Balanced Line Cable

Any noise picked up along the cable run will typically be common to both legs.

Balanced line cable.

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. One for the signal and one for the ground which makes them. As in the unbalanced cable the ground wire still surrounds the signal wires and is used as a shield against interference. Mic cables are a good example of such situations.

Open wires on the other hand with their lower capacitance had been used for. However this did not become widespread until repeater amplifiers became available. The difference in signal quality between balanced and unbalanced setups is especially pronounced in longer cable runs. Two of those wires carry the signal while one carries the ground.

A balanced electrical signal runs along three wires. Balanced cables have three conductors and three wires. As you see in the diagram above there are three male pins inside the connector the groundwire the hot signal and the cold signal. The cable construction used for balanced telephone cables was twisted pair.

Balanced connections typically use shielded twisted pair cable and three conductor connectors. A quarter inch trs cable is another balanced professional audio cable. Balanced cable types xlr. In both cases one jack is normally used for each audio channel left and right.

Balanced cables have three wires inside the plastic casing. One of the signal wires gets inverted which allows the cable to completely avoid picking up outside interference. Balanced audio cables work best with balanced devices. Two signal wires and a ground wire.

Two signals wires plus a separate ground wire. The longer the cable the more noise introduced. 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 lines are ideal in situations involving lengthy cables and low signal levels where noise can be a problem.

But what makes a balanced cable special is the way the gear utilizes that. 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. For an unamplified telephone line a twisted pair cable could only manage a maximum distance of 30 km. Balanced audio technology is designed to reduce the effect of environmental noise on the quality of the signal.

Xlr cables can send balanced audio signals up to 200 feet. A ground a positive leg and a negative leg. Balanced xlr connectors have 3 pins. A balanced cable by contrast has three conductors in the connector and three wires in the cable.