Slightly OT - balanced to unbalanced cables?

[Bill Layer]

Hi Jezz,

>Apologies if this is slightly off-topic but does anybody know how to wire a
>balanced to unbalanced cable. I've just bought a compressor with balanced
>XLRs and need to patch it into my system which is all 1/4" mono jacks.
>Somebody said to bridge pins 1 & 3 together, but I'm not sure if this forms
>the Gnd or Signal. I remember seeing some design that included a small (200
>ohm?) resistor as well. Any clues?

well, you should really use a matching transformer ("balun") or an active
bal-to-SE converter to take advantage of the balanced line capability of
the compressor. if the run from the compressor to the system is _very_
short, you can short pin 1 to 3, which forms the ground with 2 being the
non-inverted signal. I have heard of small resistors (100-200ohms) used to
tie 1 to 3, and this may have some noise advantages.

FYI, XLR pin 1 = ground, sometimes tied to the sheild (same as 1/4" ring).
2= non-inverted (same as 1/4" tip), 3=inverted.

>Thanks.
>
>Jezz.
>
>
>
Bill Layer
Sales Technician
<b.layer at vikingelectronics.com>

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