Can you use an XLR adaptor without a problem?
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- Опубликовано: 25 май 2018
- If the source has an XLR output but the amp it feeds has only a coaxial RCA input can you use an XLR adaptor without compromising sound quality? Have a question you want to ask Paul? www.psaudio.com/ask-paul/
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Awesome brother! I never knew the difference between it balanced inputs and RCA, thanks man
Excellent video and super well explained!!!
More tec stuff like this, please
. Your a good teacher.
Thank you Paul
I needed you in high school Paul. You are a great teacher sir. P.S. Enjoying my Stellar Phono stage ................ thanks.
Balanced is a great way to go... The PS Audio S300 sounds superb in balanced mode..... I can vouch for that.
Speaking of the S300.. I could not not help while watching this video picturing someone at night pushing the logo on Paul's shirt to put him to sleep. And, in the morning, someone pushes the logo again to wake him up! ;)
Basically balanced cables with eliminate noise by subtracting B from A. The result will be 2A and the noise will cancel out.
Using a DI box is the preferred method as it corrects multiple issues. Not only signal connection, but also reference level difference between pro and consumer gear.
great infomation paul ......love the show hello from canada...
Great video Paul ! You’re the best ....
I really enjoy your youtube channel Paul!
Great explanation I never knew that either! Just buy a DAC with both XLR and Single Ended Outputs. Or buy another DAC with Single Ended outputs! Or buy a preamp that has both XLR and RCA inputs, with that said most Vacuum Tube Preamps have RCA (Single Ended) Only! There’s another point about DAC’s with XLR Outputs! If it’s not a true balanced differential design! there is zero benefit using XLR! That would be a great question to ask Paul and see how he answers it!
We can mention trs 1/4 jack that are the same as XLR. Mainly used in professional equipement where there's need to put a lot on a surface as a recording board. Studio patch also use trs 1/4 or bantam which is smaller. But we never use trs on microphone line because plug it in or out could result in a really bad electric spark when fantom power (48) is turned on for condenser mics.
Great sales pitch Paul! 😂
Haha, Paul takes a credit for the video by a short moment of advertisement :)
Bottom line: XLR to RCA adapter short the cold (-) to ground. No, you won't get the benefits of common mode rejection, but if unless your environment has real problems with RFI/EMI, you'll be fine. However, the XLR output is +4dBu vs. the RCA at -10dBV (about 11.79 dB difference with the XLR being the hotter signal). So, you could clip the signal on input.
From a xlr dac to rca amp , there is a real risk to damage the amp circuit from an incorrect force signal?! I think this is the main reason to dont use xlr/rca cable. Didnt know this tecnical problem. Thank you
No, you're not going to damage the amp, but you may get clipping. If you really want to get fancy, get a -10/+4 amp, which some people are calling a DI box. It's an amp that steps you down from +4 to -10, though it usually can go the other way too.
Will a 3.5mm to dual XLR work out in stereo and will there be a loss of volume? The cable is 2m in length. The source would be my PC sound card as I am unable to find a DAC that accepts optical and outs tp xlr balanced
glad I saw this video my universal player NAD has XLR out and my other amp made by Steller Labs has XLR in . But my cable is XLR to RCA. could that cable work balanced if going into my other amp that has my RCA/XLR adaptor in it. If I try that. ? to pass SACD two channel with the player would work with balanced XLR /5.1 analog out which I use with my AVR receiver to run multi channel or two channel.
Brilliant Paul. Nicely done. So, here's my question for today :-) If I have a real balanced headphone output on a Hi-Res DAP AND I use a 2.5mm male balanced TRRS to 3.5mm female adapter to take a non-balanced set of headphones, will the noise (or crap as you referred to it) be cancelled out at the drivers in the headphones ? Cheers. I don't want to shell out for a set of balanced headphones if I can help it.
