2. amps-preamps
  3. 1179016837

Balanced in and balance out inverted ? puzzle

not to mention any specific gears but came across a pre-amp whose configuration is different from the norm.

Normally in most cases i've seen pre-amp and cd player and power amp where xlr connection: pin 1 = ground, pin 2 = positive, pin 3= negative.

Recently I saw an equipment manufacturer whose cd, pre, power are configured : pin 1= ground, pin 2- negative, pin 3= positive.

If to mix a normal pre-amp with a power amp whose config are inverted, is there any problem here ? hums or buzz ? is this just simply a matter of phase invertion ?

for ex: cd player xlr config: pin1=ground, pin 2=neg, pin 3=pos. connect this gear to a pre-amp with pin1=ground, pin 2=pos, pin 3=neg. Would this work ?

thanks for enlightement.
nolitan
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
My amps have the old standard (1= ground, 2= negative, 3= positive) and my preamp has the current standard (1=ground, 2=positive, 3=negative). No problem with hums or buzz.
It is only a phase invertion. According to Victor Khomenko of BAT, 50% of recordings are recorded out of phase anyway, so this really isn't an issue at all. Though I would recommend having a phase invert switch on your preamp or cd player.

Cheers,
John
shadorne's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
shadorne
7,477 posts
 
Some UK gear is done differently from US convention - it doesn't matter as this is just phase inverted.
dejanm
72 posts
 
That is happening because the XLR connection is not really standardised. And some vendors are implementin pin 2 and 3 in opposite logic. It generates phase inversion, which is hearable. You have several options to put phase "back in track". Some pre-amps do have phase inversion switch. You might also switch pins by yourself in the XLR cable that you are using (not recommended for high quality cables though).
More to discover