Balanced To Unbalanced Cable Wiring

Always use balanced cable two internal wires a hot wire and cold wire plus a separate screen.

Balanced to unbalanced cable wiring.

Unbalanced positive wire shielding. Unbalanced cables depending on their quality might be anywhere from 30 60 of the cost of their balanced counterparts. The structure of a balanced audio cable is similar to an unbalanced cable with one addition. We ve spent the past few insync issues detailing exact cable wiring diagrams so hopefully by now we can spare you the drawings and discuss concepts because we have a lot to cover today and limited space for it.

In truth the main advantage an unbalanced cable has over a balanced cable is the cost. A balanced audio cable has a ground wire but it also carries two copies of the same incoming audio signal sometimes referred to as a hot positive and cold negative signal. Balanced cables have a bit more inside. The added safety of the balanced cable comes at a cost and even after you make the purchase you still need to pair your cables with.

The cord depending on quality might have just a braided shield like that of the unbalanced cord above but it also might have another foil shield for double the protection like the. After removing the outer plastic layer you might encounter one of two things. The diagram above shows how the cable works. If you re wiring to a stereo jack use two balanced cables not one.

This is especially true if it needs to be used in an environment where there s a lot of lights and other stuff that could cause interference.