don't want to blow my stuff up

  • Thread starter Thread starter antispatula
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antispatula

antispatula

Active member
So I think I need to understand balanced and unbalalnced more first.

Tell me if this makes any sense: balanced sends two signals, one of them geing "flipped" and the other not. When they get to the end of the cable, on of them flip back and kind of cancel out any built up noise?

And I'm guessing unbalanced doesn't do that.....

Anyways, I got an old mixer, and an old reel to reel. What kind of cables should I get, balanced or unbalanced, or does it matter? Thanks!
 
Your explanation of balanced is essentially correct.

Go with balanced if possible for the reason you just described, to help reduce noise especially at longer cable runs.
 
alright, thanks! Wait, so you can't damage your stuff by hooking up balanced and unbalanced things? What would be the point of using unbalanced if it's inferior?
 
antispatula said:
alright, thanks! Wait, so you can't damage your stuff by hooking up balanced and unbalanced things? What would be the point of using unbalanced if it's inferior?
Click to expand...

I haven't heard of any issues in regards to damage to gear, just make certain that they are the the same reference levels. Balanced are often +4 dBu while unbalanced are usually -10dBv.

Unbalanced connections are used because they are cheaper to make and in situations where space is a factor (like computer interface connections).
 
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