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Sex and the balanced interconnect.

Caught your eye, didn't it.

I am contemplating a new line level crossover, and it comes with XLR balanced outputs. My power amps have XLR balanced inputs, so I thought...why not give balanced a try. The problem is that both the crossover and the amps have female connectors, so that the interconnect needs to be male on both ends (just like an rca interconnect). I find cables offered with a wide variety of connector configurations, but I can't find any XLR cables configured male-to-male, although I could put in a special order and have them made.

Is it unusual to require male-to-male configuration?
eldartford
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,691 posts
 
You asked: "I wonder why this is the standard. RCA and phone plug interconnects are all male-to-male."

The answer is that it makes it nearly impossible (without significant effort) to connect an output to an output or an input to an input. With RCAs, anything's possible.
jafox
1,465 posts
 
I was about to say the same as Kr4. Indeed, it is a good thing. And I like the locking mechanism that comes with most XLR, female and male, connections on the chassis.
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,691 posts
 
Yup. In fact, putting aside potential advantages in regard to noise pickup, the security of the connections and connectors makes all the fancy RCA permutations seem like toys.

Kal
eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Jafox...It has been pointed out that with a locking connector if someone trips over the wire (and don't say it never happens) the electronics end up on the floor. Nothing is perfect.
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