DJ EL
I've been shopping for speaker cables when a thought popped into my head (usually NOT a good thing! lol.) How important is gauge thickness, when it comes to cables, when one is wiring active speakers? It makes sense to have thick cables when connecting an amplifier to passive speakers, but in the former scenario, the cables are only carrying line-level signals. Any thoughts on this?
Also, just curious. Is there ANY scenario where using XLR-terminated cables are not recommended? In a speaker that offers both 1/4" and XLR, which is best?
Also, just curious. Is there ANY scenario where using XLR-terminated cables are not recommended? In a speaker that offers both 1/4" and XLR, which is best?
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 12:41 am
A Man and His Music
Ask any women and she will tell you thicker is better. On a serious note, this applies to cables too. Even though they are only carrying line level, there is less resistance in a thicker cable. The shielding is better, and the rubber outer casing is thicker, so it will last longer. Quality cables are made better, will perform better, and will last longer. You get what you pay for. Except when the hooker turns out to be a man. Then again, if you had paid a little more........
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 12:57 am
DJ EL
Dude, I won't ask about your man/hooker experience. lol Anyway, I can appreciate the logic. it was drilled into my head for 11 months in an electronics course years ago. I was just thinking that while thicker is betterer, as your man/hooker might say, I don't see it as critical in an active speaker setup. That being said, I certainly will not entertain the thought of 22 ga wires for my speakers. I figured that there would be a point of diminishing returns in the active speaker setup that would be way different than in an amp/speaker setup.
While on the subject, can mic cables be used for active speakers or are they too thin?
While on the subject, can mic cables be used for active speakers or are they too thin?
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 1:06 am
A Man and His Music
I understand your point, and it has some merit. My point is, most manufacturers offer a range of cables, good, better, and best. There are some that go even further with superior. They charge accordingly. The good will deliver the signal, but there might be a delay. You might hear a little more hum, or hiss. If you step on it once, that could be the end of the night. The outer cover may start to crack, after a couple of months. Lets not forget about the strain relief, at the top of the connector. "It worked last night, what could have happened". These are horror stories gained from a lot of years in the mobile DJ business. Now if they are gonna stay in a club, you may want to cheat a little, but I would not.
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 1:23 am
DJ EL
Message received loud and clear. Thanks. Any comment on the XLR vs 1/4 debate?
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 1:39 am
A Man and His Music
Anytime you go over ten feet, use XLR. This is the accepted rule. Less noise.
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 1:48 am
DJ EL
Are all XLR balanced and are all 1/4" unbalanced? Do you know of a thorough online tutorial that addresss all issues regarding speaker cables?
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 2:04 am
A Man and His Music
No & no. You can have an unbalanced XLR, even though I don't think you can call it an "XLR". You can have a balanced 1/4 in, it's called TRS for tip, ring, sleeve. Some one has a blog on cables here, I just can't remember.
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 2:11 am
DJ EL
Thanks for your time and responses, AM&HM.
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 2:19 am
phillydj
I use the 1/4" Unless I'm doing them Bi-Amp then I use the Nuetrik connection
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 2:35 am
DJ EL
When a device says that is has 1/4" outputs/inputs, can you tell if it's a balanced jack or do you have to rely on the specs? Well, I may have answered my own question. I am looking at the specs for a denon dn-x900 and the outputs are listed as:
Balanced 4 dBm (1.23 V) 600 /ohms
Unbalanced 0 dBV (1.0V) 1 k /kohms
Since it doesn't break it down between 1/4" and XLR, I'm assuming that the specs apply to both. Now it's confusing me a little because I thought it would be one or the other. I think I'll play it safe with the XLR's. I don't intend to buy cables less than 10', unless I am going from mixer to a sound processor.
Philly, what gauge of 1/4" do you use?
Balanced 4 dBm (1.23 V) 600 /ohms
Unbalanced 0 dBV (1.0V) 1 k /kohms
Since it doesn't break it down between 1/4" and XLR, I'm assuming that the specs apply to both. Now it's confusing me a little because I thought it would be one or the other. I think I'll play it safe with the XLR's. I don't intend to buy cables less than 10', unless I am going from mixer to a sound processor.
Philly, what gauge of 1/4" do you use?
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 3:32 am
phillydj
XLR is always reffered to as "Balanced" on mixers
1/4" Phono Jacks are usually "Unbalanced" on mixers
Now for the speaker cables my 100ft and below i use 14 gauge anything over that and u might need thicker gauge
but also remember that the longer the cable, the more resistance your adding to the amps load
Heres a tip , All balanced 1/4" Phono jacks have a Tip, Ring, Sleeve (they look like stereo headphone jacks)
1/4" Phono Jacks are usually "Unbalanced" on mixers
Now for the speaker cables my 100ft and below i use 14 gauge anything over that and u might need thicker gauge
but also remember that the longer the cable, the more resistance your adding to the amps load
Heres a tip , All balanced 1/4" Phono jacks have a Tip, Ring, Sleeve (they look like stereo headphone jacks)
Posté Sun 03 Sep 06 @ 5:52 am
DJ EL
Yeah, but no sense using TRS on 1/4" on mixer if it's unbalanced, right?
Posté Mon 04 Sep 06 @ 5:46 am
A Man and His Music
Actually, if the outputs on a mixer are 1/4 inch, they are usually balanced, so they would be TRS. What mixer do you have.
Posté Mon 04 Sep 06 @ 5:57 am
phillydj
No, It wouldn't make any sense to use a TRS cable if the 1/4" is Unbalanced,
My Numark Mixer has 2 1/4" outputs one for left and one for right, Both Unbalanced but it has the XLR outs which are balanced.
Now one that same note, My peavey mixer has no XLR connecters, but both 1/4" output jacks are TRS
My Numark Mixer has 2 1/4" outputs one for left and one for right, Both Unbalanced but it has the XLR outs which are balanced.
Now one that same note, My peavey mixer has no XLR connecters, but both 1/4" output jacks are TRS
Posté Mon 04 Sep 06 @ 6:20 am
DJ EL
I'll be getting the Denon DN-X900 mixer. I downloaded the manual and the back panel shows the XLR as balanced and the 1/4" as unbalanced. It also has a subwoofer output (1/4"), which I guess requires a mono cable, but it doesn't mention whether that connection is balanced or unbalanced..
Posté Mon 04 Sep 06 @ 5:07 pm
A Man and His Music
A sub out is unbalanced, and as you've said, is a mono 1/4" cable. A good quality mixer will usually give you 2 choices for output, balanced, & unbalanced. If they give you an XLR and a 1/4. The XLR will always be balanced. If you get RCA and 1/4, sometimes the 1/4 will be balanced. If you can get all 3, RCA, 1/4 and XLR, sometimes you will have 2 balanced options. You don't need balanced for the sub frequencies.
Posté Mon 04 Sep 06 @ 9:31 pm