XLR CABLE's

[ZippyDj]

Hi i have my first gig this Sunday i was wondering (because i just bought 2x XLR cables) Can xlr cables come in different size girths? im just wondering because mine look a little smaller than what i remember the female ones in the club look like. Mine are male.

[Unknown DJ]

Yep they come in different thicknesses. Sometimes the cables inside are thicker and sometimes the plastic covering them is thicker. You are fine.

[ZippyDj]

Yep they come in different thicknesses. Sometimes the cables inside are thicker and sometimes the plastic covering them is thicker. You are fine.

thanks for the quick reply , i guess i should get my butt over to the club and check the size :O .

Oh just an update, i noticed i said the Cable. What i meant is the Connector its self. Can the two Ends of the connector come in different thickness?
Its the same thickness as a standard Microphone XLR the one i have.
The Leads that i am converting are - 2x female XLR cables that run from the AMP that are the output leads for the Mixer. My mixer is to RCA leads So i bought two converters Male XLR - RCA/Phono converter im just scared because they Smaller but im hoping its just the case that made it look bigger. What i need to know is Are the connections them self going to be the same size or is there a chance that the connection is going to be different ? Thanks.

[light-o-matic]

The wire itself can be different thicknesses, but the connectors are always the same size. So it's no problem.

There ARE different numbers of pins available.. like 4 and 5 pin XLR cables (5 pin commonly used for DMX, 4 pin commonly used for certain LED lights and for color scrollers).. there are also mini XLR's.. but they are very obviously tiny. But all these other cables are pretty rare unless you are a professional sound/lighting company, in which case you know exactly what you have and why you have it. For most DJ's, the standard 3 pin XLR is all you will ever see.

[Unknown DJ]

Post a pic of the cable if you can.

[ZippyDj]

http://www.maplin.co.uk/xlr-plug-to-phono-socket-adaptor-219905
That is the converter i bought its a 3 pin, Big sigh of relief Thank you :)

[DJ Highline]

That converter will get you by for a small gig, but it is not ideal, here's why;

Balanced vs unbalanced signal (google this for a more in-depth explanation). Balanced cable/signal basically is designed to reject outside RF noise that cable can naturally pick up (kind of like an antenna) and therefore can be run over long distances with no problem. Unbalanced cable/signal does not have this feature and therefore over long runs of cable can pick up outside interference and degrade the quality of the signal. Over short distances under 10' the quality of the audio from balanced and unbalanced are the same.

RCA is an unbalance connector and XLR is a balanced connector. You can't simply connect an RCA to an XLR and get a balanced signal. You need what is call a DI Box (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DI_unit). This will convert the unbalanced RCA output from your mixer to a balanced XLR or TRS (its another type of balanced connector) output. I would suggest looking at something like this Art Clean Box (http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/CleanBoxPro/) which will give you a bunch of extra features

[light-o-matic]

You need what is call a DI Box (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DI_unit).

90% of the time, a DI box is the wrong answer.
A DI box is made to connect to a mic input.. for example, if you are setting up onstage in a large club that already has a mixing console and mic snake set up. If a normal DI is used to connect to a balanced line input, the level will be greatly reduced.

For most DJ purposes, what you want is an isolation box, like the ART DTI
http://www.guitarcenter.com/ART-Dual-Transformer-Isolator-Hum-Eliminator-105330641-i1125077.gc?&source=4WWRWXGP&cagpspn=pla&=

Or, if ya got money, the Whirlwind ISO-2
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/388473-REG/Whirlwind_ISO2_ISO_2_Dual_Line.html

These will balance and isolate, which is what you want.. but NOT convert impedance. Which is exactly what most DJs need.

But, if you have a prob where your mixer doesn't output enough level and you need a boost, then get the ART Cleanbox Pro or something like that, which will boost the level and balance the signal. But it's an active balancer, it doesn't isolate.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/pro-audio/art-cleanboxpro-dual-channel-level-converter?src=3WFRWXX

In short.. if you don't KNOW that you need a "DI", do not get a DI box. The isolation boxes I linked above are the right answer most of the time, and at $60 for the ART DTI.. it is a great little box to have.. since it has TRS, XLR, and RCA jacks on both sides, it will connect anything to anything.. not just RCA to XLR. For example, let's say you connect your laptop to the clubs mixer and you get a buzz or hum (common problem from computer power supply).. you can put the DTI between your laptop and the mixer and clear that buzz right up... It's the best bet for connecting different systems together.