XLR to RCA DIY Conversion

[Uwiik]

Some people will probably have a different opinion, but IMHO most soldering pastes are extremely aggressive and can flow by capillarity inside the cable insulation where it can't be removed. It can damage the cable in the long term.

That’s what I am afraid off but without paste it’s a real pain to make good factory like soldering job, especially when silver tin is involved.

 

[DasguteOhr]

If the cable has a shield then pin 1 + shield ground, 2-3 on the signal pin.
The shielding can also be omitted to reduce the cable capacity. the cable will then sound more transparent.
in the end it is a question of how well it fits with devices

 

[Cableman]

Yes please, thanks so much. I also always wonder what should I do with the unused wire when coverting from XLR to RCA? Just not use it or double the ground? Advic

Yes please, thanks so much. I also always wonder what should I do with the unused wire when coverting from XLR to RCA? Just not use it or double the ground? Advice?

Ok. Hope this makes sense:
Source end:

Twist together the inner and outer drains and solder together.
Now remove the foil ( or similar shield but I’m presuming there’s a foil shield) from the conductors, to expose one RED and one White conductor.
Carefully cut off 12mm ( my suggestion you may do more or less) of the white(?) insulation. To expose the inner conductor, peel back the strands( of solid core conductor) and cut off the white PVC (?) core. Twist and solder the strands.( you may have a solid core conductor in which case ignore that bit)
Cut off 7mm (my suggestion you may do more or less) of the Red insulation. Expose the inner multi-strand conductor, peel back the strands and cut off the whit plastic core. Twist and solder the strands.
Cut a 5mm approx length of Red heat shrink and shrink over the Red insulation.
Solder the centre pin to the Red conductor.
Wrap four or five wraps of PTFE tape over the soldered joint and down the insulation.
Wrap four or five wraps of PTFE tape over the outer insulation on to the drains.

The output end is the same as the source, with one difference. The outer drain is cut off in line with the outer insulation and is not connected to the shield.

 

[Uwiik]

If the cable has a shield then pin 1 + shield ground, 2-3 on the signal pin.
The shielding can also be omitted to reduce the cable capacity. the cable will then sound more transparent.
in the end it is a question of how well it fits with devices

Awesome, very good tips. Thanks

 

[Uwiik]

Ok. Hope this makes sense:
Source end:

Twist together the inner and outer drains and solder together.
Now remove the foil ( or similar shield but I’m presuming there’s a foil shield) from the conductors, to expose one RED and one White conductor.
Carefully cut off 12mm ( my suggestion you may do more or less) of the white(?) insulation. To expose the inner conductor, peel back the strands( of solid core conductor) and cut off the white PVC (?) core. Twist and solder the strands.( you may have a solid core conductor in which case ignore that bit)
Cut off 7mm (my suggestion you may do more or less) of the Red insulation. Expose the inner multi-strand conductor, peel back the strands and cut off the whit plastic core. Twist and solder the strands.
Cut a 5mm approx length of Red heat shrink and shrink over the Red insulation.
Solder the centre pin to the Red conductor.
Wrap four or five wraps of PTFE tape over the soldered joint and down the insulation.
Wrap four or five wraps of PTFE tape over the outer insulation on to the drains.

The output end is the same as the source, with one difference. The outer drain is cut off in line with the outer insulation and is not connected to the shield.

Perfectly clear, I understand what you are trying to convey. Thanks so much!

 

[Mikem53]

Thanks so much, that was very helpful. Which one should I solder together with the Pin 2 Positive/Hot? Pin 1 Ground/shield I assume?

Pin 2 is hot and pin 1 would be ground. Some tie Pin 3 to pin 1, yet some dual differential devices can Be damaged by shorting pin 3 and leave it floating. It depends.
I have some Cardas adapters that are designed with pin 3 floating. most XLR to RCA adapters short 1 & 3 together.

 

[Solypsa]

Depending on how the source xlr is configured ( so many variations on "balanced output" ) you might try a Jensen ( or similar ) xlr to rca adaptor that uses a transformer...can't say this will be better but the cable is saved and cost is low...and the longer part of the cable run will be terminated 'correctly'

 

[Uwiik]

Depending on how the source xlr is configured ( so many variations on "balanced output" ) you might try a Jensen ( or similar ) xlr to rca adaptor that uses a transformer...can't say this will be better but the cable is saved and cost is low...and the longer part of the cable run will be terminated 'correctly'

Yesterday my dealer loaned me Cardas adapter, I don think I can live with that ugliness… LOL, like I said, not too concerned about saving resale value, nothing have good resale value in HiFi

 

[rau]

Pin 2 is hot and pin 1 would be ground. Some tie Pin 3 to pin 1, yet some dual differential devices can Be damaged by shorting pin 3 and leave it floating. It depends.
I have some Cardas adapters that are designed with pin 3 floating. most XLR to RCA adapters short 1 & 3 together.

I just ran into this issue , I purchased a Cardas Clear XLR to RCA adapter pin 1&3 tied together. This made my system sound awful . How did you get adapters with pin 3 floating ? Special order ?

