XLR to TR wiring help

[Plexihead]

Hopefully someone can help me here . . . I had some cables made using Canare Quad w/Neutrik ends to go from my monitor out jacks (unbalanced - TR connection) on my multitrack to the female in's on my monitors (balanced - XLR connection).

Well, they don't work. Instead of sending them back I'm going to have a go with my rough soldering skills. Anyone know how to wire up this Canare Quad to go from a male XLR plug to a male TR plug?

It would appear the XLR would be wired with both whites to pin 2, both blues to pin 3 and the shield to pin 1?

How then would the TR plug be wired, both whites to the pin connection, with the remaining two blues and shield to the ground?

John

 

[bennychico11]

Tie pin 1 to ground (sleeve...by the way, they are TS connectors, not TR)
Tie pin 3 to ground (sleeve)
Tie pin 2 to the tip

 

[bennychico11]

by the way, what monitors are you using?

 

[Plexihead]

Hey great, thanks man!

So just to clarify, with the XLR wired up with . . .

2 whites -> pin 2
2 blues -> pin 3
shield -> pin 1

Then the TS plug would be wired up like . . .

2 whites -> tip
2 blues & shield -> ground


And thanks for correcting me, so TS is the unbalanced 1/4" and TRS is the balanced 1/4", got it!

John

 

[Plexihead]

by the way, what monitors are you using?

Dynaudio BM5A's

 

[bennychico11]

So just to clarify, with the XLR wired up with . . .

2 whites -> pin 2
2 blues -> pin 3
shield -> pin 1

Then the TS plug would be wired up like . . .

2 whites -> tip
2 blues & shield -> ground

yes, if you're mixing unbalanced with balanced...just remember to tie low (-) to ground. Your soldering is probably going to be pretty bulky though because you're using quad cable (3 connections on one lead).

And thanks for correcting me, so TS is the unbalanced 1/4" and TRS is the balanced 1/4", got it!

TR would stand for Tip Ring...which doesn't exist. TS stands for Tip Sleeve with the sleeve being the same thing as ground.
Remember though, connectors are just that...connectors. There aren't balanced or unbalanced connectors out there. The actual gear you are using determines whether your signal is balanced or not. Same thing as people calling them stereo and mono plugs. Yes they are used in those applications, but a TRS cable doesn't necessarily need to be carrying a stereo signal. Similarly, an XLR cable doesn't need to be carrying a balanced connection...such as this situation with your speakers.
Just call them TS and TRS 1/4" connectors.

 

[bennychico11]

To make things less bulky on the cable, you could also just tie the two blues to the Shield and then tie one blue to Pin 1 and the other blue to Pin 3....and just leave the shield acting as a shield (trim it back a bit though when you cut it from the cable)

 

[Plexihead]

Great, thanks for the tips and extra clarification. You've been a big help, much appreciated!

Now to brush up on my soldering skills

John

 

[bennychico11]

Great, thanks for the tips and extra clarification. You've been a big help, much appreciated!

Now to brush up on my soldering skills

John

no problem man
happy soldering