Balanced Cable Line Out

For an unamplified telephone line a twisted pair cable could only manage a maximum distance of 30 km.

Balanced cable line out.

Unbalanced line level connections are usually implemented with rca jacks for audio while balanced line level connections typically utilize dual 3 pin xlr jacks for both the input and output. In balanced signal paths there is a second signal conductor referred to as the cold line. A balanced cable by contrast has three conductors in the connector and three wires in the cable. Balanced cables have three wires inside the plastic casing.

Open wires on the other hand with their lower capacitance had been used for. As the signal voltage in the hot line increases the cold line s signal voltage decreases precisely mirroring the hot signal in reverse. The cable construction used for balanced telephone cables was twisted pair. In both cases one jack is normally used for each audio channel left and right.

However this did not become widespread until repeater amplifiers became available. Two signal wires and a ground wire. The signal wires pass an identical audio signal through each wire while the surrounding ground wire works the same as in unbalanced cables shielding the signal wires from external electronic interference. Balanced cables cost a lot more than unbalanced cables sometimes even twice as much simply because of the added benefit they provide.

But what makes a balanced cable special is the way the gear utilizes that. However if you re out to save money then unbalanced cables might be your best choice especially if you re just using really short ones.