mini to XLR cable

[Ben Moore]

I need a new mini to XLR cable to connect my Shure SM57 to my Edirol-R09HR.
I see two type's at B&H, one has a matching transformer and one dosen't. Do I need the matching transformer?, Is it worth the extra money?

Hosa Technology | Mini Stereo Male to 3-pin XLR | XVM-101F | B&H


Hosa Technology | MIT-156 Low to High Impedance | MIT-156 | B&H


Thanks
Ben

[Daniel Epstein]

Ben,
It is hard to say which one would work better (both should work) but I have a suspicion you will like the one with the transformer based on the idea that most of those Stereo Mini mic inputs are not expecting as low an impedance mic as the Shure.

[Battle Vaughan]

You might look at soundprofessionals.com, we buy our Edirol to XLR cables from them, made to order in various lengths and either mono or stereo configuration...reasonable prices...usual disclaimer, have nothing to do with them but as a purchaser....Battle Vaughan/miamiherald.com video team.

PS- I bought one of the hi-z to low-z thingies from B&H that you mentioned and couldn't see that it made a difference..

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Ben Moore

I need a new mini to XLR cable to connect my Shure SM57 to my Edirol-R09HR.
I see two type's at B&H, one has a matching transformer and one dosen't. Do I need the matching transformer?, Is it worth the extra money?

Hosa Technology | Mini Stereo Male to 3-pin XLR | XVM-101F | B&H

Hosa Technology | MIT-156 Low to High Impedance | MIT-156 | B&H

Thanks
Ben

Skip the transformer. Feeding low impedance into high impedance is fine. It's the other way around that's a problem.

Regards,

Ty Ford

[Ben Moore]

Thanks Guys!

Ben

[Battle Vaughan]

One other thing to think about --- I bought xlr to stereo cables originally and found that, from a mono mike, one channel is inverted to the other (this is how balanced cables achieve noise reduction) and in the Edirol, the inverted channel is not re-inverted...yielding two good channels that when played back on the timeline cancel each other out...you need an xlr to mono cable with a 1/8" trs plug. This is why we buy the xlr-to-mono-trs cables from soundprofessionals.com. Of course you can invert one channel on your timeline yourself, or delete one, and the audio is fine. But it had us scratching our heads the first time we ran into the problem. IF you are using a stereo mike, of course, you need proper stereo to stereo cables...I'm talking about using a single xlr mike input to the mike jack on the Edirol.../ Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

[Ben Moore]

Battle

Both cables I mentioned above work fine with the R09HR, no timeline cancellation, I think they are wired just like the one you mention below, basically a mono signal on both the left and right channels, The cable you used and got cancellation must of been intended for a stereo mic.

Ben

[Ty Ford]

Originally Posted by Battle Vaughan

One other thing to think about --- I bought xlr to stereo cables originally and found that, from a mono mike, one channel is inverted to the other (this is how balanced cables achieve noise reduction) and in the Edirol, the inverted channel is not re-inverted...yielding two good channels that when played back on the timeline cancel each other out...you need an xlr to mono cable with a 1/8" trs plug. This is why we buy the xlr-to-mono-trs cables from soundprofessionals.com. Of course you can invert one channel on your timeline yourself, or delete one, and the audio is fine. But it had us scratching our heads the first time we ran into the problem. IF you are using a stereo mike, of course, you need proper stereo to stereo cables...I'm talking about using a single xlr mike input to the mike jack on the Edirol.../ Battle Vaughan /miamiherald.com video team

I think, more to the point, what happens with using a stereo cable with a mono mic is that the positive swing ends up on on channel and the negative swing ends up on the other.

With the correctly wired cable, the mono signal feeds both inputs correctly because it's wire + to both tip and ring and - to the shield.

Regards,

Ty Ford