Karaoke Forums

When connecting Mackie 350s to a mixer (Yahmaha MG124CX) it appears as though both XLR and TRS cables will work. Is one cable type better/preferred over the other?

Probably a newbie question, get used to it.

Thanks!

Get the best cables you can, and make sure they are the same length - as a general rule, all cords should be the same length (left and right). We have very heavy cables to run these speakers. They last much longer and are very durable.

Although TRS and XLR cables are both balanced cables you will find that the XLR type (standard mic cable type) will give you a more positive connection with a larger contact area per lead. As far as quality goes, I prefer 22 gage with a braided copper shield (at least 90% coverage) with Neutrik type connectors. If you go with the quad core design (probably not necessary for your application but very nice), 24 gage would be fine. As far as name brands go, Mogami Silver series or ProCo Master series Lifelines come to mind. The ProCo's have a 20 year no questions asked warranty. There are better ones out there but for your application they should be just fine. Don't buy the cheapest cables you can find or you'll end up with noise and be replacing them on a regular basis. Along the same line, you don't need the most expensive ones either. I will respectfully disagree with Karen as in matching the lengths is not an issue nor should it be a concern. Their wouldn't be an appreciable difference in resistance between a 25 foot cable and a 100 foot cable at the Ohms your mixer is sending a signal at if you use good quality heavy gage cables. For example in one room I set up in using Yorkville U15Ps and LS800P's (powered speakers) , the side closest to my snake has a 5 foot cable and the other side is on a 30 foot cable making a total run of 105 foot for one side and 130 foot for the other.

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Quickness of mind will deceive the eye

My reference to the cable lengths was advice I received from a pro sound dude. Maybe this is more applicable to MAJOR sound setting, or maybe with instruments, don't know this for sure, just passing on info from a person I consider to be a reliable resource.

Length of cable can make a fair difference for unpowered speakes, where the difference in resistance can affect the amount of power transferred. Even then, if you have good 12 or 13 gauge wiring, it would make a long run difference to have any real effect.

For powered speakers, the difference should be negligible -- the difference in the gain knob on each different speaker is going to be much greater than the difference in signal level on even greatly different lengths of run.

XLR all the way if your mixer outputs have XLR outputs. Better connection.
Standard mic cables, you do not need the most expensive, but you don't want the cheapest - get something with a lifetime guarantee/warranty (I use LiveWire) that way if you have any problems I take them back to Guitar Center & they replace them for free. Haven't paid for any mic cables in over 6 years. They get replaced at least 2 times per year. Alot easier than trying to open the ends & cut the bad parts, clean up the solder connections & reconnect.
Length/guage of mic cable isn't as important with powered speakers as it is with regular speaker cable another reason why powered speakers are nice. Speaker cable can get expensive for heavy guage on long runs.

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Working with DC power I can tell you that long cable runs cause a voltage drop, especially when load current increases. With large unpowered speakers I can see the need for larger and equal length cables and it makes sense then that this is less important for powered speakers.

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I'll start looking into the brands mentioned.

So what about cables between mixer and other components? Sounds like XLR is the way to go if supported. I believe the outputs on the RSQ E500 (Karaoke player) are only RCA. Is a RCA to guitar cable (not TRS) the only choice?

-Kona

RCA-1/4" for player to mixer connection is just fine.

If you wanted to turn an unbalanced connection (rca or 1/4" TS) into an XLR balanced connection then you would need a direct box. They make passive & active versions.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=182486
this is an active example.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... sku=336017
Here is a passive example.

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Thanks Lonman.

It looks like Guitar Center(and most others) only carry LiveWire in lengths up to 20'.

They should have 25' as well.
It really don't matter, just make sure whatever brand/length you end up getting that they have a lifetime or rediculously long (like the 20 year) warranty in which you can bring back for a simple exchange.

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I just picked up Limewire cables from Guitar Center.

15' / 16 gauge

25' / 14 gauge

Lifetime guarentee

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