Balanced vs. Unbalanced Cables

  • Thread starter Thread starter diggy_dude
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diggy_dude

diggy_dude

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Is this really something the novice needs to worry about? My compressor has balanced connectors, but it works fine with regular 1/4" mono cables. Is it safe to assume all devices with balanced connections can be used as though they were unbalanced?

Thanks,
Jim
 
Depends how long the cables you are running are...

Assuming your compressor is close to your recording gear and not close to the source 30 feet away in another room, maybe not. It sounds like you're happy with it at the moment...

Use as short a cable as you can if unbalanced would be my recommendation. :D
 
Armistice said:
Depends how long the cables you are running are...

Assuming your compressor is close to your recording gear and not close to the source 30 feet away in another room, maybe not. It sounds like you're happy with it at the moment...

Use as short a cable as you can if unbalanced would be my recommendation. :D
Click to expand...

I'm going to rack all this stuff with a patchbay on the same rack. All units going into the patchbay with the shortest cables I can find. The keyboards will all be within 8 feet of the rack.
 
Take a look at the back of the DBX ... on the in/out put does it say bal./unbal. ?







:cool:
 
moresound said:
Take a look at the back of the DBX ... on the in/out put does it say bal./unbal. ?
Click to expand...

It doesn't say on the back of the unit. The manual says the XLR and TRS jacks are all balanced. I had to comb through the fine print to find out that it was permissible to use a TS plug for unbalanced.
 
Just realised I didn't actually answer your question...

At least I didn't call you Shirley... :drunk:
 
Not sure if this applies to your comp (or any other comps)...but this happend only with my Joe Meek SC2.2, (which is a stereo comp, there are no L/R sides that you link together)...

I once patched an unbalanced EQ in-line with the SC2.2...and the stereo image became skewed a bit to one side.
I kept checking the cables and everything else, thinking something was not functioning properly...then I realized it was the unbalanced connection that was messing up the stereo image of the SC2.2

I took an Aphex 124A (http://www.aphex.com/124A.htm) and used that to correct the connection between the bal/unbal pieces and the image from the SC2.2 was back to normal.

Anway...just a thought AFA balanced/unbalanced cables and stereo comps are concerned...at least with the SC2.2
 
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