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Frequently asked questions: Balanced VS Unbalanced audio cables
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For this article it is vital to realize that regardless of which version above is used we are ALWAYS referring to a MONO AUDIO SIGNAL.
It is very important to know what your signal chain requires when purchasing cables because if you try to plug a BALANCED 1/4 cable into say.....a KARAOKE machine that only accepts UNBALANCED you will hear very little if any sound at all when the plug is fully inserted because it is not the correct cable and is shorting out internally.
Before we start, let’s drive the point home once more that it is absolutely vital that we understand that we’re working with a MONO audio signal!
3 types of connectors are commonly used in pro audio to transfer a MONO AUDIO SIGNAL:
-Unbalanced 1/4 connectors consist of 1 ring on the plug. Unbalanced 1/4 plugs are also commonly referred to as TS (tip sleeve).
preamp audio signals are carried on a 2 conductor cable.
It consists of:
-hot/signal (center conductor)
-ground/earth (outer shield)
Most commonly used for guitar/instrument/keyboard cables, PA patch cables, karaoke machine mic inputs etc.
Examples:
1/4 instrument cables
1/4 unbalanced patch cables
RCA cables
3pin XLR to 1/4 TS unbalanced cables
-Balanced 1/4 connectors consist of 2 rings on the plug. Balanced 1/4 plugs are also commonly referred to as TRS (tip ring sleeve). (these same plugs ARE also often used also for stereo audio signals but for now we are talking about a MONO AUDIO SIGNAL) 
preamp audio signals carried on 3 conductor cable
Consists of:
-hot/signal (center conductor)
-cold/neutral (additional center conductor)
-ground/earth (outer shield)
Most commonly used for microphone cables, balanced TRS-TRS PA patch cables, PA snakes
Examples:
3pin xlr male to female mic cables
1/4 TRS balanced patch cables
3pin XLR to 1/4 TRS balanced cables
Again we could go into far more detail but that's the basics and the 1/4 end is usually the culprit when someone gets the wrong cable.
Not saying this is true for everything but in our findings it's most common that your 1/4 jack will either accept:
- both balanced an unbalanced
or
- unbalanced only
It's extremely important to know which of the above configuration your 1/4" jack uses.
