XLR versus TRS

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Ptownkid

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Are XLR cables any better than good quality TRS cables.

I'm going from compressors to a patchbay and wonder which to buy?

My compressors have both kind of ins and outs so I need either XLR to TRS or TRS to TRS.

Thanks
 
I'd get the XLR-TRS just so I'd have the versatility when I needed it somewhere else. XLR connections are typically more robust than TRS and they are harder to accidentally yank out of a socket.
 
ok, that's somewhat helpful, but is there any difference in quality?
 
XLR vs. 1/4" TRS is simply a connector difference... the actual cable used (and therefore the quality) is the same in both cases (2-conductor cable is needed to pass a balanced signal, or to pass 2 unbalanced signals.)

Many patchbays are 1/4" TRS, so you often have to use cable with XLR on one end and TRS on the other......
 
ok so I've decided to make my own cables. Is mic cable considered 3 conductor or two and a shield? Also, what gauge should it be?

Thanks
 
It's two conductor plus a drain. Sometimes the shield is braided wire, which gets tied to pin 1, so it also acts as the drain wire. Sometimes there is a foil shield, and the drain wire is a seperate wire tied to pin 1. Not enough difference to worry about. Generally foil shield is used in installed cables and snakes, as it can be smaller diameter with the same gauge, and still be shielded. The foil shield doesn't take quite as much abuse as a braided or spiral shield, so for single daily use mic cables mostly you see braided shield cable. 22-24 AWG is common for mic cables, I've seen it from 20 to 26. I like 22 gauge, but I don't really have a reason ;) .
 
Some argument could be made that XLR is a better connection because there is physically more metal touching than a TRS.

another disadvantage of TRS is that it can momentarily short out when plugging and un-plugging cables. It is a good reason to keep connections that might carry phantom power out of a TRS patchbay.
 
Is there any advantage to using 4 conductor cable instead of 2? I've seen a lot of custom cables lately that use the 4 conductor variety.
 
So-called "quad" cables have higher noise rejection at the expense of usually higher capacitance. They are best for long cable runs where noise is a primary concern.
Where absolute quality is more important, it's best to use short runs of non-quad, low-capacitance, oxygen-free cable.

In fact, for very short runs, some people (especially top mastering engineers) prefer UNbalanced cables for integrity reasons. You don't need some component to flip the phase and add the signals together when you're dealing with unbalanced.
That said, I doubt if 9999/10000 of us could ever hear the difference.
 
So if I'm making 10' mic cables, 3' cables (for send and returns from patcbay to compressors) and 1' patches for the patchbay, I should just go with the 2 conductor?
 
Just wanted to toss in that 10' mic cables piss me off, they are always too short. I'd go for a mix of lengths, with a few 10s and a bunch of 20s.
 
Ptownkid said:
So if I'm making 10' mic cables, 3' cables (for send and returns from patcbay to compressors) and 1' patches for the patchbay, I should just go with the 2 conductor?
Click to expand...

I would.

Doubt you'd notice a difference either way, but 2-conductor cable (especially if it's good like Mogami or Canare) should technically be better for this application, so long as your area isn't particularily prone to things like radio interference or EMI from power.
 
I have to use trs on one end of the 12 cables that hook my compressors to the patchbay.
 
bgavin said:
I find XLR are much easier to solder.
Click to expand...

That's interesting, I always felt it was the other way around. TRS is much faster for me.
 
hehe, today i fixed two broken cables,

one xlr and one trs

and i said to myself:

DAMN, XLR is way easier to solder


:D :D no kiddin
 
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