffected.

RCA cables however cannot guarantee the same thing. You usually see balanced cables with XLR connectors. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible.

Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful. Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings. These cookies have a lifetime duration of 7 days.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again. This website uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous information such as the number of visitors to the site, and the most popular pages. Sign up now!