Studio Cables

Assignment #1
Music Production @Coursera
July 24, 2014
992
words

Introduction
I am Ranjit from California, USA.
I play synths & program music using
ChucK.
This lesson is my assignment for
week 1 of Introduction To Music
Production @Coursera.
I will provide an overview of the
types & use of cables in a music
studio.
Thanks for your time!

Studio Cables

LESSON

Guiding principles
When it comes to cabling, it pays to
have the right connections
Dont skimp on cables & connectors
Choose the right cable for the task.
Know about balanced & unbalanced
gear
Sound quality of your audio chain is
only as strong as your noisiest cable

Unbalanced cables
An unbalanced electrical signal runs along two
wires
Ground (aka Earth), a voltage reference
Positive (aka Hot), which carries the signal
Signal strength is defined by comparing Hot to
Ground
Susceptible to noise
Becomes audible on cable runs > 20

Unbalanced lines should be kept as short as

possible

Balanced cables
A balanced electrical signal runs along three
wires
Ground
Positive
Negative (aka Cold)
Hot & Cold wires carry same signal with opposite
polarity
Noise picked up along the cable run is common to
both wires
Receiving device inverts Cold signal
The noise common to both wires cancels out!
This technique is called Common Mode
Rejection

Direct Box
A Direct Box (aka DI Unit) converts an unbalanced signal to a
balanced signal
Typically used to connect instruments with unbalanced 1/4"
output (e.g. electric guitar) to gear which requires balanced
input (e.g. mixing board)
Often have an Unbalanced output which functions as a passthrough e.g. to connect to a monitor

CABLE TYPES

 TS
Characteristics:
Unbalanced
T = Tip (Hot)
S = Shield (Ground)

Uses:
Guitar to amp
Sound card to mixing console

Cons:
Susceptible to noise / hum

 TRS
Characteristics:
Balanced: uses 3 wires to carry signal
T = Tip
R = Ring (Cold)
S = Shield

Pros:
Reduced noise especially for long cable runs

Cons:
2x the price of Unbalanced cables

 TS & TRS cables

1. Sleeve (Ground)
2. Ring
3. Tip
4. Insulating rings

XLR
Characteristics:
Balanced
3-pin connectors (like TRS) [other pinouts are also available]
X = original name of product line
L = Locking mechanism for more stable connections
R = Rubber insulation

Uses:
Transmitting mic or balanced line-level signals
Connecting mics to mixers
Connecting outputs to powered speakers

Pros:
Reduced noise
Design reduces signal clicks when inserted or removed
Supplies Phantom Power e.g. to condenser mics

Cons:
More expensive

MIDI
Before we get to the cables, lets learn about MIDI. Wikipedia says it best:
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a
protocol, digital interface and connectors and allows a wide variety of electronic
musical instruments, computers and other related devices to connect and
communicate.
MIDI carries event messages that specify notation, pitch and velocity, control signals
for parameters such as volume, vibrato, audio panning, cues, and clock signals that
set and synchronize tempo between multiple devices.

Characteristics
MIDI cables are purpose-built to transmit MIDI data between MIDI devices
180 five-pin DIN connector
Three pins commonly used: ground, a balanced pair of conductors that carry a +5
volt signal
Spare pins sometimes used for Phantom Power

Pros:
Compactness (an entire song can be coded in a few 100 lines, i.e. in a few KB)
Ease of modification and manipulation
Choice of instruments

Other types of cables

RCA
Primarily used in consumer devices for audio/video.
Usually need a gain stage to amplify from -10dB (consumer)
to +4dB (pro)

Optical
For transferring digital audio, these cables contain optical
fibers which carry light.
TOSLINK (Toshiba Link) is a standardized optical fiber
connection system.

TOSLIN
K

1/8 TS or TRS
Smaller form factor, used primarily for headphones

Y Cable
Used to split a signal into two parts or combine two signals
into one

1/8
TRS

S/PDIF (Sony/Philips Digital Interface Format)

Consumer format for interfacing digital audio equipment
Implemented with both RCA & TOSLINK form factors

FireWire (IEEE 1394)

First developed for high-speed data transfer. Now widely used
for audio digital interfaces.

TDIF (TASCAM Digital InterFace):

Widely used by pros for digital transfer of more than two
tracks of audio over a single cable

FireWir
e

Types of problems
Gain mismatch
Mixing consumer grade devices (-10dB) with
pro gear (+4dB)

Impedance mismatch
Causes signal reflection which can degrade
quality

Cable capacitance
Caused by poor shielding or long runs

Poor connections
Cable breaks or bends => use L connectors

Bibliography
Choosing Studio Cable: Tips &
Techniques
Instrument cables
Cable Buying Guide (Sweetwater)
Direct Box
TOSLINK
MIDI

Reflection
I approached this assignment with some uncertainty but
it turned out to be really useful for me to reinforce my
knowledge on the specific subject of cables.
Im quite familiar with Powerpoint, so decided to stick
with that for now. I plan to learn more about
recording/editing for future assignments.
I spent 3-4 hours on this, continuously cross-referencing
the lecture and various online sources.
I wanted to add a few more slides around studio setups,
cable selection, pricing, etc. but concluded that might be
overkill 8-)
I hope you, the reviewer, found this useful and learnt at
least one new fact about cables. Cheers!