Balanced Line Cable Connector
A balanced cable by contrast has three conductors in the connector and three wires in the cable.
Balanced line cable connector. The cable construction used for balanced telephone cables was twisted pair. Two signals wires plus a separate ground wire. Balanced audio is a method of interconnecting audio equipment using balanced lines this type of connection is very important in sound recording and production because it allows the use of long cables while reducing susceptibility to external noise caused by electromagnetic interference. As you see in the diagram above there are three male pins inside the connector the groundwire the hot signal and the cold signal.
Both legs carry the same signal but in opposite polarity to each other. Any noise picked up along the cable run will typically be common to both legs. However this did not become widespread until repeater amplifiers became available. As in the unbalanced cable the ground wire still surrounds the signal wires and is used as a shield against interference.
A balanced electrical signal runs along three wires. A quarter inch trs cable is another balanced professional audio cable. When you have a balanced cable both the positive and negative wires receive identical versions of a signal. Mic cables are a good example of such situations.
For an unamplified telephone line a twisted pair cable could only manage a maximum distance of 30 km. On the other hand short cable runs carrying higher signal levels are less prone to audible noise. Balanced cable types xlr. Monoprice xlr male to rca male cable 6 feet black with e21gold plated connectors 16awg shielded twisted pair oxygen free copper braid conductors premier series 104777 4 7 out of 5 stars 703 9 84 9.
Xlr cables can send balanced audio signals up to 200 feet. A ground a positive leg and a negative leg. Trs connections have three contact points conductors separated by two insulator rings. While they receive identical versions of the signal the polarity of the negative wire is inverted.
As the signal. Balanced lines are ideal in situations involving lengthy cables and low signal levels where noise can be a problem. Open wires on the other hand with their lower capacitance had been used for. Simply put a balanced cable reduces noise while an unbalanced cable does not.
Balanced connections typically use shielded twisted pair cable and three conductor connectors. Headphone cables come with a variety of connectors and it can be difficult for the uninitiated to differentiate between balanced and unbalanced. An example of a mono balanced signal would be a line input or output from a mixer or audio interface. Balanced xlr connectors have 3 pins.
But what makes a balanced cable special is the way the gear utilizes that. Headphones receive stereo signals over trs cables. For a more technical explanation.