Balanced Audio Or Unbalanced Audio _ Which Cables To Use - Miracle Electronics

Going live has become a trend now. Whatever platform you are on, going live brings you more attention than any other posts or videos you may have put up. And, those who go live, are well aware of how important the sound quality is. Every cable used in the production setup can have a huge impact on your sound quality and audio feed. You need to thus know about the audio cables that you are using for your audio setup, so as to ensure that you are using the right one for your job. Let’s learn about the types of signals different cables carry – balanced and unbalanced .

What are unbalanced audio cables?

• Audio cables that carry unbalanced signals use two wires – a signal and ground, wherein the signal wire carries audio signals to where they need to go, and the ground wire acts as a reference point for the signal. The ground wire here also acts like an antenna, picking up unwanted noise along the way. This is the reason why such cables are preferred for short distances, so that the risk of unwanted noise can be minimized.
• The unwanted noise that the ground wire picks up can come from a variety of electrical and radio interferences, particularly power cables that create a humming sound if they are near cables carrying unbalanced audio. But, this unwanted noise can be reduced by having a careful cable placement. The best way is by arranging for a perpendicular crossing of power and audio cables. However, if a perpendicular crossing is not possible, and you have to have a parallel run, you must leave as much space as possible between audio and power cables.
• The most common unbalanced cable types include RCA cables and TS cables. RCA cables are unbalanced analog audio connections that send stereo audio over a right and left channel, running not more than 25 feet. TS cables are used in electric guitars that often output to an amplifier.

What are balanced audio cables?

• Balanced audio cables are those that have a ground wire, but two copies of the same incoming audio signals – one hot and one cold signal. Both these signals are reversed in polarity, so that when they travel down the cable, they cancel each other out. But, once both the signals get to the other end of the cable, the polarity of the cold signal flips such that both the signals are in phase, and perfectly in sync. These two in-phase signals result in a louder sound.
• If balanced audio cables pick up noise along the way, the noise added is not reversed in polarity. Thus, when the cold signal flips, the noise carried along the cold signal cancels out with the noise in the hot signal. This cancelling out process is known as common mode rejection, where the noise is the common signal between the two.
• The most common balanced cable types include XLR cables and TRS cables. XLR cables have three male pines inside the connector, sending balanced audio signals up to 200 feet. TRS cables can be used to send either balanced or unbalanced signals.

As you can see, balanced audio cables are less susceptible to noise and provide a more reliable signal that is stronger over longer distances. So, when you are looking for louder volumes across longer distances, you want to choose balanced audio cables. However, if you have to use unbalanced audio cables, you must make sure to cross them perpendicularly to any power cable they may encounter. And, for any audio and studio equipment that you may use, you can always buy a balanced power transformer to convert conventional unbalanced single-phased mains to symmetrical balanced power. Get in touch with Miracle Electronics for highly efficient balanced studio power supply in India, which can help you by bringing an audible improvement in frequency response and stereo imaging.