XLR Wiring?

[Hot Tub]

So, XLR connectors then. Are they designed to work as a "stereo" connection (left/right/ground), or should one XLR connector only carry one channel. And what's the difference between balanced and unbalanced and in what applications should they be used?

I'm not very bright.

[crez5150]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='424730' date='Mar 4 2009, 07:51 AM']So, XLR connectors then. Are they designed to work as a "stereo" connection (left/right/ground), or should one XLR connector only carry one channel. And what's the difference between balanced and unbalanced and in what applications should they be used?

I'm not very bright.

[/quote]

This explains -[url="http://www.scotaudio.com/wiring.htm"]wiring[/url]

Edited March 4, 2009 by crez5150

[Hot Tub]

[quote name='crez5150' post='424733' date='Mar 4 2009, 07:58 AM']This explains -[url="http://www.scotaudio.com/wiring.htm"]wiring[/url][/quote]

That makes sense! Thank-you!

[High score]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='424730' date='Mar 4 2009, 07:51 AM']So, XLR connectors then. Are they designed to work as a "stereo" connection (left/right/ground), or should one XLR connector only carry one channel. And what's the difference between balanced and unbalanced and in what applications should they be used?

I'm not very bright.

[/quote]


attached links from the Soundcaft site worth a look:

[url="http://www.soundcraft.com/download.asp?filename=pdf/palz/connections_lead1.pdf"]http://www.soundcraft.com/download.asp?fil...tions_lead1.pdf[/url]

[url="http://www.soundcraft.com/download.asp?filename=pdf/palz/connections_lead2.pdf"]http://www.soundcraft.com/download.asp?fil...tions_lead2.pdf[/url]

[Hot Tub]

Oooh, these soundcraft links are the poodle's plums! Exactly what I needed - thank you!

[High score]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='424914' date='Mar 4 2009, 11:37 AM']Oooh, these soundcraft links are the poodle's plums! Exactly what I needed - thank you! [/quote]


Thought you might like them - easy to download and keep as well.

Check out rest of site - do some good downloads as ''idiots guides to mixing''. Even if you are not into it, might give a better understanding.........

[BOD2]

The previous posts have all answered the actual wiring perfectly.

As for what applications they should be used -

Balanced - used for longer cable runs as it is (much) more resistant to noise. Generally used for microphones and in PA and studio applications.

Unbalanced - try to keep cable runs shorter to prevent noise. Generally used for basses/guitars.

It's common to use a "DI box" to convert an unbalanced cable to a balanced cable (e.g. connect unbalanced guitar lead to one side, and take balanaced XLR lead from other side, which can then be plugged directly into a PA mixing desk). If, on stage, there's a need for lots of long leads, then it's common to use DI boxes to convert any unbalanced leads to balanced so that the longer leads are more resistant to noise.

[BigRedX]

XLRs are also used for digital connections in the AES/EBU spec in both balanced and unbalanced formats.

And the original MIDI spec was for all connections to be made with XLR connectors with DIN being a low-cost alternative. However IIRC only Voyetra used XLRs everyone went for the lower spec option.