Bigger issue here might be the operating levels. Most professional equipment with XLRs have +4dBu levels and most consumer devices with TS and RCA unbalanced connections have -10dbv levels. Connecting hot wire (+) and GND from +4dBu XLR output to -10dbv RCA imput will most likely distort. So XlLR to RCA adapter must do correct level matching as well. Cheers! S
Would it be fair to say if there we no noise to reject, a single ended connection would be a better signal due to the elimination of the differential amps on pieces of equipment? I am starting to believe a high end integrated amp is the way to go like the Luxman L509X, phono stage, pre stage and amp all in one box with no cabling to worry about.
You may have reduced some confusion more by explaining that Balanced and XLR are talking about two different things. Balanced/ Unbalanced are circuit in and out design parameters. XLR is one of many types of electrical connectors. It so happens that the XLR is one of the most common electrical connectors used in analog balanced audio. There is also 1/4" tip/ ring/ sleeve. and others.
And your description of letting wire B hang does not technically produce a complete circuit. It would work in an active output where that output device is referenced to circuit ground somewhere. But if the output was a transformer, not connecting wire B would not provide a return path. Wire B would need to be tied to ground.
So, proper wiring balanced output to unbalanced input is : + to + / - to GND , GND to GND. My doubt is : is it better to ground the - signal on balanced output side (inside XLR or TRS cable connector) or on unbalanced input side (inside of TS or chinch cable connector)? Also difference between two is first require one conductor shielded unbalanced cable and second require two conductor shielded balanced cable). I think second is better. Edit : or even better, use two conductor shielded cable, brick - to GND on balanced side and leave shield unconnected on unbalanced side (connect + to + , - to GND)
@@suadcokljat1045 the danger of ungrounded shield on input is potential ground differential, which may or may not cause noise issues.
At this level of audio equipment, it would be best to upgrade the preamp or amplifier to one with balanced inputs.
This is fine as long as the xlr signals are referenced to ground. If the output were transformer coupled, it may get no connection if the transformer is t connected to ground. In that case, you would connect b to round in the adapter.
The danger of connecting this way is if the outputs are electrically balanced, you are shorting the b output, which may cause damage.
Be careful with your adapters, sometimes they are made for microphones, and these short the 'B', pin 3 to ground, that's what you generally have to do with a dynamic mic, (a dynamic mic is a coil between pin 2 & 3, leave 3 disconnected and you have no audio) If you do this to a DAC, you are shorting one side of the differential driver, probably a pair of op-amps, to ground. A driver can do all sorts of nasty things as it attempts to do the impossible, (driving a zero ohm load) quite often involving partially inducing a lot of distortion into neighbouring circuits - not good.
So grab a multimeter and make sure pin 3 is not connected to anything.
Dear Paul how to ask you a question? For instance why would I use a 75Ohm special interlink for spdif instead of just an interlink I have laying around? I now use a special spdif cable because it came with my audio aero capitole cd player/pre amp. But I used to use just an okay quality interlink. I'm curious about the difference and nobody was able to explain it to me in a way I understand.
miepmiepzoefzoef For lowest noise and clocking errors, the Sony Philips Digital Interface (S/P-DIF) electrical connection spec requires an 75-Ohm termination. Using a different impedance cable CAN result in clocking errors and higher jitter. Whether or not YOU can hear these, is dependent upon many things.
What if you ground the B wire to the RCA ground? Wouldn't that eliminate him?
Paul, I think it would have been better to identify the lines based on actual pin config, such as PIN1, PIN2, PIN3, since that is how the nomenclature actually is. I have never seen "wire A" and "wire B" designations on any XLR3 connector. It might alleviate any possible confusion. I would have suggested in this case to use a DI box instead of a simple cable adapter. You understand the reasons why. As far as balanced input/outputs go, why not do a video on the difference between DIFFERENTIAL and IMPEDANCE balancing?
Frank Winkhorst IF engineers didn't "pick nits," when you'd dial your radio to WKRP you'd get WWAM. Go back to sleep.
