Are TRS and stereo cables the same?

[cstime]

I know that a balanced signal and a stereo signal are different, but are the cables they use different? If I have a 1/4" stereo cable can I use it with 1/4" balanced jacks (and, conversely, can I use one of the TRS returns on my snake for a headphone signal?)?

 

Thanks!

[B. Adams]

Generally speaking, most "stereo" cables have 2 conductors, each with their own shields. Balanced TRS cables have 2 conductors, that are twisted around each other and share the same shield. The seperate shield in stereo cables keeps the signals apart, but that's not rerally necessary for balanced cables. So, you can use a TRS send for headphones, but you may get some crosstalk between the two sides. I doubt that conderns you too much. And you could use a stereo cable for balanced connections, but I don't see why that would be necessary. Most people don't have significant amounts of it laying around. And you could potentially run into some phase issues depending on the cable, so I'd recommend sticking with real balanced TRS (or XLR) cables for patching, unless it's an emergency.