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Connection help

How to wire XLR to a 1/4″ jack for DJ setups, balanced and unbalanced. In the drawings, amber is hot, cyan is cold and the plain line is ground.

Balanced XLR to 1/4 inch TRS jack wiring diagramXLR1/4″ TRS jack1 · Ground / shield2 · Hot (+)3 · Cold (−)123SleeveRingTip

Balanced XLR to 1/4″ jack Recommended

Pin 2 to tip, pin 3 to ring, pin 1 to sleeve. This gives better noise rejection and allows longer cable runs. Recommended for professional DJ setups.

Unbalanced XLR to 1/4 inch TS jack wiring diagramXLR1/4″ TS jack1 · Ground / shield2 · Hot (+)3 · Cold (−)123SleeveTipPin 3 bridged to pin 1

Unbalanced XLR to 1/4″ jack

Pin 2 to tip, with pins 1 and 3 joined at the sleeve. It's a simpler connection but picks up more noise, so keep cable runs short for best results.

Connection tips

Balanced connections
  • Better signal-to-noise ratio
  • Longer cable runs possible
  • Professional studio standard
  • Three-conductor design
Unbalanced connections
  • Simpler, less expensive
  • Common in consumer equipment
  • Two-conductor design
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