How do I make a RCA / chinch to XLR cable?
If you got a single-ended RCA / chinch output of your pre-amplifier you still have the possibility to exploit the performance of the balanced input of our digital crossovers. You could make an adaptor cable with RCA connector in one end of a microphone cable (2 conductors + shield) and a XLR connector at the other, especially if the cable is longer than 5m. I call this kind of cable pseudo balanced, because you still get the benefits of the balanced input without a real balanced output. To enhance the performance a bit more you could add a physical small resistor (value 100R) and fit it in the RCA connector. The resistor does the same as the output impedance of the pre-amplifier. The noise introduced on the cable will be balanced out at the input stage of the balanced input. Connect like this: RCA inner connector – red conductor XLR pin 2 (hot), RCA shield resistor (100R) or short white conductor XLR pin 3 (cold), RCA shield wire shield XLR pin 1 (neutral).
