A Musician's Guide to Analog Audio Cables

I agree audio connections are not the exciting part of the setup. But it is an essential part that must be done before the show. As musicians, you are the ones that need the audio cables with the highest quality, and this is still not possible with wireless connections because that is still not a thing. It would help if you connect different guitars, synths, drums, mics, and many more instruments. And it can help you put up a show only when all these instruments sync.

For making all the cord connections, you need a guide to make things easy. Keep reading further to explore more on audio cables.

Balanced cables can cancel the interferences and noises that disturb the music and do not allow it to reach its audience to enjoy. Balanced wires can do this, as they have an added wire that goes inside with other two conductor wires and a ground wire, canceling the noise.

Unbalanced wires have more chances of picking up the noise you do not require. But it is useful when comedians are recording their set to enhance the laughing experience of the audience. It can pick up radio interference and consists of two wires, including a conductor and ground wires.

Each one has its own use. Let's explore different types of audio cables that are used as balanced and unbalanced cables as in when required. Though not all wires can act as both, but for the ones that do, it can act as a single one at a time. So, keep reading further to know more about this in detail.

There are mainly two types of cables: analog and digital cables. Analog cables work by transmitting electrical signals through streams of electricity. In comparison, the digital wires work by transmitting the information in binary form, including 1's and 0's. Here we will only discuss the analog audio cables, each in detail.

TS or Sleeve cables are one of the common choices for instruments like guitars, keyboards, and many other musical instruments. It is an unbalanced with two conductors, can transmit information only up to short distances, and can only be connected to one musical instrument simultaneously. The instruments connected by TS cables are usually connected to mixers and amplifiers.

RCA cables are the unbalanced wires that come in pairs to achieve stereo. DJs need these cords to connect the CDJs and turntables to DJ mixers. Like, TS cables even have one conductor and one ground wire. Usually, these are red and white and are even popular today. And it would help if you made it as short as possible, so it captures less noise.

RCA stands for "Radio Corporation of America" and is a low-cost consumer-grade cable. It is also used at home stereos and in AV systems. There are many RCA, including composite video and component RCA cables. And you need RCA to 1 4 cables to connect the gear with stereo. Like to connect a gear with stereo unbalanced phone jacks to gear up with the stereo phone jacks.

One of the most popular audio cables is the XLR cable. It is a three-pin connector almost always used as a balanced cable. These are useful for long distances without any distortion. So, there is no disturbance or interference from the noise created. These are useful when connecting microphones, powered speakers, PA systems, stage lighting, etc. You can also use RCA adapters to interconnect different instruments, devices, and equipment.

TRS cables are similar to the TS cables, except for the additional ring. TRS stands for "Tip, Ring, Sleeve", and depending on its use can be helpful as both balanced and unbalanced cable.

When it is used as a balanced cable, the ring and the sleeve part carry the positive and the negative ground signals. And it would be best if you were very calculative with the number of such cables required for your concert, as it is a mono instrument device that can carry 2-channel stereo audio. It is helpful with the headphones you need while playing your mixers and studio monitors. It would help if you had TRS connectors or adapters for converting it into other forms.

Musicians need to make many connections backstage to put up a good show for their audience. There is a lot of effort that goes into connecting different instruments with the power supply, as well as maintaining a good quality of sound for your instruments. It is also essential that they know all the connections because it is a skill to learn that they require for every performance. Different types of cables go onstage while putting up a show. And each of them has its use. It would be best to ensure the wire were sufficient because some can only fit one device, and others can fit in with more than one device. As a musician, you need to know where a 2.5 mm to 1 - 4 adapter is needed and where long balanced cords are needed. I hope we could provide you with the information you need about the analog audio wires and clarify the difference between balanced and unbalanced audio cables.

Jennifer Truong is the owner of SF Cable, a california based online retailer of all kind of Computers, electronics, electrical accessories, networking accessories, cables, wires. Jennifer has extensive experience in the Electronics industry and blog.