XLR connector - Everything you need to know !

XLR has 3 to 7 pins
XLR has 3 to 7 pins

XLR

An XLR connector is a plug used to connect various professional devices in the entertainment industry (audio and light). These connectors are circular in cross-section and have between three and seven pins. They are available from many manufacturers and their dimensions meet an international specification : IEC 61076-2-103.

While there are XLR connectors with up to seven pins, the three-pin XLR connector makes up 95% of the use in sound reinforcement and sound engineering. Its particularity is that it has three strands to transmit a monophonic audio signal, whereas in consumer Hi-Fi equipment only needs two : it is a symmetrical link, with a hot spot, a cold spot and a ground. It is also suitable for digital signal transmission, in particular with the DMX
Principle of the DMX controller
Principle of the DMX controller DMX : the concepts you need to know - DMX 512 (Digital Multiplexing) is a data transmission standard used to control the available channels on a light from a controller.
standard for controlling stage lights as well as with the AES3 standard (also known as AES/EBU) developed for digital audio signals.

Its advantages are :

  • allow the transmission of a so-called "symmetrical" signal

  • Do not cause a short circuit at the connection

  • be equipped with a safety clip to prevent untimely disconnection (when the cable is accidentally pulled)

  • to be both, in its most classic form, a cable and an extension cable (unlike Jack, Cinch and BNC connectors)

  • to be robust.


Wiring an XLR3 Cord
Wiring an XLR3 Cord

Wiring an XLR3 Cord

The AES (Audio Engineering Society) standard requires the following pinout :

  • pin 1 = mass

  • pin 2 = hot spot (signal to be transmitted in its original polarity)

  • pin 3 = cold spot (signal to be transmitted with its reverse polarity)


Some older devices may have their 2 and 3 pins reversed : this is due to a now-obsolete American convention, which placed the hot spot on the third pin. If in doubt, refer to the device's manual or any silkscreen prints on the case.

Regarding the six-pin plug, there are two standards : one IEC-compatible, the other compatible switchcraft. One does not connect into the other.
The symmetrization of an audio signal makes it possible to eliminate the interference induced by the signal transport
The symmetrization of an audio signal makes it possible to eliminate the interference induced by the signal transport

Symmetrization

The symmetrization of an audio signal makes it possible to render inoperative the interference induced by the transport of the signal in the vicinity of electrical and electronic devices.
The principle is as follows : the transmitter transmits the original signal S1 = S to the hot spot and the duplicate S2 = –S to the cold spot by reversing its polarity (also known as "phase opposition"). The receiver, on the other hand, differentiates between the hot spot and the cold spot. Extraneous noise that could have infiltrated during transport has the same impact on the hot spot signal :

S1' = S1 + P = S + P

and the cold spot :
S2'= S2 + P = –S + P.

The difference :
S1'– S2'= 2S performed by the receiver therefore cancels them.


The symmetrization also avoids problems related to ground loops.

Thus, to carry a signal in stereo, six strands (including two grounds) are needed. There are 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-pin XLR jacks. Each has very specific uses.
Four-pin XLR connectors are used in a variety of applications.
They are the standard connector for intercom headsets, such as systems manufactured by ClearCom and Telex. Two pins are used for the mono headset signal and two pins for the unbalanced microphone signal.

Another common use is for DC power connections for professional film and video cameras (Sony DSR-390 for example) and related equipment (one of the known pinouts is : 1 = Ground, 4 = Power Positive, 12 V for example). Some desktop microphones with LED
LCD
Color cells are full of adjustable sticks, liquid crystals, which determine the amount of light that passes. Led TV's are LCD TVs that we just changed the backlight The miracle of the fineness of the Led TV is not to a real change in technology – they always are LCD TV - but the replacement of light tubes (called CCFL) by tiny white led.
s use them. The fourth pin is used to illuminate the LED
LCD
Color cells are full of adjustable sticks, liquid crystals, which determine the amount of light that passes. Led TV's are LCD TVs that we just changed the backlight The miracle of the fineness of the Led TV is not to a real change in technology – they always are LCD TV - but the replacement of light tubes (called CCFL) by tiny white led.
indicating that the microphone is on. Other uses for the four-pin XLR include a few baffles (color-changing devices for stage lighting), AMX's analog lighting control (now obsolete), and some pyrotechnic equipment.
Four-pin XLR connectors have also become the standard for balanced two-channel hi-fi headphones and amplifiers.

XLR 5s are mainly used for DMX
Principle of the DMX controller
Principle of the DMX controller DMX : the concepts you need to know - DMX 512 (Digital Multiplexing) is a data transmission standard used to control the available channels on a light from a controller.
connections. The DMX
Principle of the DMX controller
Principle of the DMX controller DMX : the concepts you need to know - DMX 512 (Digital Multiplexing) is a data transmission standard used to control the available channels on a light from a controller.
standard is very precise about the use of five-pin XLR. However, XLR 3 is most often used for the sake of economy and simplicity, as the current DMX
Principle of the DMX controller
Principle of the DMX controller DMX : the concepts you need to know - DMX 512 (Digital Multiplexing) is a data transmission standard used to control the available channels on a light from a controller.
standard does not use pins 4 and 5.
XLR 6 or 7 can be used in the field of sound reinforcement on intercom systems.

Conception

XLR connectors are available in both male and female versions, both in cable and chassis configurations. This is notable in that most other connectors are not offered in these four configurations (the male connector on the chassis is usually absent).

The female XLR jack is designed so that pin 1 (the ground jack) is connected before the others when a male connector is inserted. Since the connection to the ground is established before the signal lines are connected, the insertion (and disconnection) of an XLR connector can be done directly without generating an unpleasant click (as is the case with an RCA
RCA
The RCA socket, also known as a phonograph or cinch socket, is a very common type of electrical connection. Created in 1940, it is still found today in most homes. It transmits audio and video signals. The acronym of RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America. Originally, the RCA plug was designed to replace the old telephone plugs of manual telephone exchanges.
jack).

Origin of the name

Originally, the connector series produced from the 1940s onwards by the American company Cannon (now part of ITT) was called "Cannon X". Then, in 1950, a latch ("Latch") was added to the following versions, giving birth to the "Cannon XL" (X series with Latch). Cannon's last evolution, in 1955, was the addition of a rubber enclosure around the contacts, forming the acronym XLR3.

In reference to its original manufacturer, this connector is sometimes simply referred to as a cannon, even though most plugs of this type are manufactured by Neutrik.

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