XLR is a connector, shielded 2 core cable is for the balanced connection, the source outputs the balanced signal. The signal is balanced not the cable or XLR connector.
Paul I've just only recently started watching your videos and the mistakes you make are unbelievable, I'd love to point them all out but I've not got the time, here's another one @2:35 that is not a RCA cable (phono cable), it's a shielded single core cable.
Great video, learnt a lot Thank you...
Question: i have an Turntable with RCA cables going to a pre-amp and then going to an Amp with an MIDI input...
What would be the effect of this, would i still have the "hum" coming through like in Xavier's case...??
Kind regards
Jack Valadas
Curious about your amp brand and model. The only times I've seen midi on an amplifier was to send contrôle for program change. MIDI can carry keyboard (piano) nte information as vélocity, pitch, length. start point. and also have 127 contrôl numbers that can be mapping to match your instruments tone parametersé It can aslo send "sysex" which can go up to implenting a firmeware. So what's the amp?
P.S. MIDI has 16 channels. You can use one cable in séries and asign each of your instrument to a particular channel. still all independant. Large MIDI systeme can have multiple port of 16ch each.
If I have an rca sub output on my receiver can I run a simple (1&3 connected) line converter to my sub xlr input (sub has a xlr in and out for daisy chain 2 subs) and it work? I understand I don't gain anything but I wonder if I loose anything like signal strength or noise?
In primaluna's tube dac, there is xlr input!
And also rca, optical, usb and coaxial inputs. (I'v got one. I should know...)
What missing is
balanced output!
The output is only rca.
I think it's need another approach of explanation.
XLR ..pin 1 ground,pin 2 positive,pin 3 negative....to correctly level match you should connect pin 3 negative to ground,can often help also to eliminate noise if you have a lot of mains cables ,ground the negative at the ground of the RCA can work wonders,if noise is a problem.
Paul Philippart Tieing PIN3 to ground simply shunts it's output safely rather than letting it float. RCA grounds are always tied to the chassis ground.
Darin Brunet how to do it then ?
Yep sorry I assumed that the RCA was already known to be grounded too.
www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hifivision.com%2Fproxy.php%3Fimage%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fi.imgur.com%252FGA4QlFI.png%26hash%3Dc038d53a348b36f5ebba2888804e0360&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.hifivision.com%2Fthreads%2Frca-to-xlr.55069%2F&docid=tVhsuCBdy0Ez_M&tbnid=O3ShCzcI4jBORM%3A&vet=10ahUKEwiSh72856XbAhXCJ8AKHUNaBy0QMwiCASgKMAo..i&w=352&h=149&bih=769&biw=1440&q=xlr%20to%20rca%20diagram&ved=0ahUKEwiSh72856XbAhXCJ8AKHUNaBy0QMwiCASgKMAo&iact=mrc&uact=8
Here is a good one you dont have to use the resistor just wire straight but worth comparing if you have solder skills.
Most balanced devices are servo balanced,usually stated if otherwise,this has always been a tried and tested and effective way around also you generally dont get the -6db loss from using one phase.
Wouldn't there be a difference in levels? What about the impedance differences if the two types of output?
I've solved the problem by buying a PremaLuna Tube DAC to provide input to my PremaLuna EVO 300 Integrated Amp ... easy day!! Enjoy.
I remember when pretty much all consumer audio was RCA, since relatively short runs and limited numbers of cables precluded picking up hum. But, then there were guys, who mixed pro equipment with consumer equipment causing cables to have mixed ends. Just the way it was. Now, however, marketers present XLR equipped consumer equipment to convey that the equipment is better in all manner of things when it may not be a factor in anything better. It can in fact be a problem when professional recording equipment is mixed with consumer amplification, where output of recorder overloads amp.
Charles Ludwig yes, unfortunately the XLR balanced output from my (professional) tape deck overloads my (consumer) amp offering RCA inputs only. Too much gain remains after using the XLR to RCA adapters in between.
