My mixer (Allen & Heath System 8) has balanced XLR buss outputs that are wired pin 3 hot (instead of the standard pin 2, of course). I plan on buying the necessary cable and connectors and making my own XLR-TRS cables. When wiring these, I'll be connecting Pin 3 to tip, Pin 2 to ring, and Pin 1 to sleeve, correct?
Now, what is the significance of having pin 3 hot instead of pin 2? Whether I use a balanced cable or an unbalanced cable does not seem to effect my level going into my recorder (HD24). I've sent a signal to two busses and sent the outputs to two channels on the HD24, one with an XLR-TRS cable and the other with an XLR-TS cable, and the record levels on the HD24 read the same when the buss levels are set the same. So does wiring to compensate for pin 3 hot simply serve to ensure that buss output signals will have the same polarity as balanced signals from other hardware such as outboard pres and so on? Or are there other reasons? I'm asking because, sonically, it seems to make little difference on a track by track basis, but the answer may very well lie deeper than that.
I hope all of this makes sense. Thanks!
Now, what is the significance of having pin 3 hot instead of pin 2? Whether I use a balanced cable or an unbalanced cable does not seem to effect my level going into my recorder (HD24). I've sent a signal to two busses and sent the outputs to two channels on the HD24, one with an XLR-TRS cable and the other with an XLR-TS cable, and the record levels on the HD24 read the same when the buss levels are set the same. So does wiring to compensate for pin 3 hot simply serve to ensure that buss output signals will have the same polarity as balanced signals from other hardware such as outboard pres and so on? Or are there other reasons? I'm asking because, sonically, it seems to make little difference on a track by track basis, but the answer may very well lie deeper than that.
I hope all of this makes sense. Thanks!