 

[DonH50]

You can check Rane or other "pro" sound websites for suggestions.

Generally for a source XLR (output) to RCA load (input), I tie pin 1 (shield) to RCA shield (ground), pin 2 (positive output) to RCA tip (center, hot), and leave pin 3 (negative output) floating to prevent shorting the XLR output buffer to ground. It may be better to match the load resistance to ground on pin 3 (especially with transformer outputs -- check with your manufacturer); e.g. at the XLR add a resistor from pin 3 to ground equal to the load (input) resistance.

XLR 1 (shield) --> RCA shield
XLR 2 (positive) --> RCA tip
XLR 3 (negative) --> float (leave open) or connect to pin 1 with a resistor matching the load's input resistance

FWIWFM - Don

 

[adrianywu]

You can check Rane or other "pro" sound websites for suggestions.

Generally for a source XLR (output) to RCA load (input), I tie pin 1 (shield) to RCA shield (ground), pin 2 (positive output) to RCA tip (center, hot), and leave pin 3 (negative output) floating to prevent shorting the XLR output buffer to ground. It may be better to match the load resistance to ground on pin 3 (especially with transformer outputs -- check with your manufacturer); e.g. at the XLR add a resistor from pin 3 to ground equal to the load (input) resistance.

XLR 1 (shield) --> RCA shield
XLR 2 (positive) --> RCA tip
XLR 3 (negative) --> float or connect to pin 1 with a resistor matching the load's input resistance

FWIWFM - Don

Yes, that is the correct approach. If the user wants to preserve the common mode rejection ratio of the balanced connection, using a transformer on the receiving end is advantageous. Personally, I think RCA connectors are the worst type of connection one can imagine. I have a collection of input transformers ripped from old Neve mixing desks and these are really excellent sounding. I use them for my Nagra IV-S, since the output of the recorder is unbalanced.

 

[DaveC]

XLR 1 (shield) --> RCA shield
XLR 2 (positive) --> RCA tip
XLR 3 (negative) --> float or connect to pin 1 with a resistor matching the load's input resistance

FWIWFM - Don

This is what I do for balanced sources going into single ended preamps/integrated amps. IMO using a resistor with the same value as the component's input impedance is the best solution, but also makes the cable specialized for that particular application. Of course the resistor or plugs can be changed later as well.

Of course @adrianywu is correct that a trafo would give you the noise rejection of a balanced connection, but imo, in a home environment it's rarely needed, and adding a good trafo is not trivial. Many times it's added as a separate component which introduces more connectors, wire, another cable, etc. I think this is not an elegant solution and I don't like it, you use a RCA cable anyways. The only great solution to this is to add a trafo-based input to the component it's self, placing the trafo inside the chassis, most will not want to modify their gear or spend big-$ on the very high quality trafo required.

 

[rau]

I'm going from pre to amp , I have a bal amp to and just wanted to use same cable on the SE amp

 

[DaveC]

I'm going from pre to amp , I have a bal amp to and just wanted to use same cable on the SE amp

You could also add an XLR jack to your SE amp that grounds pin1 to pin3 via a resistor with the same value as the amp's input impedance, wiring can be directly connected to where the RCA input goes as long as you don't have both RCA and XLR connected at the same time. Basically, a built-in converter that loads the - leg of the XLR in the same as the + leg.

 

[rau]

You could also add an XLR jack to your SE amp that grounds pin1 to pin3 via a resistor with the same value as the amp's input impedance, wiring can be directly connected to where the RCA input goes as long as you don't have both RCA and XLR connected at the same time. Basically, a built-in converter that loads the - leg of the XLR in the same as the + leg.

That sounds like a excellent idea , thanks Dave

 

[microstrip]

I'm going from pre to amp , I have a bal amp to and just wanted to use same cable on the SE amp

Can we know what is exactly the equipment and ICs you are using? Some cable manufacturers use the same wire for balanced and SE cables, just using the unused negative phase cables as an extra ground line in the SE version.

 

[rau]

Can we know what is exactly the equipment and ICs you are using? Some cable manufacturers use the same wire for balanced and SE cables, just using the unused negative phase cables as an extra ground line in the SE version.

I'm using Shunyata Sigma NR XLR cables
Lampizator Horizon > VAC Master > Lampizator GM Monoblock

Otherwise I use Constellation Bal
The VAC has a switch on every input and output SE/Bal but I don't know exactly what switch is doing

 

[microstrip]

I'm using Shunyata Sigma NR XLR cables
Lampizator Horizon > VAC Master > Lampizator GM Monoblock

Otherwise I use Constellation Bal
The VAC has a switch on every input and output SE/Bal but I don't know exactly what switch is doing

In such cases I use two DIY adapters: a SE- RCA to male XLR for output and a female XLR - SE to SE -RCA, using just the single ended RCA's connectors of equipment. In the adapters I connect XLR 2 to RCA signal and 1 and 3 to RCA ground.