Back in the late 90's I archived all the commercials my ad agency Mastered on DAT to another DAT. To do that, I installed a pair of Sony PCM-7010's at my residence, using one to digitally record and one to play. At any rate, one night I came home with a Master DAT recorded just a few hours earlier, which sounded great. But, playback via my Sony TA-E9000 Control Amp produced great distortion, making me believe that the DAT had been recorded over 0db. That was not the case, what instead was happening was overload at the amp, caused by XLR to RCA connection. My solution of course was to turn down the output from the DAT recorder; but, for awhile, I was very confused. Now, no longer confused but knowledgeable that XLR to RCA is bad, RCA to XLR no sweat.
Charles Ludwig yes, it is an issue. To decrease the (over)load I wanna try to lower the gain output with a pair of Rothwell attenuators. I have these adaptors at home, but not yet tried (-10dB). Instead, I started with some tube rolling.
you can get away with unbalanced signals if the cable runs are short
Hum Wiggles Great name for a punk band.
I don't agree with the video at time 5:47, you cannot just disconnect B. It's possible that A and B are floating with respect to ground, in this case if you disconnect B, line A cannot work alone and there will be no sound. It's possible also A and B have reference to ground also via the internal amplifiers, but it's unpredictable. It is better to use balanced cable with a screen, connect the XLR end as normal to A and B and wire the other end at the RCA with B connected or bridged to ground and A connected to the center.
Hi Paul, I’ve got a similar problem, since I bought a professional tape deck with only XLR-outputs. To connect this tape deck with my 300B tube amp with RCA inputs only, I am using these XLR->RCA-adapters too. Other times I stream digital music files to my DAC. This (B.M.C.) DAC is also a headphone amp with single ended output as well as a balanced output. I use this DAC/headphone amp together with my Sennheiser HD800 headphone. I started with the standard headphone cable. Later I ordered a balanced XLR-cable for my HD800. And yes... it sounded so much better! Now I wanna know if that will happen with the sound of my tape deck too. Should it make sense to look for a pre amp with XLR inputs and RCA outputs? Or will the pre amp just disregards the B-signal like a XLR>RCA adapter does, as you explained on the whiteboard?
Joeke Vriezinga You would be better served using a stereo DI box with proper level matching. RCL makes some good quality units. Passive cables never perform equal to a level matched DI.
Thanks Paul. Nice product, indeed! Only the headphone output is NOT balanced. But in order “to take advantage of all balanced audio’s benefits” I should buy not only a pre amp with balanced IN and balanced OUT, but also an amp or monoblocks with balanced inputs as well? For common 300B designs that is hard to find, I am afraid.
Hi Darin, interesting! Where to look for these RCL units?
Hello Papus Magnus , for your reply. Your comments are very useful to me. Thanks!
You make no mention of the typical voltage levels of RCA vs single phase of XLR. Is the voltage amplitude similar or not?
John Lakkas what do you mean by single phase XLR?
I mean the typical voltage level of A or B (as described in the video)
The most common nominal level for consumer audio equipment is −10 dBV, and the most common nominal level for professional equipment is +4 dBu. Expressed in absolute terms, a signal at −10 dBV is equivalent to a sine wave signal with a peak amplitude of approximately 0.447 volts, or any general signal at 0.316 volts root mean square (VRMS). A signal at +4 dBu is equivalent to a sine wave signal with a peak amplitude of approximately 1.737 volts, or any general signal at approximately 1.228 VRMS.
So, in layman terms, pro audio gear requires and produces a higher reference voltage level than consumer gear. In practical terms, a consumer product MAY not produce enough voltage to drive a pro audio amplifier to full output. Some electronic DI boxes have a voltage matching function to produce the correct levels in either direction. For a passive DI, such as what Jensen makes, the voltage match will be based on transformer turns, not opamps.
