Audio Cables and
Connectors
Common Audio Cables
 Balanced: Have two conductors and a
shield or ground. Used for low impedance
- balanced circuits (+4 dBu)
 Unbalanced: Have one conductor and a
shield. Used for high impedance
unbalanced, or -10 dBV signals
 Speaker wire: 2 conductors and no shield
A Balanced Line
An Unbalanced Line
Speaker Wire
3 Electrical Characteristics of
Wire
 Resistance/ Impedance: Will decrease the
audio signal level
 Capacitance: Will roll off high frequencies
 Inductance: Will alter the frequencies of
the signal in various ways
Specs for quality wire
 Resistance/ Impedance: Less than 100
ohms per 1000 feet
 Capacitance: Under 100 Pico farads per
foot
 Inductance: Depends on how the wire lays
- coiled wire has more inductance than
uncoiled wire
Wire Gauge
 The diameter of wire is measured in
gauges
 The smaller the gauge - the bigger the
diameter
 Audio cables are typically 20 - 22 gauge
 Speaker cables can be from 18 and down
depending on the system
Comparison of Balanced/
Unbalanced Lines
Balanced
Unbalanced
Fairly insensitive to
electrostatic noise/ RF
interference
Very sensitive to
electrostatic noise
Can be used in lengths
from 25 - 300 feet
At lengths greater than
25’, much of the high
frequencies in the signal
start to disappear
XLR, TRS Connectors
TS, RCA Connectors
Used for low  mics, pro
line level gear
Used for high  mics, line
level instruments,
consumer or semi-pro
gear
Guidelines for Speaker Cable
 If you are driving an audio system outputting under 500
watts RMS, and your speaker wire runs are under 100
feet, use 18 gauge speaker cable･
 If you are under 500 watts RMS and greater than 100
feet, but under 250 feet of wire, use 16 gauge speaker
cable･
 If you are between 500 and 2000 watts RMS and under
100 feet of speaker wire runs, use 16 gauge speaker
cable･
 If you are between 500 and 2000 watts RMS and and
greater than 100 feet, but under 250 feet of speaker wire
runs, use 14 gauge speaker cable･
 If in excess of 2000 watts, you should refer to the
documentation associated with your PA system power
amplifiers and use what they recommend.
Balanced (TRS) 1/4”
Connectors
T = Tip R = Ring S = Sleeve
Balanced XLR (Mic)
Connectors
Male XLR
Female XLR
Unbalanced (TS)1/4”
Connectors
Sometimes called an instrument or guitar cable
Unbalanced RCA Connectors
Common Speaker Connector
found in Studios
Balanced Multi-pin Cable
•Used to connect 2 or more channels of audio on a single
connector.
•Commonly found on recording console I/O,DAW interface
I/O, audio patchbays, as well as multi track tape machines.
•Used in conjunction with multi channel audio connectors.
Balanced Multi-pin
Connectors
ELCO
Balanced Multi-pin
Connectors
D-SUB
Balanced Multi-pin
Connectors
DL
Audio Patchbays
Most pro audio studios use TT (tiny telephone) patchbays.
Each patch point is electrically balanced. Front panel switches
make it easy to change between full, half and non-normalled
connections.
Punch style patchbay by ADC
Patchbay with soldered
connections