Members 35miles Posted January 26, 2009 Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 Like a dumb ass I bought some Monster keyboard cables to run to my monitors. The PC3 has balanced outs and best I can tell the Monsters are not TRS cables. Like a real dumb ass I no longer have the packaging for the Monsters, so I'm sure I can't take them back to Guitar Center. I'm thinking of spending the money for some TRS cables from Bayou Audio Cables (thanks for the link in another thread). If I buy them is it a good move or wasted money? The manual says TRS cables are recommended. Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChromaLord Posted January 26, 2009 Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 TRS or Tip RING SLEEVE are either used for balanced signals or stereo unbalanced ones. I dont know of any monitors ( I assume they are powered speakers by your description) that run on unbalanced lines. What's so confusing is that you say the manual "recommends" TRS cables. Are you speaking of the manual for the monitors? Is the PC3 you write of the Kurzweil keyboard? And are you trying to plug it directly into your powered monitors?If this is the case I don't recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35miles Posted January 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 Its the Kurzweil PC3. I'm going from the balanced analog outputs to powered monitors (M-Audio BX5a), with 1/4 cables. Its the Kurzweil manual that says - "Mono cables will always work, but if you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members killedaway Posted January 26, 2009 Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 the manual is correct, however, running TRS cables isn't absolutely vital. for a little more info, check out the following: http://www.harmony-central.com/articles/tips/balanced_vs_unbalanced/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mediterranean Posted January 26, 2009 Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 Miles, You paid for that feature in your keyboard. Why not use it? 1. Your synth has balanced OUTs, 2. Your monitors have balanced INs, 3. The manual recommends using balanced. You've got all the reasons in the world to use balanced. It's no wasted money. Also, you'll need 2 pairs of TRS cables if it's synth--->audio interface--->monitors [assuming the interface has balanced INs & OUTs]. I bought my cables from Bayou, but they're TS [unbalanced] since none of my synths has TRS OUTs [balanced]. The manual says TRS cables are recommended. Why? Matched connections are always better, plus you typed it yourself [from your manual]: "...use stereo cables for a better signal-to noise ratio and a bit more volume". The advantage with balanced connections is that you can run very long cables without noise pickup, which is not the case with unbalanced cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35miles Posted January 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 26, 2009 Thanks. Its pretty clear that I need to get TRS cables. I'll order them today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 35miles Posted January 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted January 27, 2009 Anyone that has bought cables from Bayou, raise your hand. Best quality, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Delicious Lamprey Problem Posted January 27, 2009 Members Share Posted January 27, 2009 I dont know of any monitors ( I assume they are powered speakers by your description) that run on unbalanced lines. Just for info: KRK powered monitors have both balanced and unbalanced inputs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GCDEF Posted January 27, 2009 Members Share Posted January 27, 2009 If you're running relatively short distances and you're not having any noticeable problems with noise or interference, you don't need balanced cables. They're preferable, but not required. If it were me, I'd be buying these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members frogmonkey Posted January 27, 2009 Members Share Posted January 27, 2009 I use unbalanced cables, and it sounds fine. I try not to run them along power cables, and I try to keep them away from power transformers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members synthman1 Posted January 27, 2009 Members Share Posted January 27, 2009 One nice feature of the K26xx which may be exactly on the PC3 is you can change the gain on the outputs all the way up to +36db. I wouldn't recommend a setting quite so high, but +12 does give it some punch. Its great for recording, so you don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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