Thank you Darin Brunet!
As someone already corrected, B should be connected to the ground. Otherwise, the output impedance of the signal will be the common mode impedance, which in traditional transformer implementations is near to infinity and there is no signal at all. Even with modern semiconductor implementations, like TI's DRV135 have common mode impedance of 1.5kOhm. Differential impedance is about 50 ohms which gives a nice signal but this happens only if the B wire is connected to the ground.
Could you please confirm this, Paul?
You need to know the details of the source's output circuitry. Often, XLR outputs only drive the A side, and simply tie the B side to signal ground through a resistor (equal to the A side series resistor, typically 50-100ohms). Others drive the A and B sides out of phase, but with independent amplifiers so that the common mode impedance is still low; you should leave the B side disconnected in all of these cases.
With a transformer, or microphone, or a TI DRV135 (or similar) configured with the sense inputs connected to the outputs, you would want to tie the B side to the ground of the input as you mentioned. This is a good setup, as it provides much of the benefit of a balanced input without requiring a differential amp.
But the DRV135 can also be configured as independent amplifiers by leaving the sense inputs open or tied to signal ground - and then you would again want to leave the B side disconnected. So you need to know the circuit details before selecting or building the appropriate cable.
Thank you for pointing out common scenarios. By the way, regarding balanced interfaces with transformers, I found this gem a while ago: ftp://ftp.studer.ch/Public/SwissSound/SwissSound11eApr85LR.pdf (you need to copy and paste the URL as it begins with ftp and YT doesn't present that correctly), page 3 and the realted US patent 4567443: patents.google.com/patent/US4567443 . When you look at its implementation in Studer schematics, the reality is of course a little bit more complicated, but still, this kind of inventions deserve patents.
For further information, please look at ftp://ftp.studer.ch/Public/Products/Mixing_Analog/961-962/Manuals/961-962_Op_Serv.pdf , page 147, ""MIC INPUT". It is a real, working circuit. Of course, transformer parameters are not documented very well.
Doesn't the balanced input require a transformer to convert it back to single ended within the amp? Otherwise it would seem to me that if "A" and "B" are 180 degrees out of phase, the signal output would essentially be zero.
Transformer brings distortion on its own. It is the reason why the tube amplifiers aren't actually so good - and the transformerless tube amplifiers are quite expensive to make, they would require complex tubes, which are rare - that is, the progress of tubes making is not great. There are many ways of converting it into single ended using both wires without much distortion.
Balanced lines are most important for long cable runs that contain very low level signals. The main such situation is dynamic microphones. These lines normally have a line transformer at the input to the amplifier. Even the microphones themselves use a coil and magnet.
There are condenser microphones and other types of microphones, and it doesn't mean that the transformer doesn't distort the signal (always remember that, that the tube amplifiers are cr*p because of that). Microphones can be designed to reflect the pressure changes even with coils (example - multiple microphones), but the transformers can't be designed in that way so easily.
A converter box solves the above problems. They’re cheap and have no audible downside. They require a power, that’s the only downside. Even the best ones cost less than $100
Indeed... I was going to post a reply on that matter until I saw your comment. Those boxes are the way to go if you're stuck with RCA.
Confused.... If it will cancel out the hum? Why won't it cancel out the audio signal as well?
I'll do my best to explain it I a short way. Same signal enters balanced cable twice. Signal 1 is normal and signal 2 is 180 degrees out of phase. Noise enters and is in phase on both signals. Signal 2 at the end is reversed 180 degrees so is in phase again with signal 1. (Google constructive interference) The picked up noise is put 180 degrees out of phase at the end. So destructive interference happens thus cancelling the noise:)
Actually it works a bit different. It measures the difference between signal 1 and 2 to recreate the original signal.
Why not make an adapter that has a difference amplifier in it? :D This way your deviced will never need to have jacks for balanced cables :D
Where is the B xlr connection going to inside the amp what is it tied to, Isn't the B tied to ground? Could you connect B and A together?
