DJing Discussion

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Balanced vs Unbalanced output?

Certified Quality Entertainment 4:03 PM - 25 May, 2007
Whats the difference?
And I dont want to hear any smartass remarks like 1 can stand straight up and the other one falls over! haha :)

Just curious because on many mixers you see balanced and unbalanced outputs to amps. Just not sure what difference it makes.
DJJOHNNYM 4:11 PM - 25 May, 2007
LOL...@ 1 can stand straight up while the other falls over.

I think the BALANCED output allows longer cable runs without increased hum.
scotty B 4:12 PM - 25 May, 2007
I (think) it has to do with grounding.... But don't quote me.LOL



So while I was not a smart ass, I still really didn't help.. :/
DeezNotes 4:13 PM - 25 May, 2007
I think the difference you'd hear is more noticeable on louder systems vs. the bookshelf jump-offs at the crib.

Go balanced if you can. It might cost you a little to change over all your cables though.
SELECT 4:14 PM - 25 May, 2007
Im not technical sound pro, but I can tell you what Ive experienced. When its balanced it just sounds better, cleaner, brighter, stronger. I couldnt tell you why.
BriChi 4:19 PM - 25 May, 2007
found this for ya:www.sweetwater.com



Balanced vs. Unbalanced Cables

Balanced refers to a “three-legged” type of electrical signal that has two legs independent of ground. One is generally considered positive and the other negative in voltage and current flow with respect to ground. Both legs carry the signal. The benefit is that any noise that gets induced into the line will be common to both the positive and negative sides and is thus canceled when it arrives at its destination, assuming the destination is balanced. This phenomenon is called "Common Mode Rejection” and happens because the receiving device sees the common noise in the signal as being out of phase with itself, and cancels it. Balanced lines are generally best for long cable runs due to their ability to reject induced noises. XLR and TRS type cables are designed to transmit balanced audio from one balanced device to another.

Unbalanced cables are less complicated and less expensive but they have limitations. Any audio signal requires two wires or conductors to function. In an unbalanced situation, one of those conductors is used to carry both the audio signal and ground (shield). Unbalanced cables are much more susceptible to induced noise problems than their balanced counterparts because any induced noise in one conductor is not canceled by similar noise in the other conductor and may be carried with the signal into connected equipment. In general, unbalanced lines should be kept as short as possible (certainly under 25-30' maximum) to minimize potential noise problems.
Certified Quality Entertainment 4:26 PM - 25 May, 2007
Interesting. Ill read up on that site when I have some more time.

I was DJing a sweet 16 2 weeks ago and I was having problems with my subs (ended up being a bad wire) and of course there is this kid at the party that works as a sound engineer for some huge audio company that do big installs and sound setups so he told me to make sure I always have balanced inputs/outputs. He said to give him a call so he can help me out. Ill have him rewire my whole rig, get my sh*t sounding good!!

Thanks for the "Balanced" input from everyone! :)
MusicMeister 6:26 PM - 25 May, 2007
Balanced signals also tend to be hotter. Consumer equipment typically provides a -10dB signal while pro equipment using balanced levels usually provide a +4dB signal. No, 14dB doesn't sound like much until you realize it's not a linear scale - it's logarithmic.

What does this mean to you?

Running a -10dB signal to a Matrix 1000 V2 I could barely handle a small room of 20-30 people. The same system with a +4dB signal I can easily handle 150 people in a much larger room. I basically took a 700+ watt system and turned it into a 250watt system when I used the lower input level.


Not to mention that balanced cables provide better signal quality over long runs. Balanced cables work just fine for short runs in the rack but if you're doing anything over about 5-10 feet you really should use balanced connections which help to reject injected noise.
Certified Quality Entertainment 6:50 PM - 25 May, 2007
^^ Very helpful. I was sure that balanced just "had" to be better just because balaned things are always better than unbalanced! Haha, taking an ignorant approach to that one. Very helpful stuff. I think I am going to get that sound tech guy to just come over and rework my sound system. Get it bumping in tip top shape!
SUBSTANCE 8:21 PM - 25 May, 2007
unbalanced is like 128kbps mp3.... yes, it will work but it's not 'professional' standard.
deepdjdanny 8:54 AM - 26 May, 2007
balanced as much as you can.
rcas have always been phucked: makes the hot connection first & not ground: therefore thump & crackle if hot wiring, they're
cheaply manufactured & you just end up replacing them with another set of cheaply manufactured rcas & on & on it goes.
they're no good for continuous plugging in & out, so hopeless for mobile dj use. they can end up fucking your the sockets on your cd player & mixer. have had to replace the technics one 'bout twice now. manufacturers never caught on, they only just put XLRs on the main output of mixers etc. XLR/Balanced is fairly professional; latching sockets & jacks, should always make the ground pin conection first, extremely good cable strain relief, bigger & more robust microphone cable for signal runs, no crappy figure 8 shit to unkink & unknot, the RCA just plain isn't any good. I replace an rca weekly.
the next step has been digital/spdif, but guess what!?
Pioneer does this with one phucking rca, therefore doubling your chance of complete signal loss!

rca protocol doesn't do shit. it doesn't generate & send a balanced signal & it doesn't; at the other end, reconvert this balanced back tio an unbalanced signal.
balanced in it's entirety does.
now it's your choice if you wanna does this electronically or with transformers.
get my point?
deepdjdanny 12:49 PM - 28 May, 2007
geez some typos there.
nobspangle 9:38 AM - 29 May, 2007
For reference here is the Rane note on system interconnection www.rane.com it's always worth a read and explains all about balanced connections, ground loops and the like.
ejayian 10:12 AM - 29 May, 2007
I switched over to balance about 6 months ago, system now sounds cleaner without any hisssss....

Taking it one step further you should use all XLR cables for everything you have instead of having the TRS 1/4" cables. Makes your life easier if you have to swap out cables, plus you can use them for your mics as well as your intelligent lights.
Flipsta 6:43 PM - 29 May, 2007
If the mixer your looking at has both balanced and unbalanced always go balanced if possible. You can go either XLR or TRS 1/4" as they are basically interchangeable. Get Mogamis if you can afford it, they have a lifetime guarantee. :)