Balanced/unbalanced audio
38 Square ONE Dynamics
Connecting balanced and unbalanced equipment
For a balanced cable to work as required it must be connected between a ‘sender’ circuit that splits and phase
reverses a single ended audio signal, and a ‘receiver’ circuit that first switches the phase of the negative
signal back to normal and then mixes it with the positive. If the signal entering a balanced cable is not
balanced, the cable itself can still be used - if you don't use a CMR circuit afterwards - but it will take up noise
just like any ordinary cable. An unbalanced audio signal entering a CMR circuit, for example, a mixer input,
will be cancelled out.
To turn a balanced signal into an unbalanced one without using a CMR circuit, short the cold (-ve) signal to
ground. However, the resulting audio signal will be a little weaker than normal as it is only made up of the
positive signal half.
Note: On balanced circuits, the ‘hot’ signal is also known as “+ve” and “in phase”, while the ‘cold’ signal is
also known as “-ve” and “out of phase”.
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