Balanced / Unbalanced?..

[acintya]

Hello. How do I connect a balanced output with unblanaced output? can someone explain this to me - and give me information which cable i should buy?

I want to connect Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 (balanced)



with YAMAHA MG06 on LINE 3/4 or 5/6 which are Unbalanced



I know its a stupid question but can someone explain what man can connect and what can cause problems?

thanks... and maybe if someone recommends me a cable?

so, I willl lose loudness if I connect my soundcard to unbalanced outputs of the YAmaha? but yes, I can connect it also to line 1&2 which are balanced - but then I loose the microphone inputs. Am I getting it right?

also at the end MG06 will be connected to:



which cable would you use to get the best signal flow?

thanks

[BertKoor]

Hello. How do I connect a balanced output with unblanaced output?

You don't. You can connect an input with an output, or an output with an input. But connecting an output to another output is not a good idea

Anyway, nitpicking apart, read the manual closely. Somewhere on the end are the tech specs. Those usually say something like: "Balanced, also works with unbalanced". Because in 99% of the cases balanced and unbalanced are for most practical scenarios compatible and interchangeable.

But your interface has apart from the two balanced outputs also 4 unbalanced outputs on RCA connectors. Page 13 of the user manual explains these are perfect to connect these to a DJ Mixer (but any other device with line inputs will work just as well)

The easiest way to connect an RCA output to 1/4" jack inputs, is take a bog-standard RCA hifi cable plus two adapters that should cost not much and doesn't affect the audio quality:

[acintya]

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Hello. How do I connect a balanced output with unblanaced output?

You don't. You can connect an input with an output, or an output with an input. But connecting an output to another output is not a good idea

Anyway, nitpicking apart, read the manual closely. Somewhere on the end are the tech specs. Those usually say something like: "Balanced, also works with unbalanced". Because in 99% of the cases balanced and unbalanced are for most practical scenarios compatible and interchangeable.

But your interface has apart from the two balanced outputs also 4 unbalanced outputs on RCA connectors. Page 13 of the user manual (http://d3se566zfvnmhf.cloudfront.net/sites/default/files/focusrite/downloads/8174/scarlett2i4-user-guide.pd%27f) explains these are perfect to connect these to a DJ Mixer (but any other device with line inputs will work just as well)

The easiest way to connect an RCA output to 1/4" jack inputs, is take a bog-standard RCA hifi cable plus two adapters that should cost not much and doesn't affect the audio quality:

thanks, but who said i want to connect an output with output? I can also connect the jack-s out of the soundcard with the line 1/2 on the mixer or? jack - to jack or jack to xlr - balanced. and i don`t want the easiest way- i want the best way. and i will use long cables so better to connect with balanced to disable any interference-noise on the way or?

[BertKoor]

thanks, but who said i want to connect an output with output?

Actually that was what your first sentence (after "hello") started with

I can also connect the jack-s out of the soundcard with the line 1/2 on the mixer

Yes, 1/4" balanced TRS jack into 1/4" unbalanced TS jack will work fine in most cases. I still have to find a situation where this leads to problems.

or? jack - to jack or jack to xlr - balanced.

Well, chances are that the XLR input on the mixer has an extra amplification stage, since XLR is usually for microphones while 1/4" jacks are for line level.

i don`t want the easiest way- i want the best way.

Often that's the same...

and i will use long cables so better to connect with balanced to disable any interference-noise on the way or?

Not really required in yer typical home studio...

I once did a comparison test, comparing superb balanced TRS cables of less than 1 meter with a pair of cheap crappy 6 meter long RCA cables in series (total of 12 meter unbalanced crap cable) connected with TS->RCA and RCA-RCA and RCA->TS adapters. I used the RMAA scientific analyser and a semi-pro soundcard that can pick up really fine nuances. Result: no significant change in any of the dozen measured parameters.

Since then I don't worry anymore about balanced or unbalanced or using adapters to get a connection. It's electricity and it flows through copper.

You will find a balanced connection is required when something else than a low-impedance line signal is going through the cable (e.g. microphones) and when the distance is well over 10 meters and there are interference sources. All these conditions are not likely to happen in your home studio. You have line level signals, the cable is likely shorter than 10 meters, and it's not RFI hell in your room.

[RichieWitch]

All it takes in one cell phone. I have to keep my cell phone at least 5 feet from my studio desk to avoid getting periodic glitches in my monitors as the phone pings the cell tower. This is in a home studio where all the cables are balanced.

Try connecting a 20 foot unbalanced instrument cable from an electric guitar to a mixer, versus using a 3 foot instrument cable with a DI box and a 20 foot balanced cable to a mixer, and you will instantly hear the difference in the noise level.

From my experience, anything longer than 2 meters (~6 feet) should be balanced if at all possible if you have multiple pieces of hardware in your signal path (e.g. synthesizer to FX unit to compressor to mixing desk to audio interface, etc.) The signal path is additive when it comes to electrical noise, so short balanced cables will help.

You can find more information here: https://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan02/ ... aq0102.asp