Signal Loss When Adapting 1/8"-->1/4"???

laj35

laj35

New member
Hi Guys,


Recently I've been running out of proper cables and have been forced to do things like couple RCA cords, adapt 1/8" plugs to 1/4" ones, etc and was really just wondering if such adaptions made the signal loose some of it's quality? I'm mostly wiring synths and such to my mixer and/or soundcard, in case that matters.

Thanks in advance for any and all ideas/thoughts!


Laj
 
adapting 1/4 to 1/8 or vice versa will not have minimal effect on signal loss.

adapting xlr to 1/4 will have and effect on signal loss.
 
If you are using the original wire that came with the 1/8" jacks and then converting them to 1/4", I wonder if the problem is due to the wire gauge. It could be the difference between a 20/22 AWG cable and a 14/16 AWG cable.
 
c7sus said:
How does adapting an XLR to 1/4TRS result in signal loss/degradation? Why would it be any more than 1/4 to 1/8 in?

That idea is utter nonsense.

I guess it all depends on your skills with a soldering iron.
Click to expand...

this is not nonsense, it's a fact. I didn't do a solder job. I got one of those female xlr to male 1/4 adapters. Maybe mine is defective hence the signal loss, i dunno.
 
There is ALWAYS "some" loss incurred when adding additional connections... whether it's audible or not depends very much on the gear surrounding it....

For example - if you're using a cheapie analog portastudio, all the little tweaks in the world aren't going to be very noticeable in the end result, since the limitations inherent in the portastudio itself are already too high for the tweak to matter... if you're running a seriously high-end rig, THEN you may be able to start detecting some of the losses incurred by excess connectors, differences in cable, extraneous gera in the signal chain, etc...

Bruce
 
Not only additional connections, but less secure connections (like those miserable 1/8" miniplugs) will lead to more loss than firmer connections like XLR and 1/4". But I have to side with Bruce here:
Unless you've destroyed the delicate contacts in an 1/8" jack by applying some lateral force to the plug while it's inserted you probably won't notice the difference.

> got one of those female xlr to male 1/4 adapters.

Sure you're signal is gonna suffer.
That's because adapters introduce more connections than a pre-made cable with XLR on one end and TRS on the other.
 
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i asked all this to the "radio shack technition" and (yes i know, he was also doing a sales job on me..ha...BUT) he said that any time you add a connection (hence an adapter), you will lose quality. Depending on the adapter, the and all the stuff you have already, it will decide how much quality is lost.

however, all those radio shack xlr-1/4" CHORDS.(NOT adapters) he said would be great if thats what you needed because they are sodered etc. all right in the chord....he's a good salesman, i bought it..ha
 
Thanks for the ideas fellas, I guess looking back on the question, and moreso the answers, I pretty much figured the loss was minimal with 1/8-->1/4, and probably a bit more with crappy adapters, esp 1/4-->1/8 and/or XLR-->1/4. I appreciate y'all takin the time to clear that up for me, thanks!




Laj
 
Connectors

shackrock said:
i asked all this to the "radio shack technition" and (yes i know, he was also doing a sales job on me..ha...BUT) he said that any time you add a connection (hence an adapter), you will lose quality. Depending on the adapter, the and all the stuff you have already, it will decide how much quality is lost.

however, all those radio shack xlr-1/4" CHORDS.(NOT adapters) he said would be great if thats what you needed because they are sodered etc. all right in the chord....he's a good salesman, i bought it..ha
Click to expand...

Do not listen to anything a Radio Shack salesman says. Just don't do it. Okay, I'll admit he might be right. But taking a wild guess might be right, too.

Did he really say that there's a difference between:
Code: 
- using an adapter: cable-XLR -> XLR------1/4plug -> 1/4jack
- using a cord:     cable-XLR -> XLR-cord-1/4plug -> 1/4jack
because of the way they're soldered? That's just crazy. There might be some vague mechanical advantage in some applications, where you could let the cord drape over something that supports it to avoid straining a jack, but that depends on other things and has nothing to do with how anything is soldered.

The notion that "any time you add an adapter" you lose "quality" is nonsense. What is the mechanism that makes the "quality" leak out?

Yes, any time you add an adapter, you increase the potential for a problem ... that is, you introduce a place where a connection may go bad every once in awhile. A connection that goes bad usually will manifest itself with an obvious "loss of quality," like the sudden introduction of silence, or buzzing, or some obvious distortion.

The use of an XLR-1/4" adapter is a whole 'nother subject, and one that goes beyond the general issue of adapters. Generally, if you use an XLR-TRS adapter, and insert the TRS plug into a TRS jack, you should wind up in about the same place you would have if you'd just put the XLR into an XLR. If, on the other hand, you use an XLR-TS adapter, or plug a TRS plug into a TS jack, you might (or might not) do something bad. It isn't a matter of adapters being bad in general, it's a matter of disconnecting (or grounding) one of your lines.

A somewhat different issue: if you use an XLR-1/4" adapter to hook a microphone to a 1/4" input that's looking for a high-Z line-level input, you may also have a problem ... the adapter didn't create the problem, though it did make it easier for you to create the problem.
 
>The notion that "any time you add an adapter" you lose "quality" is nonsense

I wouldn't call it nonsense. Adapters in general are a shitty workaround to not having properly wired cables to begin with.
Some of 'em actually work pretty well if they were designed and built well, but if I owned a $1000 stage in my signal chain I surely would NOT use an adapter of ANY kind to "make it work" unless it was a temporary fix on location and I had no choice.

>to avoid straining a jack

That's reason enough to avoid adapters right there!
 
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