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TRS to XLR adapter for powered speaker

aglide

aglide

Jun 27, 2010
593
674
Kansas City, MO
#1
I'm thinking of buying an Alto TS110A powered speaker to use as a PA monitors at gigs. Our PA head is one of those Peavey XR600G tanks that has served us pretty well over the last 5 years.

The front of Peavey head has a monitor output that bypasses the internal amplifier and (according to the manual) is a female 1/4" TS connection. The last time I tried connecting a powered speaker to it using a plain TS speaker cable, there was a nasty buzz.

So I'm wondering if I buy a simple adapter that is a male 1/4" TS on one side and a male XLR on the other, and use an XLR cable, will the buzz go away?

Or does the adapter have to be TRS on the 1/4" side? Or would they both be functionally the same? I ask because it seems like male TS to male XLR adapters are harder to find than male TRS to XLR, almost as if the TRS adapters work in both situations.
 
#2

It’s one of the unfortunate realities of audio that manufacturers have historically use common connectors for multiple purposes. You situation is a case in point. The same connector (T/S) is used for both speaker and signal connections. Problem is, these two applications require radically different cables, even if the plug ends are the same. Signal applications are low level and prone to interference, and as such requires shielded cable. Amplifier outputs require heavy-gauge cable and the signal being high-level is not prone to extraneous interference, so shielded cable is not required.

That should explain why the speaker cable didn’t work and you got all the noise. Next time try something like your guitar cable, it will work.

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Wayne A. Pflughaupt


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#3
Well, I thought I'd be smart and look up those outputs in the manual. But alas, Peavey doesn't specify whether that output is balanced (TRS) or unbalanced (TS). Thanx, guys. I shall have a chat with you about that. I"m certain they'll snap to attention...:roflmao::roflmao:.

The 1/4" speaker cable was a mistake. It's not shielded for line level use. You need a mic cable and either the TRS-to-male-XLR adapter or the TS-to-male-XLR adapter. Since the TRS adapter is easier to get, try that one first. It shouldn't...shouldn't...be terribly expensive and if it's not what you need, you can probably sell it to the local soundcos. They/we never have enough of those things.

But I'm betting that it's an unbalanced (TS) output and the TS adapter is probably what you need. If you can't find one locally, PM me and I'll fix you up.
 
#4
The block diagram in the manual shows the jack is a simple TS jack, so it wouldn't be balanced.

Given that, try a standard guitar cable. If you get hum or buzz, plug the powered speaker and XR600G into the same outlet. Often the problem is a slight difference in ground potential between different outlets: a few dozen millivolts will cause a nasty hum.

I'm careful to consider outlets when setting up the band. The keyboard amp's TS line output goes to the PA, so those are two the most important devices to share outlets. Everything else is via mike or DI; the DIs can have their grounds lifted if there's any hum.
 
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#6
The guitar cable would be a good place to start. The Alto's inputs are combo jacks, so you are in business there. Make SURE it's a guitar cable, as in single-conductor w/ shield. Speaker cables are 2-conductor unshielded.

The adapter you show from Amazon won't work because it's a TRS plug, not a TS plug.

The guitar cable should be fine, although it's unbalanced. It shouldn't cause anymore problems than a keyboard plugged into an amp. Give it a shot.
 
#7
aglide said:
What if I used an XLR cable with an adapter, like this Hosa GXP246 XLR Male To 1/4 TRS Adaptor, on the end of it? Will the XLR cable shield the noise?.
Click to expand...
No, because you aren't starting with a balanced signal---at least from what we can tell from the documentation.

All you'd get is the hot and ground (unbalanced) on pins 2 and 1, and pin 3 (the ring) would not connect anywhere. Thus all you'd have is a floating third wire in the cable, which won't help---and it could pick up even more noise.
 
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#8
Update: I got the Alto TS110A. So far I've only had it in our rehearsal space, and I've tried connecting it 3 different ways:
  1. Using a plain old unbalanced speaker cable.
  2. Using a cheap cloth guitar cable.
  3. Using an XLR cable with the afore-mentioned XLR Male to 1/4 Male TRS adapter.
In all three cases, I got no buzzing or humming. I'm guessing it's just the grounding in our rehearsal space. I'll have to see what I encounter in the wild.
 

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