John sweda in the xlr to rca adapter B is shorted to ground ---- actually A + INVERT B goes to amp input
John sweda, in the XLR ''A'' and ''B'' are bringing the same signal, but with inverted polarity. They are side by side, so they do not allow the other signal or noise to enter in the electric field that together make. You can't connect them because of a different polarity and the signal will be canceled... The 'B'' or more precisely ''-'' in RCA is ground and in XLR the wrapper is ground... I apologize on my English and I hope I answered your question. Peace
Dragan Antonijević that's just the same as a plus and minus cable what the RCA does
No you cannot tie PIN2 & PIN3 together. PIN1 is connected to CHASSIS GND on both ends. PIN2/3 are carrying signal. Best practice would be to use a DI box, NOT a cable-adapter. There is a LOT more going on than just a signal. There is also voltage matching requirements. Pro and consumer goods do not use the same voltage references. Consumer is -10dBV, whereas Pro is +4dBU.
In RCA only plus is carrying the signal, minus is for ground and the interference between these two (protection) is not as good as in XLR. And watch Paul video ''Balanced vs. unbalanced audio'' two moths ago...
I've heard that X L R conectors are not always better than R C A conectors not sure why but it might be to do with the design my rotel preamplifier is not a true balanced system ,mybe Paul can explain to us ,just saying 😐😐
Hahaha, great joke in the end!
It's enough to write on the RCA cables: ''Hum, do not approach the signal!'' and everything will be fine... (ab)normal, it's a joke...
It's unfortunate that most phono preamps have RCA outputs
"A" wire vs. "B" wire is distracting: try using Pin 1 vs Pin 2 vs. Pin 3 (or TRS "Tip" vs. TRS "ring" vs. TRS "sleeve")
Howdy. No intention to be a wise guy.
Technically it is wrong to say 180 degrees out of phase. Theoretically that implies a time shift between the signals.
That is not the case. Personally I prefer talking about a signal and its mirror signal.
But yes. Everybody knows what the 180 degrees means in this context.
Regards.
Thank you for an interesting video. What bothers me though is that eg. the gentleman in this video seems to be producing quite a lot of noise in his xlr cables despite an apparently decent amplifier. So my question would be: How much does the whole "shielded balanced signal" thing actually help? Thank you very much.ruclips.net/video/ibMYp6TajGs/видео.html
Advice from a 30+ year experienced broadcast systems engineer:
This is not always as simple as connecting the A or plus to the RCA center and leaving the B or minus float. What Paul describes is ONE of the ways to properly connect an ACTIVE balanced source to an unbalanced destination and in mnay cases will work fine.
However some balanced outputs have a PASSIVE transformer. In this case the B or minus cannot be left floating because one side of the transformer is then unconnected - an open circuit. So if your source device uses a transformer output, you must tie pin 3 to ground.
But tying pin 3 to ground is not a good idea for an ACTIVE electronic output driver. The reason is that grounding pin 3 can cause excessive current to flow on the low side driver. And in some cases even cause crosstalk by dumping current into the signal ground. (there are some modern balanced driver IC's that are immune to this problem but they are not universally in use)
The best way to do this is to connect PIN 2 to the RCA center and connect PIN 3 to the RCA shield. Leave the XLR shield or PIN 1 float at the RCA connector. Of course this requires 3 wire cable but will work properly with both passive transformer and active electronic drivers. An added benefit is the chassis grounds are now not connected. This will further reduce the potential for ground loops.
In the reverse situation, that is sending an unbalanced source to a balanced destination, always tie PIN 3 to PIN 1. This ensures the input stage, be it again transformer or an active diff amp will work properly.
Now that we have that out of the way there'e another problem, signal levels. Unbalanced RCA connection typically operate from -10db to 0db. Professional XLR connectors operate at +4db. So in some cases you must match those levels. Especially when feeding unbalanced to a balanced input. The other direction is also subject to overload (distortion) if the balanced device is feeding too high a signal level to the unbalanced device.
