PA Speaker cable minefield

[bonzodog]

Our band have just bought an active PA and as I have the most experience in PA's I am taking on the roll as sound engineer too.

In the past I have only used separate Power amp and passive speakers so only used Speakon leads.

Now we are using EV ZLX12P active speakers I am a bit confused.
The speakers take XLR or Jack inputs.

We have inherited a seconf hand Alto mixer which will do us for the time being as next few gigs will just be vocal PA for 2 mics.
The mixer only has Jack outputs so the leads it came with are TS Jacks one end with Male XLRs to connect to the speaker.
When looking to buy a spare cable (I always like to have spare everything) I am finding that speaker cables that have Male XLRs at one end, which is what I need, have TRS Jack sockets at the other end. But as I said the ones I have are only TS, not TRS.

I dont actually know the full difference between TS and TRS other than how they look (single and double ring) so am confused if the leads that came with the mixer are incorrect or not. The mixer came from someone whos never used it so I dont have faith that the leads are right. But on the other hand I dont want to use TRS adaptors if that can damage the speakers.
I tried to google it but have also read speaker leads are always TS not TRS which doesn't make sense as I have seen them, so am now more confused.

Would it be easier just to buy TS Jack speaker leads at both ends, as my EV's will accept either and not bother with an XLR input

Any advise would be appreciated as I do not want to damage any gear.

Thanks

[LukeFRC]

speaker leads... as in the ones between a amp and speaker.... not needed with powered speakers...

[essexbasscat]

If you want to keep options open, you could buy xlr - xlr cables (which can be used for the mics as well) and then buy adaptors at Maplins.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1399324766' post='2443200']...Any advise would be appreciated as I do not want to damage any gear...[/quote]

Yes, you'll have to clarify your terminology with the new system. With 'active' speakers, the cables from the mixer will be signal cables, not 'speaker' cables. Ignore totally your previous set-up, with speakons, and use ordinary jack-to-jack signal cables between the mixer and the new active PA cabs. That'll do for now.

[bonzodog]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1399325712' post='2443216']

Thanks for that. Thats where i am going wrong because I was forgetting that the amp is in the speaker so the leads I need are signal leads.
i like the idea of using XLR to Jack adaptors as I have plenty of XLR to XLR leads lying around

Thanks for the quick replies folks


Yes, you'll have to clarify your terminology with the new system. With 'active' speakers, the cables from the mixer will be signal cables, not 'speaker' cables. Ignore totally your previous set-up, with speakons, and use ordinary jack-to-jack signal cables between the mixer and the new active PA cabs. That'll do for now.
[/quote]

[bonzodog]

I didnt realise this would be so difficult.
Called into a local music shop today to buy some adaptors to turn some of my spare XLR-XLR leads so that the female end becomes a jack and the guy behind the counter said I would have to take the leads in and also the mixer so he could see which way it as wired. He said the jack can be wired in two ways and he needed to see the mixer to establish which way to do it. He told me to avoid the ones Maplin do as very often they are wired the wrong way round and wont work.

Why on earth do they do mixers with only jack outputs!!!!

I may just use jack to jack cables instead of XLR as its too much hassle

[Dad3353]

Does this help..?

[attachment=162158:Xlr_Jack_Adap.jpg]

The problem with jack cables is the required length, an unknown factor. Once you've converted to XLR cabling, at the mixer output, you can use 'standard' XLR cables, and extend with more as required.
Attention: this is still an 'un-balanced' signal, so keep the cable runs as short as practicable. Balanced cable runs would be preferable, but your mixer doesn't cater for them. You may pick up 'hum' in some environments. The previous set-up (with amp physically close to the mixer...) was better from that point of view. Look to changing for a more modern console at some future date..?

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dad3353

[bonzodog]

Thanks for the advice Dad much appreciated. We will get an XLR mixer in next few months so in mean time i will prob just use jack to jack audio cables (not speaker cables)

[Dad3353]

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[BOD2]

What model number mixer is it ?

Might be able to look it up and clarify the situation.

XLR leads provide a "balanced" connection between equipment. This is good for keeping electrical noise out of the system over long cable runs and is generally the recommended way to connect a mixer to an active speaker. A TRS jack can also be wired to provide a balanced connection (as it has the 3 contacts required for balanced wiring). A mono TS jack can NOT provide a balanced connection.

Sometimes, to save space and/or cost, a mixer will use TRS balanced outputs rather than XLR balanced outputs. If you use TRS jack leads with the mixer then the signals will be balanced, If you use mono TS jack leads then you'll get an unbalanced output - which will still work but will provide a lower signal level and not have the same noise rejection.

If we know the mixer model then we might be able to establish if it has balanced or unbalanced jack outputs and then recommend the appropriate cable.