Cables in Your Home Studio

Every studio needs a handful of cables. We’ve explained some of the common types of cables you will need to get going.

Three-Pole Connectors

• Have three electrically-isolated (separate) conductive elements

• Commonly used to carry a single "balanced" signal via two separate voltages/signals (i.e. Stereo)

  • Balanced signals help reduce noice in the cables

• XLR: commonly used with microphones, known for their ability to carry phantom power and cover long distances

• 1/4” Tip Ring Sleeve (TRS): carry a balanced signal, used for connecting professional audio equipment

  • Not to be confused with 1/4” Tip Sleeve (TS) cables often called instrument cables, that are unbalanced and carry mono signals.

Other Audio Cable Connectors:

• Neutrik Combo jack (1/4" and XLR)

• Neutrik SpeakON Plug (amp/speaker)

• BNC Cable connector (video/data/clocking)

• BNC chassis connector (video/data/clocking)

• TOSSLINK optical digital audio plugs (mini and standard)