2.

3 Balanced and unbalanced audio and AC power 97

If the sine wave repeated this action 1000 times in a second, we d say it has
a frequency of 1000 Hz (hertz) or, in older terminology, 1000 cps (cycles per
second). We audio folks got tired of saying see-pee-ess and renamed the
unit of measurement hertz as it s shorter.
Higher frequency sine waves will appear more squished together horizon-
tally; lower frequency sines will look more spread out. The reason for this
is that the horizontal axis in an oscilloscope is the time base it shows
the progression of the waveform from the past into the future. The more
times a signal reverses polarity, the higher its frequency and the more
reversals present in a given period of time.
All sound (almost) is made up of complex combinations of AC (alternating
current) waveforms, most of which are not sine waves. The only exception
is a DC (direct current) pulse, which will make a one-time click when
connected to a speaker or headphone, but not much else.
We use sine waves for measurement because they re easy to quantify.
I hope you are now ne with sine, as it were, and ready to see how this
applies to real-world situations.
There are only two ways that an analog audio signal can be carried along
in a wired connection. For the sake of brevity (and sanity mine), I m not
going to expound on digital or RF transmission of audio.
The simplest way for an audio signal to be carried on a wire is as an
unbalanced signal. This means that there is a center conductor (hot), and
(typically) shield and ground are combined in the outer layer of the wire.
So half of the signal path is (sort of) shielded by the outer layer, and the
outer layer itself is tragically vulnerable to interference from sources in the
outside world.
What this means is that unbalanced audio is basically limited to runs of 20
feet or less, and even then it lacks the ability to null out induced noise, hum
and the other crud we encounter with great ah, frequency.
Balanced audio, on the other hand, can survive runs of hundreds of feet, so
all pro audio facilities use balanced mic lines, balanced transmission lines,
and do most of their internal wiring in a balanced manner.
DEMO : Purchase from www.A-PDF.com to remove the watermark
Audio Wiring Guide 98
We ll explore what unbalanced/balanced wiring is after we take a quick
peek at a couple of guitar plugs to show you the physical difference
between balanced/unbalanced connectors.
I m going to recycle some pictures here from Section 3.1. And being lazy,
I m also going to recycle some of the text, as I worked very hard to make
the differences clear, and cannot nd any way to make things more lucid
than what I ve already written.
What you ll see next are the solder tab ends of a stereo and mono guitar
plug, followed by the business end s of the plugs that actually get inserted
into guitars, ampliers and other gear. And if you guessed that the mono
plug is unbalanced, while the stereo plug can be wired balanced, you get a
gold star!
There are always caveats and this example is no exception. The so-called
stereo guitar plug can be wired as a single balanced connection, or two
unbalanced mono connections that share a common ground. So don t
assume, always check.
A close-up of the two solder tabs on a stereo male guitar plug is shown in
Figure 2.3.2 . I ve drawn two arrows to show exactly what part(s) I m talking
about. The longer part, that extends to the upper left in this picture, is both
a strain relief for the wire and the part that the shield/drain gets soldered to.
Let s call the two tabs I show the upper and lower tabs in this picture.
The lower tab goes down to the tip of the plug. It s the high/hot conductor.
Figure 2.3.2 Solder tabs of stereo male guitar plug.
2.3 Balanced and unbalanced audio and AC power 99
The upper tab goes to the ring of a stereo plug, but is omitted (not present)
in a mono plug. It s the low/cold conductor. As a general rule, tip is high,
ring is low, and the long barrel of the plug is used for drain/shield.
Since I want everyone to be totally clear on the difference between stereo
and mono plugs, I ve got a couple of side-by-side comparisons ready.
These pesky plugs are so shiny I had to put
some white artist s tape behind the solder
tabs, so you could see them against the strain
relief behind them ( Figure 2.3.3 ). I hope it s all
clear. On the left is a mono plug with one tab.
On the right, a splendid example of a stereo
plug with two solder tabs.
Now that we re straight on the tabs, let s see
the whole plug ( Figure 2.3.4 ). Here we can
see the business ends of our plugs mono on
the bottom and stereo on the top. Notice the
ring on the stereo plug? That s the part the
low conductor is connected to and is clearly
omitted in the mono plug below it. So one
tab no ring, mono plug. Two tabs has
ring, stereo plug. And remember, a stereo
plug can be wired as unbalanced stereo or
balanced mono the wiring will look the
same.
Figure 2.3.3 Mono/stereo comparison 1.
Figure 2.3.4 Mono/stereo comparison 2.
Audio Wiring Guide 100
Figure 2.3.5 illustrates how an unbalanced mono plug is connected to a
one-conductor shielded wire. Or, in other words, to a wire that has one
internal conductor which is surrounded by a shield, that also functions as the
low side for the audio signal.
Simplified guitar plugs
Dashed cylinders are shield of wire
Unbalanced mono
Unbalanced stereo
Signal 1
Chassis/earth ground
Chassis/earth ground
Signal 2
Signal 1
Figure 2.3.5 Unbalanced guitar plugs.
The same gure also shows how an unbalanced stereo plug is connected
to a two-conductor shielded wire. That is, to a wire with two internal
conductors, both of which are surrounded by a shield. The two signals are
discrete, but share a common ground.
The two signals could be left and right of a stereo signal, or they could be
two totally unrelated signals, so the nomenclature of stereo guitar plug is
ubiquitous, but not really accurate.
Hopefully, with the aid of the previous picture, you now have a clear
concept of how unbalanced audio is connected. The same rules apply
whether you are using guitar plugs, RCA plugs or whatever the plug de
jour happens to be today.
But what about balanced audio? Why is it called balanced , and how does it
differ from an unbalanced signal? This is where we come to some very clever
voodoo.
Balanced audio is created by splitting the audio signal into two separate but
equal parts, and then inverting (ipping) the phase of one of the two.
2.3 Balanced and unbalanced audio and AC power 101
Your instantaneous question may be Why bother? . The reason is that when
the in-phase and the out-of-phase signal are properly recombined (by
uninverting the ipped phase side in a particular way), the result is that our
desired audio signal is not only amplied, but any stray noise it has picked
up is immediately nullied, leaving only the pure signal.
This is such an important concept that I m going to repeat it in different
words, hoping that it will embed itself deeply in your minds.
Balanced audio reduces or eliminates unwanted noise picked up in wires
by ipping (inverting) the phase of one of the two conductors that carry the
signal. When the signal is properly recombined, its amplitude (volume) is
increased and the unwanted noise is nulled out.
Yet another way to describe this is that when the plus ( ) noise is summed
(added) to the minus ( ) noise, the result is no noise. Or at least very little
noise.
What this means is that balanced audio runs can be hundreds of feet long
without degrading the signal by adding noise to it. Pretty cool, huh?
Figure 2.3.6 shows a balanced mono guitar plug, and also the noise-
cancelling concepts we ve talked about above. Pay particular attention to it,
as the subsequent discussion in this section is based on you having a clear
understanding of how balanced audio works.
Figure 2.3.6 Balanced connection/noise cancellation.
Simplified guitar plug
Dashed cylinder is shield of wire
Balanced mono
Normal wave
with noise

Normal wave
with noise
Normal wave
with noise

Inverted wave
with noise
Noise cancellation
Chassis/earth ground
INVERTED Signal
Normal signal
Signal 1
Signal 1