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XLR or 1/4 inch microphone cord end

Posted by DeltaglowBoy on January 12, 2013 at 11:29am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

Have ordered a Peavey mixer and it will accept both types of cord ends. Which is better for microphones?

Have used 1/4 inch for years with an old 4 channel mixer on a cassette deck and have achieved some pretty good results.

Also noticed that most of the handmade mics that members have posted also use the 1/4 inch.

What's the difference in signal. My mics are not phantom powered.

I now want the best signal for recording to a computer.

Also, I have no issue with buying replacement XLR cords but never fully understood the difference in laymans (or should I say CBG-ers) terms.

A simple explanation would be very useful.

Thanks for the help.

 

Delta Glowboy

 

 

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Replies

  • Swamp Dawg Primal Music January 14, 2013 at 1:08am

    check to see if your mics are high or low impedance- most are low, but some are high. If it's low impedance, the PV has specific 1/4 inputs, and high impedance goes to instrument inputs. They may be marked "Z" instead of impedance.

    • Swamp Dawg Primal Music > Swamp Dawg Primal Music January 14, 2013 at 1:08am

      also, piezo pickups are low-z, magnetic pickups are high-z

  • RTZGUITARS January 12, 2013 at 4:31pm

    Your awesome Oily

    • Ron "Oily" Sprague > RTZGUITARS January 13, 2013 at 9:37am
      Sssssssssssssssssssssss....that was the sound of my head expanding again...
  • Ron "Oily" Sprague January 12, 2013 at 12:48pm
    XLR jacks are used primarily to run a "balanced" (in-phase) signal chain, that also offers a low impedance pathway, offers the ability to run phantom power if needed (for condenser mics and DI boxes), and provides noise rejection. They offer the best bang for the buck in terms of giving you the cleanest signal path. 1/4" jacks are easier and cheaper to manufacture, but are high impedance, to match the high impedances found on most guitars, and come in two types:TS (tip -sleeve) and TRS (tip-ring-sleeve). TS 1/4" male jack ends are cheap to make, but unbalanced, and can thus lead to a noisy signal chain. TRS jacks do not (usually) suffer from this problem, and when properly manufactured, offer a slightly cheaper connection solution than XLR. XLRs are the gold standard for mic connectors ( some are een gold-plated!). There are also hybrid types, with XLR on the mic end, and 1/4" TRS on the amp or mixer end. I have at least 2 of all 3 types in my gear bag, because you never know when you're gonna need to run a mic through a guitar amp, or run 8 mics to a 6-channel mixer that also has 2 unoccupied 1/4" female jacks, for example. If you do go te 1/4" route, make sure the jacks are TRS; they are marked somewhere on the housing and packaging.
    • DeltaglowBoy > Ron "Oily" Sprague January 13, 2013 at 1:21pm

      Ok, one last related question or 2.

      What about running a CBG directly into the mixer with a 1/4  inch (TS) jack. CBG's aren't balanced and neither are those handmade microphones that use telephone ear pieces or speakers. Will they work with the Peavey PV10 USB mixer that's on order? I would be using short cords of 20 ft or less and in a home studio. The mixer specs say the 1/4 line jacks will accept both balanced or unbalanced, hiZ or lowZ. My limited understanding is that the difference would be level of signal and possible rf interference  when using long runs of cable.  But overall, there shouldn't be any harm to the equipment ..... is this correct?

      • Ron "Oily" Sprague > DeltaglowBoy January 13, 2013 at 1:46pm
        You got it. For short runs, it will work. To be honest, you'd have to have a cable run of greater than 50 ft to act as an antenna to pick up any RF noise. But fluorescent lights, cell phones, TVs, speaker magnets, refrigerators, etc. can also generate noise. You won't hurt a mixer with the specs you've quoted; just be careful where you run your cables. I have run my piezo-equipped 4-banger straight into my Mackie 8 channel board using a 1/4" TS cable, and it does work. But there is a small but noticeable signal level difference using a 1/4" TRS cable.
    • DeltaglowBoy > Ron "Oily" Sprague January 12, 2013 at 1:14pm

      Thanks Oily,

       

      That pretty much answers my questions and a few that I didn't think of.

      I will be going with the XLR then and as you have done, keep those 1/4 inch for special needs

       

      Again, you haave been a great help.

       

      • Ron "Oily" Sprague > DeltaglowBoy January 12, 2013 at 1:20pm
        Glad to help a brother out ;-). I worry sometimes when I offer the most expensive solution, because I can usually afford to go that route myself now, but realize that not everyone can.
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