help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

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bellulah
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help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by bellulah » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:57 am

i'm getting my hands on one of these RNC compressors i hear about, and i read that its all unbalanced inputs/outputs.

soooo... if its TRS does that automatically mean unbalanced? or do i have somethign backwards? if my effects loops options on my mixing board (a behringer 2442-pro) are all TRS, are they unblanced as well?

i'm all paranoid about blowing something up. its not like if i break my phone i just go and drop $25 to get a new one. there's real money at stake!! all of this is getting fed into an alesis lx-20 ADAT too, just so the whole picture is there.

any help understanding all this would be greatly appreciated.
thanks!

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kcrusher
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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by kcrusher » Mon Jan 19, 2004 8:24 am

TRS is a balanced connector - it stands for Tip/Ring/Sleeve. The tip carries the 'positive' signal, the ring a polarity flipped version of the signal the the sleeve carries the shield. If you plug a TRS cable into a TS input, it will still work, as the Tip is still carrying the positive signal. The opposite is true - plugging a TS cable into a TRS input - will give you a signal, but that signal will be 6db less than it would be if you were using a balanced TRS cable.

For balanced connections to work properly, they must be balanced at both ends - otherwise their is a gain loss during transmission.

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ToddP
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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by ToddP » Mon Jan 19, 2004 10:21 am

The RNC uses TRS connectors differently. It is NOT balanced. Tip is "input" Ring is "output" (or the opposite. I can't remember) It is designed so you can use one TRS cable to connect to the channel insert of a small mixer, which are set up the same way. If your mixer or soundcard does not have that, you need to get a "Y" insert cable.
Cheers

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cassembler
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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by cassembler » Mon Jan 19, 2004 11:56 am

To add to the above, any three conductor cable can carry a balanced or two unbalanced signals. A two-conductor cable, by definition, CANNOT carry a balanced signal.

Grab an "insert" cable from Guitar Mart and you'll be fine.

(IIRC, generally speaking (check the RNC manual), the ring is usually the return.)
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jamoo
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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by jamoo » Mon Jan 19, 2004 1:26 pm

Avoid base Hosa cables in the orange package. They're cheap but they're crummy and some places that's all they sell. I have one of these inserts and it needs replacing --- one of the mono/TS ends is dead. Even when it worked I could tell the difference between it and a better cable.

..
cassembler wrote: Grab an "insert" cable from Guitar Mart and you'll be fine.

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I'm Painting Again
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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by I'm Painting Again » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:17 pm

they do have converters from un to bal and back that would correct your equipment matings..theres about 12db of gain loss from a bal to unbal connection..

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Re: help understanding balanced and unbalanced inputs

Post by JASIII » Mon Jan 19, 2004 2:29 pm

sonichue wrote:Avoid base Hosa cables in the orange package. They're cheap but they're crummy and some places that's all they sell. I have one of these inserts and it needs replacing --- one of the mono/TS ends is dead. Even when it worked I could tell the difference between it and a better cable.

..
cassembler wrote: Grab an "insert" cable from Guitar Mart and you'll be fine.
I work at a music store where we carry Hosa stuff exclusively. The consumer level stuff "Orange package" can be iffy. They have a "Pro" line as well. But the stuff you really want is their Zaolla line. Solid silver center conductors with copper windings and braid, but it can be pricey ex. a 3 foot XLR cable retails for $60.00, 5 ft. $75. Needless to say I get everything for cost, hahahahahaha!!!!!! Seriously though, if anybody wants to order their stuff for considerably less than retail (35%-40% off for most stuff) drop an email to musrepsup@aol.com attn: John. Check out Zaolla's site for product info. www.zaolla.com
"If you will starve unless you become a rock star, then you have bigger problems than whether or not you are a rock star. " - Steve Albini

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