wiring

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pandamonk

pandamonk

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Hi, I'm going to do all my own wiring, eg xlr and jack sockets, to stereo jack plugs. What should i use for balanced wires this , this ,or one of these. I am unsure because they don't have any with 3 wires and i was under the impression that is what i'd need.
 
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Will i need any special cabling/wires for headphones, as i will be using a headphone amp?
 
pandamonk said:
Hi, I'm going to do all my own wiring, eg xlr and jack sockets, to stereo jack plugs. What should i use for balanced wires this , this ,or one of these. I am unsure because they don't have any with 3 wires and i was under the impression that is what i'd need.
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No, you need two wires---a single twisted pair. You can also use four wires by running two wires per contact. Be sure you don't cross-wire it if you do, though. :D

The third connection is the shield. Depending on the cable construction, this might be either a braided shield or a foil shield with a bare wire running down beside it. It ends up working the same way, regardless.
 
i will be using a load of these , these , and these . How would i go about soldering? My dad's an electrician so he can help with it, but what bits should i solder to what?
 
pandamonk said:
What would you recommend this or this
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Don't know. They don't tell what gauge wire either of them is.... You also didn't mention whether you're putting this permanently inside a wall or using it as a throw-around cable....

By the way, are these for use with mics? If so, why are you running from an XLR jack to a 1/4" stereo plug? You do realize that 1/4" jacks on equipment are implicitly high impedance inputs, and that mics should be hooked up to low impedance inputs, right? If you really have to run a mic into an instrument preamp (with high impedance ins), you'd probably be better off wiring the XLR jacks to XLR plugs and using a balun (line matching transformer) to go from low to high impedance.
 
pandamonk said:
i will be using a load of these , these , and these . How would i go about soldering? My dad's an electrician so he can help with it, but what bits should i solder to what?
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That second one is for mounting on a PCB. Are you doing anything like that?

Anyway, the XLRs are pretty simple--pin 1 to pin 1, pin 2 to pin 2, and pin 3 to pin 3. TRS to XLR is tip = pin 2, ring = pin 3, sleeve - pin 1.
 
It will be for behind the wall. I will be running xlr to stereo jack, because i was under the impression stereo jacks are balanced and therefore act more like xlr, also i will be running it into a balanced patchbay, then from the patchbay to the mixer etc.
 
pandamonk said:
It will be for behind the wall. I will be running xlr to stereo jack, because i was under the impression stereo jacks are balanced and therefore act more like xlr, also i will be running it into a balanced patchbay, then from the patchbay to the mixer etc.
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TRS jacks can be balanced, if you wire them as MsHilarious stated just above.

If you choose to plug in an unbalanced plug (TS rather than TRS), that's okay too, it works fine with a balanced TRS patch bay.
 
Thanks. What wires would you suggest from the options I've given/or any you find yourself? Could you give a link so i know what one(s) you mean?
 
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I would use canare, mogami, or something top end. You're going to wire your studio once, might as well use the best and be done with it. Google for the names.
 
I would use them, but don't they already have the plugs attached? I'm looking to install wall mounted xlr and jack sockets. Plus, i don't have a huge budget. :o
 
canare and mogami manufactuere bulk cable. It comes on spools. Then you cut to the length you want, and solder on the connectors you want.

You can use anything you want. Better quality cables sound better, and last longer, thus in the long run save you money and time as you don't have to make stuff over and over because the parts suck.
 
Thanks, i did a quick search and only found ones with connecters already on them, should have looked more.
 
It seems quite hard to get them in the UK. What makes them any better than any other anyway?
 
Ok, as i said, i don't have a big enough budget, and my studio doesn't need to be full of the "best" gear. From the site i linked to earlier, what would be the best for me? I'm ordering tommorow, its 23.40 atm so about 11 hours and i'll be ordering, i need to know for then or i'll have to pick myself and might choose the wrong thing. Can anyone help before then?
 
pandamonk said:
Ok, as i said, i don't have a big enough budget, and my studio doesn't need to be full of the "best" gear. From the site i linked to earlier, what would be the best for me? I'm ordering tommorow, its 23.40 atm so about 11 hours and i'll be ordering, i need to know for then or i'll have to pick myself and might choose the wrong thing. Can anyone help before then?
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In that case, just buy the best, lowest capacitance cable that you are financially comfortable with.

The too links you provided several times do not provide enough information for me to make a recommendation. The capacitance per foot isn't listed, the wire gauge isn't listed, the mil thickness of the insulation isn't listed.

It's like "Hey, I bought a car on ebay for $300".
"What did you get?"
"No idea, but it's a car!"

I'm not trying to be obnoxious, but I can't give advice without something to base that advice on.
 
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