Balanced Audio Cables Vs. Unbalanced Audio Cables - Miracle Electronics

When you buy an audio system, you expect it to work at an unmatched quality; and the quality of sound produced by a system is highly dependent on the kind of audio cables used. This is specifically important during a live event recording, or live streaming. If the right kinds of cables are not used, it will produce a lot of noise and distortion. It is thus very important that you know which cables you need to use. There are two typical kinds of cables that you can use – balanced and unbalanced. But, in order to know which one of the two cables you should be using for your application, you need to understand what these are where each one is applicable. So, let’s take a look.

What are unbalanced cables?

Unbalanced cables are those that consist of two wires inside a plastic casing – a ground wire and a signal wire. The signal wire lies in the center of the cable, passing the audio signal through. And, the ground wire surrounds the signal wire, shielding the main signal wire from external electronic interference coming from lights, televisions, radios, transformers, and other devices. The unbalanced cables take the audio signal from the equipment used, passing it to a mixer or another receiving device without any manipulation. This, although a simple process, makes the audio distorted and noisy. Unbalanced cables generally use two kinds of connectors – one is the standard tip sleeve ¼” connector, and the other is the FCA connector.

What are balanced cables?

Balanced cables are those that consist of three wires inside a plastic casing – one ground wire and two signal wires. While the ground wire performs the same function as in an unbalanced cable, the difference lies in the working of the signal wires. In balanced cables, the signal wires pass an identical audio signal through each wire. This results in balanced cables being used such that the equipment sending and receiving the signals each have a converter, which allows them to make use of both the signal wires. Sending two signals simultaneously results in putting them out of phase, this means that while the signals are identical, one of them is the inverted mirror opposite of the other. When such out-of-phase signals reach the receiving equipment, they are then put back in phase, reverting the mirrored signal back to its original form. Finally, the two matched signals are passed to the mixer. This results in any distortion produced going out of phase, canceling itself out, thus culminating into a much clearer audio without distortion. Balanced cables also use two kinds of connectors – tip ring sleeve connectors and XLR connectors.

Which cable is right for you?

After understanding the construction, working, and performance of balanced and unbalanced cables, you can conclude that balanced cables reduce the distortion in the audio, while unbalanced cables do not. Then, you would assume that one must always use balanced cables because of the better sound quality that they produce. But, you would be surprised to know that this is not always the case! Each cable has its own pros and cons, which is why you need to learn about the specific cable that can prove beneficial to you. So, here are some points to help.

The length of the cable – When you need to use cables that are long, probably more than 20 feet in length, unbalanced cables can pick up noise from any nearby audio system, bringing to you a distorted sound at the receiver’s end. Balanced cables do not pick up such surrounding noise; thus making them apt to be used for longer lengths.

The strength of the signal – The above point is again another proof that clearly says why you must use balanced cables for your system. But, hold on! You would like to know that balanced cables have a weaker signal than unbalanced cables. Yes, unbalanced cables have a very strong signal. Thus, it is better to use unbalanced cables to get an uninterrupted sound.

The price – Unbalanced cables are way cheaper than balanced cables – one because of their simple construction, and two because they aren’t distortion-free like balanced cables. Thus, unbalanced cables are generally 30-60% cheaper than their balanced counterparts. And, to add to that, even after you pay a good price for balanced cables, you will also need to invest in special balanced mixed equipment, which can add to your costs. So, you need to keep that in mind while planning to opt for balanced cables.

To sum up:

After reading all that is written above, we can simply come down to two points –

1. If you need cables that are to be within 10 feet of length, there should be no issue in buying unbalanced cables, because these cables when used at such short lengths can bring stronger signals, uninterrupted sound, and are less likely to pick up any surrounding hum. Thus, you can get good sound quality at a cheaper price.
2. If the cables you need to use are longer in length, and if you don’t mind investing a little extra for that amazing sound quality at the receiving end, then you must opt for a balanced cable. Then, you’ll get professional sound quality with no noise distortion, considering you are paying a good price!

So now, you are ready to make your choice . And, after taking up an informed decision, you can always buy a balanced power transformer to convert any unbalanced power to balanced power. For this, you can get highly efficient balanced studio power supply in India from Miracle Electronics, to bring an audible improvement in frequency response and stereo imaging.