They do make professional active conversion boxes that will go between balanced and unbalanced devices properly. But these alone can cost over $400.
That's exactly how I've done it my entire career, it's always worked and I almost never have ground issues...
It is never correct to refer to balanced connections' signal conductors in terms of phase. They differ only in polarity.
Consider non-sinusoids such as the sawtooth where shifting half a wavelength does not produce the necessary result. Consider, too, that one of the legs is driven by an inverter rather than a delay/phase shift.
Despite the appearance of the case of a monotonic sinusoid, this is entirely about polarity and in no way about phase.
In short, it ignores the benefits of using the balanced cable. Boom. Explained in 9 words.
So why are the best cables in the world RCA..mmmm The most expensive cables are RCA..Paul hasn't answered this fully..My problem is balanced cables usually are pants..There has been no thought into their construction..However moving to RCA we get silver gold carbon twists that are so strange..We get earthing and shielding that is out of this world..So I'm going to disagree with Paul..If you need long runs of interconnect ie more than 2m please use XLR but if your runs are less than that get the best RCA cable you can because it will outshine anything from the XLR world and I mean that..I hope Paul looks at this post because this is important..I'm sure he won't reply but I know he'll take a peek :-)
Parsing Elf i
XLR cables, used in a balanced signal system, would not benefit from "silver gold carbon twists" and "earthing and shielding that is out of this world." Additionally, the usual consumers of such cables (pro audio users) realize this and wouldn't be tempted to buy over-designed cables.
Single-ended (unbalanced) RCA cables, however, definitely do benefit from high-quality gold-plated connectors that fit snugly, and heavy, fine-stranded, double-braided shields, great care and proper technique in assembly, etc. They need to eliminate any resistance in the ground path as fully as possible.
Ever wonder why the ground nut on RF cables has six sides so a wrench will fit? It's because using a wrench to make the connection far tighter than finger-tight actually makes a difference to noise rejection.
Don't A and B need to be in *ANTI-phase* for this scheme to work?
Out of phase is anything not in phase, as the name suggests, not inverted wave, AFAIK. Is this some audio engenieer slang? A little pedantic, but this bothers me.
The correct description, which Paul actually uses at one point, is "180 degrees out of phase". There is no other term for it. He just shortens it to "out of phase" for ease of discussion purposes.
It is simply INVERTED. Together, PIN2 & PIN3 form a DIFFERENTIAL signal of higher voltage reference. "Balanced" is NOT such a great description, as it does not differentiate between differentially balanced signals and impedance balanced ones. So MANY so-called "balanced" inputs, even on expensive mixing consoles aren't REALLY even if they use XLR3/TRS connections. MANY only utilize PIN2 for the signal.
Papus Magnus I guess you don't deal on much current so-called balanced gear. Yamaha, Presonus, Mackie, etc are not differentially balanced inputs past the XLR3, and the TRS connectors for the sends aren't Bal either. Most effects gear isn't that I've seen. We aren't talking a Rupert Neve or Cadac console that use transformer coupled inputs and discrete circuitry. TONS of prosumer gear is not fully balanced.
Papus Magnus I fully get that. But these laypeople don't. They think Presonus and Yamaha TF-5's are hot shit. I worked on Midas Venice and Digico SD9, Yamaha pro. World's apart. That's why I pointed out that they aren't getting real diff bal
@@darinbrunet4600
I have yet to find a mixer or console which has inputs labeled "Bal" that aren't true differential.
Effects returns, yes, because effects units are generally located closely. But the channel inputs should all be differential, to accommodate long cable runs. If you know of an exception, I'd like to see a specific brand/model citation.
With regard to impedance balancing, I'm not aware of any balanced outputs which neglect to include matched series resistors on both sides - typically 100 ohms.