XLR cables to 1/4"

[Connoisseur of Distortion]

yes, i know this has been mentioned. but, i have phantom power to worry over, and i need advice.

i'm fairly sure that pin 3 carrys the phantom power, but i have no idea which pin (1 or 2) carries signal.

advice?

[ethrbunny]

Is this what a 'direct box' is used for?

[Gilles C]

http://www.mediacollege.com/audio/connection/connectors.html

[Gilles C]

double post... :oops:

[sir_modulus]

hmm...not always a good idea. I've heard of some noise issues when you do the conversion...

Just my 0.02F,

Nish

[usbdevice]

Hi
I'm only familiar with 48VDC phantom power commonly found on professional audio equipment.
On a regular 3-pin xlr both pins 2 & 3 carry +48VDC each, pin 1 (shield) acts as a ground return for the phantom power.
Pin 2 and 3 also carry the signal, hot and cold (inverted), we're talking balanced signal here.
For a regular conversion from balanced xlr to unbalanced 1/4" you would connect the cold wire to the ground (shield), i.e. bridge pin 1 and 3.
If you do this with phantom power present, well, you would ground one of the 48V carrying leads - probably not a good idea (although some phantom power supplies will have current limiting resistors to prevent damage from incorrectly wired connectors/cabes). You would also have +48V DC offset on your signal, although that shouldn't be a problem with properly designed equipment
Maybe you could be a little more specific regarding your setup. It would be easier to find a solution.
To be clear, the phantom powering system described above will not work with unbalanced cables.

Lenny